Heating for my Cherry Heads

[MRCliplef]

I have to cherry headed tortoises. They live in an 8ft long x 4ft wide pen with 3 or 4 ft high walls. I am having a difficult time keeping the temperature above 77degrees F even under the heat emitters; I have three and they are spread down the length of the pen. Do any of you have suggestions on how to raise the temperature?
Also, I live in Canada and currently it is about -20C outside.
Thanks!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Is the enclosure enclosed with a lid?
Your best and really only option is a "closed chamber enclosure". It will hold in the warmth and also the equally important humidity.
Also, keeping two together will eventually cause some issues that you can avoid now by separating them.

 

[Canadian Mojo]

A fellow Canoodian, I share your pain of having a tropical tortoise in the winter.

Reduce the heat loses. In other words: insulate. Foam board is nice to work with and waterproof. The silver bubble wrap insulation can be used just like a tent would be and you just staple it to a frame.

Another thing you can do is create a decent thermal mass in the habitat. Concrete or stone works well. Once it gets up to temperature it takes a long time to cool back down. This helps keeping the temps even.

Also, look for drafts that might be robbing heat.

If you're using a fogger, remember that all that water is going into the enclosure at whatever the room temperature is, so if it going a lot it will cool things down on you.

 

[christinaland128]

I agree with above. Closed chambers is the way to go. I’m in Michigan so it’s very cold here as well. I used to struggle with temps until I added a tent top. Seen below in the pictures. I used a Lifetime Raised Garden Bed with tent top.

You can search amazon and find tent tops to somehow add on to your enclosure. I have some examples in my tortoise supply list here..Check out this Idea List on Amazon: Tortoise Supplies by C. Landry https://a.co/2TIn7Vn

Also yes besure to keep an eye on your two. Redfoots are among the more social of the species but do best in groups with more female to male ratios.

I opted for two hatchlings and ended up with two males. They got along perfectly fine until they hit maturity.

Then in the spring time when “love is in the air”, they begin mounting each other and eventually some biting occurred. You’ll feel absolutely terrible if you come home to one of your tortoises with a chewed up leg.

good luck I hope you get your temps up!?