Heating question

[Uwabamireptiles]

Hey guys, I am working on a raised flower bed. The bed is your typical 8x4. I’m planning on making it into two 4x4 enclosures for grow outs and the option to take the divider out to give them the full 8x4. The bed is made of 2x12 boards and I’m planning I adding another 2x12 board around the perimeter before adding a top so there’s more head space for heating and plants. This will be for mountain tortoises and red foots initially.

My main question is, I plan on making the top two separate pieces for each side. Part of the top will be cover with wood and the other part be hardware cloth for light. My initial idea was to fix one of the kane heat mats to the top of each side where the wood will be for the tops. I’ve seen pictures of people using the Kane heat mats like this but everything I’ve seen on the forum just shows the mats used on the grounds. I am in Tampa so we get cool sometimes but it’s never freezing for a long time. What would you guys recommend I do for this setup?

 

[Tom]

I'd recommend you do closed chamber enclosures indoors for them. Babies don't do well outdoors even in their native environments. I've seen it with leopards in South Africa, Sulcatas in Senegal, and DTs here in Southern CA.

I tried outdoors here many times. It never worked well. In side by side comparisons with groups of clutch mates, with the only variable being how much time spent outdoors during the day, indoor babies grew three times faster on the same amount or less food, since they didn't have access to outdoor grazing. I also found that the outdoor groups had more pyramiding.

Many of our Florida keepers have described "outdoors on the lanai..." style keeping. I tell them all the same thing. Those who made the switch were astounded by the change for the better.

Kane mats don't throw heat. They work best on the ground so the tortoise can lay on them. For over head heating you want a radiant heat panel. You can get the ones made for chickens at Tractor Supply.

For your cold winter spells and really for safety every night, any outdoor tortoise should locked up in an insulated temperature controlled night box. This not only keeps them warm on cool nights, but it protects them from rats and other nocturnal predators and pests every night. Like this:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Uwabamireptiles]

I'd recommend you do closed chamber enclosures indoors for them. Babies don't do well outdoors even in their native environments. I've seen it with leopards in South Africa, Sulcatas in Senegal, and DTs here in Southern CA.

I tried outdoors here many times. It never worked well. In side by side comparisons with groups of clutch mates, with the only variable being how much time spent outdoors during the day, indoor babies grew three times faster on the same amount or less food, since they didn't have access to outdoor grazing. I also found that the outdoor groups had more pyramiding.

Many of our Florida keepers have described "outdoors on the lanai..." style keeping. I tell them all the same thing. Those who made the switch were astounded by the change for the better.

Kane mats don't throw heat. They work best on the ground so the tortoise can lay on them. For over head heating you want a radiant heat panel. You can get the ones made for chickens at Tractor Supply.

For your cold winter spells and really for safety every night, any outdoor tortoise should locked up in an insulated temperature controlled night box. This not only keeps them warm on cool nights, but it protects them from rats and other nocturnal predators and pests every night. Like this:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

Thanks for the in depth reply Tom. Not sure if it changes things but the two groups I’m looking to use for this build are already a year and half old. The red foots have been indoors in a closed chamber setup the whole time and the mountains did their first year on my back porch and the rest of the time in a tortoise table I made outdoors. As far as the mountains, I’m following what Vic recommended to me when I got them last year. At what age would you recommend outdoor setups?

I was assuming a heat panel would be the better option for my setup but I wanted to clarify.

Here’s a couple pics of the table the mountains have been in and the two groups I’m making this for.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the in depth reply Tom. Not sure if it changes things but the two groups I’m looking to use for this build are already a year and half old.

That definitely changes things, and your climate helps too.

I like to keep them indoor in closed chambers until they get to around 8-10 inches for larger species before moving them outside full time. I'd do 6 inches for red foots, and your humidity makes it easier and better for the tortoises too.

For this situation and in your climate, I'd skip the planter boxes and just go straight to a large outdoor enclosure with a 4x8 foot night box attached to keep them safe and at the correct temperatures. I've seen people build my night boxes in your climate, and it works great.