Heating

[Hannah Staine]

Hi-my sulcata is only 3 months but just a general question...when tortoises get to be big around 15 pounds do they need to be heated throughout the night still?

 

[dmmj]

when they get that size they should be outside and they should have a heated night box, so yes

 

[Blakem]

Yes, mine is 40 pounds and I keep a heat bulb when it's below 65-70. They're cold blooded so they require something to keep them warm.

 

[Tom]

Hi-my sulcata is only 3 months but just a general question...when tortoises get to be big around 15 pounds do they need to be heated throughout the night still?

The depends on where you are and what the temperature is. If you live in Phoenix AZ or Southern FL, then no, your tortoise won't need night heat for most of the year.

If temperatures are dropping much below 75 at night and the next day isn't going to have high enough temps for your sulcata to warm up, then you'll need night heat.

Here are some examples:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-effective-night-box.86632/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/

 

[Hannah Staine]

Should a CHE be used at night in my home for my little tort now?

 

[JoesMum]

Should a CHE be used at night in my home for my little tort now?

A CHE should be used with a thermostat so that it only comes on when it is needed and goes off when it gets warm enough.

If you have a min/max thermometer you will be able to find out the overnight low temperature in the room which will tell you if it's essential.

However, with the thermostat you can start using the CHE in the knowledge that it won't come on until it's needed.

 

[Tom]

Should a CHE be used at night in my home for my little tort now?

This depends on what your overnight low is. For babies, I like to keep it no lower than 80ish overnight. How cold does your house get overnight?

Give these a read through for how to set them up:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Hannah Staine]

Those all seem about closed outdoor night boxes but I am asking about my indoor box for nighttime where Temps get about 74. What would be the best since mine doesn't have a lid?

 

[Speedy-1]

Those all seem about closed outdoor night boxes but I am asking about my indoor box for nighttime where Temps get about 74. What would be the best since mine doesn't have a lid?

It should be covered , or you will be unable to keep the proper heat and humidity effectively . The temps for a hatchling should never get below 80 degrees F . The humidity should be between 80 to 90 % which you wont be able to maintain in an open enclosure !

 

[Hannah Staine]

You know I have to say I've been debating on whether to use this forum and you members answer in the most condescending way that dissuaded people from asking questions on here. Half of the time, you don't even answer the question asked you just point out some other wrongdoing you think is happening and don't just answer the question. My tortoise is outside most of the day in Houston Texas which the humidity is high enough trust me. I simply want to know about nighttime heating elements for being inside in my enclosure and no one can help me. Thanks for nothing everyone on this forum.

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh man...please don't take it that way. Most of the people who ask questions here are first time tortoise-keepers, so we're geared more to the "don't know anything" type of person. Just take the info that applies to your question and disregard the rest.

I'm so sorry you've gotten a bad taste in your mouth about the Forum.

As far as night time goes, if my house temperature is too cool, I use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) to keep the habitat warm enough. You can raise or lower it to get the temperature you're looking for.

 

[JoesMum]

You know I have to say I've been debating on whether to use this forum and you members answer in the most condescending way that dissuaded people from asking questions on here. Half of the time, you don't even answer the question asked you just point out some other wrongdoing you think is happening and don't just answer the question. My tortoise is outside most of the day in Houston Texas which the humidity is high enough trust me. I simply want to know about nighttime heating elements for being inside in my enclosure and no one can help me. Thanks for nothing everyone on this forum.

I am very sorry that you feel like this. It certainly isn't my intention to be condescending and I doubt it is the intention of others.

It can be very difficult to write answers. You are always torn between giving as much information as possible and keeping things short enough not to frighten someone off.

The result is that some parts of the answer may be missed and that the answer can be too succinct to seem friendly perhaps. Personally I will also only answer the parts of the question for which I am certain and will leave bits where I know someone else will give a better answer.

The person reading isn't in the same room and body language and visual clues aren't there to see when things are genuinely meant in a friendly way.

Our hearts are in the right place. We are trying to do the best for tortoises and their humans alike.

 

[Speedy-1]

You know I have to say I've been debating on whether to use this forum and you members answer in the most condescending way that dissuaded people from asking questions on here. Half of the time, you don't even answer the question asked you just point out some other wrongdoing you think is happening and don't just answer the question. My tortoise is outside most of the day in Houston Texas which the humidity is high enough trust me. I simply want to know about nighttime heating elements for being inside in my enclosure and no one can help me. Thanks for nothing everyone on this forum.

I sure am sorry if I offended you , I was just trying to help.

 

[BILBO-03]

You know I have to say I've been debating on whether to use this forum and you members answer in the most condescending way that dissuaded people from asking questions on here. Half of the time, you don't even answer the question asked you just point out some other wrongdoing you think is happening and don't just answer the question. My tortoise is outside most of the day in Houston Texas which the humidity is high enough trust me. I simply want to know about nighttime heating elements for being inside in my enclosure and no one can help me. Thanks for nothing everyone on this forum.

Please don't feel that way the are just trying to help. think what's best for the tort

 

[jim taylor]

You know I have to say I've been debating on whether to use this forum and you members answer in the most condescending way that dissuaded people from asking questions on here. Half of the time, you don't even answer the question asked you just point out some other wrongdoing you think is happening and don't just answer the question. My tortoise is outside most of the day in Houston Texas which the humidity is high enough trust me. I simply want to know about nighttime heating elements for being inside in my enclosure and no one can help me. Thanks for nothing everyone on this forum.

I believe she has a valid point. I respect the knowledge on this forum. I'm not naming names and pointing fingers at anyone in particular. But it does seem that when someone has a question rather than answer the question people drop 3 or 4 threads on them. I swear I see that beginner mistakes thread dropped15 times a day. U can't ask a thread a question maybe some people can't find the answer they need by reading a particular threads. There is a ton of very useful info on this forum written by people that have decades of experience but not everyone has decades of knowledge. And when someone post a pick people r so quick to point out what they r doing wrong and then drop the thread bomb. Just because it's a thread does not make it a law. Different things work for different people. I enjoy this forum and the people on it and have found myself wanting to reply to certain things but then I start thinking of how to word it where someone won't jump all over it because it is not a direct quote from someone's thread. Like I said this is not about anyone person it more of a general statement. But it is not very friendly to basically tell someone they have no idea what they r doing because they don't do it like you. And rather than talk to someone and explain things out it just read this thread and that thread i no it saves time to do that but if u don't have time to explain then you shouldn't answer anyway. I maybe totally wrong in my opinion but I think her point is a valid. This is a forum to talk about tortoise keeping and get help when needed but I seems like most help comes in thread form not overall discussion. I myself will try to answer more question all tho I have nowhere near the knowledge as most people do but sometimes a simple answer is all most people all looking for. Because not every question come from someone new to the forum but most questions r answered like that person has no knowledge at all.

I can't stress this enough this is in no way an attack on any one person or any one thread. And my feelings r not as strong as Hannah's are but she has a point. I do not want to start a war or controversy and I think every person on this forum has something to bring to the table just maybe we should all rethink how we bring it to the table.

 

[Tom]

And rather than talk to someone and explain things out it just read this thread and that thread i no it saves time to do that but if u don't have time to explain then you shouldn't answer anyway.

There is not time to type the same answer to the same question 30 times a day Jim. That is why I took hours of my time to carefully write out threads explaining in detail the answers to commonly asked questions like how to heat and set up baby sulcatas. Rather than sound more than an hour typing out every detail (I'm not a fast typist…) I can spend a few seconds posting a link that has the answer to a persons question. Then if they need clarification, or something more specific, they can ask and we can converse.

If people simply didn't answer questions because they didn't have the time to type out a long response, then this forum wouldn't be the helpful place that it is.

 

[Tom]

You know I have to say I've been debating on whether to use this forum and you members answer in the most condescending way that dissuaded people from asking questions on here. Half of the time, you don't even answer the question asked you just point out some other wrongdoing you think is happening and don't just answer the question. My tortoise is outside most of the day in Houston Texas which the humidity is high enough trust me. I simply want to know about nighttime heating elements for being inside in my enclosure and no one can help me. Thanks for nothing everyone on this forum.

What are you talking about? Every answer about this post was helping and directly addressing your questions. There was nothing condescending at all. I can't see why you would take it that way.

Your first question:

when tortoises get to be big around 15 pounds do they need to be heated throughout the night still?

David and Blake answered yes, and I went further to explain that it depends on your temperature and then took the time to post several ways to heat a 15 pound tortoise overnight.


Then you asked this:

Should a CHE be used at night in my home for my little tort now?

Again I answered your question and posted links that would explain how to do and what common mistakes to avoid. Joe's Mum also explained how to do it. Whether or not you need a CHE depends on your temperature. If you live somewhere warm and your enclosure doesn't drop below 80, then no, you don't need night heat. If you live somewhere with cooler nights, then yes you do need night heat. Where is the condescension?

Half of the time, you don't even answer the question asked...

Wait… What? Yes we did. We answered your original question about heating 15 pound tortoises and then we answered your next question about whether or not you should have night heat for your baby.

...you just point out some other wrongdoing you think is happening and don't just answer the question.

What are you talking about here? What wrongdoing did anyone point out? We just answered your questions. We didn't even know what you are doing, so how could we point out right or wrong with your routine in any case?

My tortoise is outside most of the day in Houston Texas...

Well now that you've pointed this out, I will let you know that outside all day is not good for babies. They do better indoors most of the time. I don't like to put babies outside for more than an hour or two a day until they gain some size. That is not condescending. That is a helpful tip the I had to spend many years learning the hard way and I just gave it away to you for free, asking for nothing in return. You don't find that helpful?

I simply want to know about nighttime heating elements for being inside in my enclosure and no one can help me. Thanks for nothing everyone on this forum.

No one can help you? We all tried to help you. There is not a blanket "yes" or "no" to your question. The answer you seek depends on your night temps. This can be different for everyone. Now that you've told us your overnight low drops to 74, we can tell you that you need night heat. If you had told me you live in the tropics and your house stays 85 at night, then I would have told you "no" on the night heat. We have members all over the world. Literally. Some of them don't need night heat indoors or out. Some only need night heat for part of the year, like me.

Thanks for nothing? Now that is condescending. I hope you'll reconsider this post and stick around. I really can't tell what you found so offensive, but no one intended anything that way. There are many helpful people here and it sounds like you could use the help from the details you've mentioned.