Hello for SoCal- outdoor heat source opinions?

[beachylivin]

Hi all! My name is Lexi and I am from Sunny Southern California.

My hubs and I just got a new Leopard tortoise, who we are assuming is around 5, based on his size. He unfortunately has terrible pyramiding (hopefully the picture I attached shows up), but now that he is in our care he gets a delicious diet of many types grasses, some lettuce, collard greens, dandelions, kale (small amounts) & mustard. Everything is calcium dusted. He has only been with us about two weeks. I have never dealt with pyramiding before, so I am unsure as to whether his shell will stay the way it is, as he continues to grow.

We have an outdoor enclosure set up that is 10'x10' in our backyard where he is constantly on grass. I also planted petunias, chicks & hens cacti, geraniums, marigold and other succulents. He has a large wooden shelter in the enclosure that I water proofed, but we have yet to set up a heat source in it, so on cool days & during the night he stays in one of our bathrooms where he has a heat lamp, UV lamp, a shelter and water.

If anyone has any tips on a heat source for his outdoor enclosure, please share. We have a large wooden shelter made, I caulked all the edges and painted it with a waterproof sealant, we are still wavering between a heat mat vs heat lamp. Either way I have to somehow make sure all of the cords remain inside the shelter so they aren't affected by rain/sprinklers, then feed an outdoor extension cord into the shelter. If anyone has any tips PLEASE share!

Thanks!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.
I like to use a combo of a ceramic heating element over head and a heat mat below, all on a thermostat. I think the best way is actually an oil filled radiant heater, but this depends on the size of your box. You can also substitute a radiant heat panel over head instead of a ceramic heating element. It's safer and disperses the heat over a great area, but with no hot spot.

I think daily calcium is too much. Twice a week is more than adequate, especially for one that is already somewhat grown.

10x10' is on the small side. A larger pen will allow more room to exercise and depending on where you build it, more areas to find shade, sun, or whatever your leopard wants on that day.

The pyramiding that is present will never go away. But the new growth could start coming in smoother.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Lexi:

What a pretty tortoise. I've always been partial to the more light colored leopards. I have one that is badly pyramided, like yours.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome...

 

[MikeCow1]

I live in SoCal also and for my Leopard I bought a doghouse on Amazon and heated it with a kennel heater etc.. Of course she won't go in it on her own even after a year. She still prefers going in the unheated hides I have around the yard. On really cold days (for us) I'll go get her and put her in and she'll stay until the sun comes out or she gets hungry. Seems no matter how cool it is she prefers being outside eating grass to being in any shelter at all. Unfortunately mine is pyramided too. 10 years or so ago all I heard was she's a desert animal keep her in a dry environment. And, even though she'd soak every day. and received calcium she still pyramided