Help w/ Night Heat For Hatchling

rosietort

New Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Messages
8
Location (City and/or State)
Vancouver BC
I’ve been doing non-stop reading for a few days now and I’m more confused than ever. I have a hatchling Russian and during the day, she has a halogen floodlight plus a UVB strip light. Her enclosure temperature goes down to 68-69 degrees Fahrenheit overnight.

I’ve read that I should provide a warm humid hide overnight to reduce the risk of pyramiding. Can someone tell me what I need to buy to do this? I know I need a thermostat to control the temperature or whatever type of heat I’ll be providing.

Aside from that, is a CHE or a deep heat projector (Arcadia) better? If CHE, which brand is recommended, and are clamp lamps fine to use with it? I’ve read to only use the cages, but I imagine a lot of heat would be lost that way.

Lastly, if during the day I use a 95W halogen to warm his enclosure with a basking area temp of 95*f, would a 50-60W CHE or deep heat projector be sufficient to keep her humid hide at 80*f? The CHEs scare me a bit in terms of fire risk, so if I can get away with using a lower wattage, that’d be great.

Thank you for reading!
 

Mrs.Jennifer

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 22, 2020
Messages
673
Location (City and/or State)
Norwich CT
I’ve been doing non-stop reading for a few days now and I’m more confused than ever. I have a hatchling Russian and during the day, she has a halogen floodlight plus a UVB strip light. Her enclosure temperature goes down to 68-69 degrees Fahrenheit overnight.

I’ve read that I should provide a warm humid hide overnight to reduce the risk of pyramiding. Can someone tell me what I need to buy to do this? I know I need a thermostat to control the temperature or whatever type of heat I’ll be providing.

Aside from that, is a CHE or a deep heat projector (Arcadia) better? If CHE, which brand is recommended, and are clamp lamps fine to use with it? I’ve read to only use the cages, but I imagine a lot of heat would be lost that way.

Lastly, if during the day I use a 95W halogen to warm his enclosure with a basking area temp of 95*f, would a 50-60W CHE or deep heat projector be sufficient to keep her humid hide at 80*f? The CHEs scare me a bit in terms of fire risk, so if I can get away with using a lower wattage, that’d be great.

Thank you for reading!
Hello and welcome fellow Russian tort member! The care sheet that Wellington attached is what I call “The Gospel According to Tom.” ;) Seriously, it is comprehensive and experience driven. Granted, it can seem a little overwhelming on the first read, but go through it thoroughly a few times, and then ask all the questions you need. Your happy and healthy tortoise will be glad you did!
 

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