How hot is too hot?

Emily Contreras

Active Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
275
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
So recently, I got a very big new enclosure, for my tortoise, saturn. It is big, but the temperature underneath the bulb can get up to 108 degrees, so i freaked out thinking thats way too hot.. and i hung it above the enclosure, letting all of the humidity out, the che is on at night and it gets 80 degrees around the che.

Also i keep both lights on during the day, the che in the "colder" side, and the sun bulb thing in the hot side, i can already tell he is WAYYYY more active with this new light, but I just want to know, How hot can the hot side be before itis a threat?
 

Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Greetings..

Congrats on the new larger enclosure. Upload a pix if you can so we can see the “dimensions” in relation to your CHE and lights.

You definitely don’t want to go hotter, and hopefully the heat radius is large enough that your tort can easily move in and out of the “hot zone”. Id definitely drop the high end temps down to 100.

I always refer to Toms Sully Care Sheet for the final answer...

Heating and Lighting:
I use a 65 watt incandescent flood bulb on a 12 hour timer and adjust the height of the fixture to get a hot spot of around 100 directly under the bulb. Then I use a ceramic heating element set to 80 degrees on a reptile thermostat to maintain my ambient temperature in the enclosure. Sometimes the basking lamp raises the day time ambient into the low 90s. "Ambient should be no lower than 80, but drifting up to 90 during the heat of the day is good…" This is fine and the thermostat will keep your CHE off during these times, but ready to click on after the basking lamp clicks off and the ambient temperature starts to drop at night. I use long florescent tubes when I want to brighten up the whole enclosure and I run these on the same timer as the basking bulb. The above are just what works for me and are suggestions for what might work for you. Every enclosure and home is different, and some customization will usually be necessary to get things "just right".

Good luck.
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
If you can't get it lower then the 110 without losing humidity then either live with the 110 or get a smaller bulb. You can also set a large stone or clay pot under the light but to one side so your tort has too stay off to the side of the light where it will be a touch cooler. Just don't put anything that could catch fire.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I would go with a lower wattage bulb, or run the bulb on a rheostat to dial down the power just a little bit.
 

Emily Contreras

Active Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
275
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
If you can't get it lower then the 110 without losing humidity then either live with the 110 or get a smaller bulb. You can also set a large stone or clay pot under the light but to one side so your tort has too stay off to the side of the light where it will be a touch cooler. Just don't put anything that could catch fire.
I think you misunderstood me, Im asking if 110 is potentially dangerous
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I think you misunderstood me, Im asking if 110 is potentially dangerous
I understood. It's not dangerous but not needed. So I would try to get it lower. I wouldn't lose humidity because of it. I gave ideas of how to make the 110 lower, less wattage bulb, or how to make the 110 work within the enclosure, clay pot blocking, so your not having to lose humidity by have the bulb up higher and the top off of enclosure.
 

Kaeloni

Active Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
127
Location (City and/or State)
Montana
So recently, I got a very big new enclosure, for my tortoise, saturn. It is big, but the temperature underneath the bulb can get up to 108 degrees, so i freaked out thinking thats way too hot.. and i hung it above the enclosure, letting all of the humidity out, the che is on at night and it gets 80 degrees around the che.

Also i keep both lights on during the day, the che in the "colder" side, and the sun bulb thing in the hot side, i can already tell he is WAYYYY more active with this new light, but I just want to know, How hot can the hot side be before itis a threat?

I feel really dumb asking this. I’ve seen the word/abbreviation “Che” used quite a bit. What is that? I googled it and all I could find were articles about Che Guevara. I’m 100% positive you aren’t talking about the temperature of your revolutionary Cuban man.
 

EllieMay

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2018
Messages
9,603
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
I feel really dumb asking this. I’ve seen the word/abbreviation “Che” used quite a bit. What is that? I googled it and all I could find were articles about Che Guevara. I’m 100% positive you aren’t talking about the temperature of your revolutionary Cuban man.

Ceramic heat emitter.... I had the same question months ago:)
 

DeanS

SULCATA OASIS
10 Year Member!
Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
4,407
Location (City and/or State)
SoCal
The BEST advice I can give is this! ABANDON artificial lighting...all of it! I use radiant heat panels ONLY! I've never had a pyrmided or dessicated animal that I didn't already receive that way! I do not and will not use artificial lighting...no UVB tubes...no incandescent bulbs...nothing! All light comes from the sun...for about 4 hours a day...and that's access...they usually knock around for half an hour before seeking shade! I keep the chamber at a constant 90º...which means it fluctuates between 85º and 95ºF...it's the 100% humidity that ensures the vitality of the animal! Fancy cages and set-ups ONLY serve to feed the owner's ego! Simple and basic is what's best for the tortoise! Good luck! I'm currently working on a NEW and IMPROVED Sulcata Care Sheet...to replace the one that is currently pinned to the top opf the SULCATA page
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
The BEST advice I can give is this! ABANDON artificial lighting...all of it! I use radiant heat panels ONLY! I've never had a pyrmided or dessicated animal that I didn't already receive that way! I do not and will not use artificial lighting...no UVB tubes...no incandescent bulbs...nothing! All light comes from the sun...for about 4 hours a day...and that's access...they usually knock around for half an hour before seeking shade! I keep the chamber at a constant 90º...which means it fluctuates between 85º and 95ºF...it's the 100% humidity that ensures the vitality of the animal! Fancy cages and set-ups ONLY serve to feed the owner's ego! Simple and basic is what's best for the tortoise! Good luck! I'm currently working on a NEW and IMPROVED Sulcata Care Sheet...to replace the one that is currently pinned to the top opf the SULCATA page
Good golly Miss Molly are you going to get arguments about this, but I've seen the results of what you are talking about, and I've never seen better. Not even in my own enclosures. Looking forward to the care sheet and details.
 

DeanS

SULCATA OASIS
10 Year Member!
Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
4,407
Location (City and/or State)
SoCal
Good golly Miss Molly are you going to get arguments about this, but I've seen the results of what you are talking about, and I've never seen better. Not even in my own enclosures. Looking forward to the care sheet and details.
You made the right move the day you decided to go plastic! Glass and wood are no good for the process. And BIG cages don't mean a damn thing either! I had the 8 babies from Curtis in a Boa Master 48x24x12 for a year...nothing but a 120W RHP and three inches of warm, moist coco coir/coco bark for substrate! I put them in a different micro biome everyday...rotating each day between three entirely different environments...this kept their activity levels up...and they were NEVER stagnant. Don't know if you remember, but I had three that were burrowing by the time they were 4 months old!
 

DeanS

SULCATA OASIS
10 Year Member!
Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
4,407
Location (City and/or State)
SoCal
So recently, I got a very big new enclosure, for my tortoise, saturn. It is big, but the temperature underneath the bulb can get up to 108 degrees, so i freaked out thinking thats way too hot.. and i hung it above the enclosure, letting all of the humidity out, the che is on at night and it gets 80 degrees around the che.

Also i keep both lights on during the day, the che in the "colder" side, and the sun bulb thing in the hot side, i can already tell he is WAYYYY more active with this new light, but I just want to know, How hot can the hot side be before itis a threat?

I'd like to see a photo of your set-up because the last time I raised a herd of babies...I changed the whole playing field! For years @Tom and I had been devising ideas for closed chambers...but I took it a whole 'nother direction! The thing is...it doesn't matter if it gets up over 100º inside. I'm thinking a burrow in the Sudan (or Senegal or Mali) is going to be HOT! The whole thing is to promote flawless shell growth. THE WHOLE THING IS ABOUT COMBINING EXTREME HEAT WITH 100% RELATIVE HUMIDITY. You wanna see the entire chamber dripping! You're not gonna want to hear this...but dispense with the lights. Lights interfere with the natural scheme! Use a radiant heat panel and make sure you're using a moist (damp will do) substrate...I prefer coconut bark...but orchid bark is just as good! NO LIGHTS! That's the key! Put 'em outside for an hour or two...even if it's a little cold outside...ANY sun exposure is going to be better than the BEST artificial exposure! I NEVER paid attention to cool end/basking end! In Africa...it's HOT and REALLY f**king HOT! If you wanna see how things turn out...check out this thread!
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/8-new-babies-from-tom-aka-the-bond-girls-maybe.118641/
...and this one!
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/ivory-sulcata-thread-aladars-babies-ultra-photo-heavy.92212/
 
Last edited:

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,389
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Stands to reason, although I've never thought of it that way: When a tortoise is in his burrow there is no light over him.
 

DeanS

SULCATA OASIS
10 Year Member!
Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
4,407
Location (City and/or State)
SoCal
Stands to reason, although I've never thought of it that way: When a tortoise is in his burrow there is no light over him.
And with the left turns...ther'd be (practically) no tunnel light either! @Tom when you traversed RV's burrow...when did the light end?
 

Emily Contreras

Active Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
275
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
And with the left turns...ther'd be (practically) no tunnel light either! @Tom when you traversed RV's burrow...when did the light end?
He goes outside for 1 hour a day. And even with lights, his enclosure is completely dripping. It looks like it is RAINING in his enclosure lol.
 

New Posts

Top