Keeping my tortoise warm at night

[Ninpoop]

Hey,

My tort so far has only needed the heat light on through the day as in the UK we have had some warm weather. However this disappears quick and it is never guaranteed and never for long! I’ve been lucky so far!

My question is I know that they need the stimulation of light hours and dark hours but if I’m going to need to start giving him heat during the night what do I do about the light situation? He sleeps in a plant pot on its side which is very close to the heat lamp.

Any suggestions would be fab because it’s going to be any night now and he’s going to need an extra blast of heat!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

One of these hanging from above.
A CHE gives off heat. But no light.

 

[Tom]

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species like sulcatas or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.

Here is the care info all in one place. Read these and you'll save yourself a LOT of heartache:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
Less grass for a regular leopard, but the list is good:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Lyn W]

I use a che every night whatever the weather.
My tort has his own room and while it is warm during the day at the moment, it cools at night.
The che is run through a thermostat with a probe so that you can place it near were the tort sleeps but not somewhere he can nibble it. It turns itself on and off as necessary to keep it about 85 -90F
I bought both from The Range - about £50 in total.
He also has radiator in there which is on 24/7 when chilly.