Keeping tort warm in winter

Trexant

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Hello, I have a just recently turned one Hermann and it will be our first winter with him. I’m from the U.K. so temperatures drop here very low at night and even in the day. I have the standard heat lamp and a heat mat in his house at night.

Would you recommend to add another heat lamp to the other side of the enclosure and leave it on all night?
 

Wishbone

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Is his enclosure open top or closed? No light at night but you could use one of those ceramic heat lamps at night.
 

Karen(pebbles)

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Hello, I have a just recently turned one Hermann and it will be our first winter with him. I’m from the U.K. so temperatures drop here very low at night and even in the day. I have the standard heat lamp and a heat mat in his house at night.

Would you recommend to add another heat lamp to the other side of the enclosure and leave it on all night?
Can you show pics of your set up? i'm also from the uk, my torts kept in a vivarium, i use a ceramic heater but havent really needed to use it only to warm the enclosure in the morning
 

Lyn W

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A ceramic heat emitter (CHE) is ideal for night heat because it just gives heat - no light - but the che must be run through a thermostat which will turn it on and off to keep temps within the set temp range and to prevent it getting too hot and cooking your tort. It can also be used as extra day heat if needed.

Heat mats aren't generally advised for tortoises because they can also be dangerous.

If you post some pics of the enclosure and the heating and lighting you are using and how, you'll get great feedback to help you make sure your tort stays warm and safe. A lot depends on if your enclosure is open or closed and we can help find ways to solve any problems.

Meanwhile this will help you
 

Trexant

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Hello, thanks for the tips regarding the heater instead of the lamp! I did think it would be odd to have light emitted at night and can’t believe I didn’t think of just a plain old heater. The heat mat is inside the hut behind a glass panel so helps to provide some heat I believe?

My enclosure is open top. I don’t plan to keep this enclosure for too much longer (until I move) as our space in our current place is very limited. I wish I could give my tort more space but he’s happy and healthy from what I have seen. I just remember when we first moved here early March it was freezing indoors and that time will be soon approaching but colder!

Attached some pictures. Herbert just had their bath and daily misting.
 

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Trexant

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This is Herbert too! Turned 1 years old on the 14th August!
 

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Lyn W

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It is very difficult to retain heat and humidity in an open table - to quote Tom (one of our more experienced members) "it's like trying to heat a house without a roof" which I think is a good description.
You could buy a portable greenhouse to place over the table and hang the lamps and CHE inside it. Something like this
1662757985475.png
There are lots of designs but maybe a clear plastic would be better because obviously you would need to keep it closed most of the time for it to be beneficial so with clear plastic you can still see your tort. With rising energy costs the more heat you can retain the better and the thermostat for the CHE will also help with that as well to stop your tort cooking.
I don't think you could use a CHE inside the hide where the heat mat is - it would be too low and would burn the tort. but it would help the overall temp inside the greenhouse 'tent'.
What lamp are you using in the dome?
 

Trexant

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It is very difficult to retain heat and humidity in an open table - to quote Tom (one of our more experienced members) "it's like trying to heat a house without a roof" which I think is a good description.
You could buy a portable greenhouse to place over the table and hang the lamps and CHE inside it. Something like this
View attachment 349710
There are lots of designs but maybe a clear plastic would be better because obviously you would need to keep it closed most of the time for it to be beneficial so with clear plastic you can still see your tort. With rising energy costs the more heat you can retain the better and the thermostat for the CHE will also help with that as well to stop your tort cooking.
I don't think you could use a CHE inside the hide where the heat mat is - it would be too low and would burn the tort. but it would help the overall temp inside the greenhouse 'tent'.
What lamp are you using in the dome?
Thanks for that idea! Seems a simple but effective trick. I’ll do some shopping online tomorrow and see what I can find.

I wish I had done more research before buying this tortoise table as I was originally going to splash out and buy a lovely vivarium with a stand that was closed top but outdated articles told me they were bad for babies, how very wrong that advice was until I found this lovely forum.

It’s a mercury vapour bulb; again this forum has directed me otherwise. It’s something I’ll be looking to change at some point too.
 

Tom

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Hello, I have a just recently turned one Hermann and it will be our first winter with him. I’m from the U.K. so temperatures drop here very low at night and even in the day. I have the standard heat lamp and a heat mat in his house at night.

Would you recommend to add another heat lamp to the other side of the enclosure and leave it on all night?
The pebbles around the water bowl are a serious impaction risk. Those should be removed ASAP.

What substrate is that? If its orchid bark, it is too wet.

That food bowl is unsuitable for tortoises and likely to land him on his back. Use another terra cotta saucer sunk into the substrate for a food dish.

Your tortoise needs a suitable hide or two, and a much larger enclosure.

Heat mats should not be used for tortoises. They are unsafe.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  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. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
  3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.
You can run more than one CHE to keep ambient temps up, but this is futile and ineffective with an open topped enclosure in a cold room. That is like trying to heat your house in winter with no roof. It just doesn't work.

Here is the current and correct care info for your species:

Questions are welcome.
 

Trexant

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The pebbles around the water bowl are a serious impaction risk. Those should be removed ASAP.

What substrate is that? If its orchid bark, it is too wet.

That food bowl is unsuitable for tortoises and likely to land him on his back. Use another terra cotta saucer sunk into the substrate for a food dish.

Your tortoise needs a suitable hide or two, and a much larger enclosure.

Heat mats should not be used for tortoises. They are unsafe.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  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. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
  3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.
You can run more than one CHE to keep ambient temps up, but this is futile and ineffective with an open topped enclosure in a cold room. That is like trying to heat your house in winter with no roof. It just doesn't work.

Here is the current and correct care info for your species:

Questions are welcome.
Hi Tom,

It is Orchid bark, it has just been misted before this photo therefore wet, dries out overnight but the underneath stays damp.

The stones are bigger than Herbert’s head so I don’t understand how this would be a concern for impaction when he couldn’t even fit them in his mouth. As I said, I can’t yet upgrade his enclosure due to space issues in my new place but it’s on the horizon; we do not have a private garden in our house either and I’m not risking him out in the communal garden either.

Thank you for the lighting and heating tips.

I am thinking of upgrading to this vivarium. What’s your thoughts?
 

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merlin's mum

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Hi Tom,

It is Orchid bark, it has just been misted before this photo therefore wet, dries out overnight but the underneath stays damp.

The stones are bigger than Herbert’s head so I don’t understand how this would be a concern for impaction when he couldn’t even fit them in his mouth. As I said, I can’t yet upgrade his enclosure due to space issues in my new place but it’s on the horizon; we do not have a private garden in our house either and I’m not risking him out in the communal garden either.

Thank you for the lighting and heating tips.

I am thinking of upgrading to this vivarium. What’s your thoughts?
I have a heater and a light, light goes off+on with a time switch-the same with the heating, I can turn up or down as needed depending on the general room temp and as it is an old house with an open fire the room is very chilly when fire not alight in winter, xx Merlin does very well, he is now around 20 yrs old
 

wellington

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Heat mats should not be used for tortoises. They are unsafe.

Tom this is very confusing. All kinds of threads where it's okay to use heat mats for tortoises but for dults not babies.
Now you are saying they shouldn't be used for tortoises they are unsafe?
Are they now unsafe for all tortoises or just babies?
 

Tom

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Tom this is very confusing. All kinds of threads where it's okay to use heat mats for tortoises but for dults not babies.
Now you are saying they shouldn't be used for tortoises they are unsafe?
Are they now unsafe for all tortoises or just babies?
This poster is using an indoor reptile stick-on heat pad. Those are not safe. This has nothing to do with the outdoor pig blanket type heat mats for larger tortoise housed outdoors.
 

wellington

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This poster is using an indoor reptile stick-on heat pad. Those are not safe. This has nothing to do with the outdoor pig blanket type heat mats for larger tortoise housed outdoors.
I see, I didn't see where it said it was one of the stick on ones.
Do you recommend using the pig blankets even inside though as long as it's an adult?
 

Trexant

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This poster is using an indoor reptile stick-on heat pad. Those are not safe. This has nothing to do with the outdoor pig blanket type heat mats for larger tortoise housed outdoors.
If you wouldn’t mind, why are they unsafe to use?
 

Tom

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I see, I didn't see where it said it was one of the stick on ones.
Do you recommend using the pig blankets even inside though as long as it's an adult?
I've never used Kane mats for indoor tortoises. I don't house large tortoises indoors, but it seems like it would be useful and safe for some situations.
 

Trexant

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They burn tortoises and go against the tortoise instinct to burrow down into cooler earth when they feel too hot.
Thanks Tom. I’m going to invest in a closed top vivarium before the winter hits and get some new bulbs / heaters.
 
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wellington

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Thanks, I just wanted it cleared that heat mats/kane heat mats/pig blankets are not bad but the kind some use that stick to the bottom or sides of aquariums are the ones not to be used. A lot of people call the good ones heat mats.
 

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