Night Box Questions

TimR

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
41
Location (City and/or State)
Northern Virginia
I am building a heated Night Box for a 4 year old Burmese Brown Mountain Tortoise and a full grown Yellow Foot Tortoise (15 lbs).
The box will be 48" x 36" and 24" high and insulated with 1.5" ridged foam (bottom, sides & top).
The box will be divided and have separate size specific entrances.

1. I plan to use 2 Kane Heat Mats
2. Should I use a portable oil filled radiator or radiant heat panel?
a. If the oil filled radiator, what size is best for this size enclosure?
b. If the radiant heat panel, what size and is it best to mount on the wall or ceiling of the enclosure?
3. What should I use as the substrate?
4. Are there any WiFi or Bluetooth temperature monitors that will send a notification if the temperature drops?

Thanks for any help.
Tim
 

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Messages
4,666
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, VA
Look up Tom night box thread. He uses a mini oil filled radiator that he boxes off to not allow physical contact. Some dude also added gas struts to aid in opening. Good luck
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I THINK, but I've been unable to find specs on the RHPs, that the RHPs use less electricity than the pig blankets use. I'm switching out all my pig blankets to RHPs.
 

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 am building a heated Night Box for a 4 year old Burmese Brown Mountain Tortoise and a full grown Yellow Foot Tortoise (15 lbs).
The box will be 48" x 36" and 24" high and insulated with 1.5" ridged foam (bottom, sides & top).
The box will be divided and have separate size specific entrances.

1. I plan to use 2 Kane Heat Mats
2. Should I use a portable oil filled radiator or radiant heat panel?
a. If the oil filled radiator, what size is best for this size enclosure?
b. If the radiant heat panel, what size and is it best to mount on the wall or ceiling of the enclosure?
3. What should I use as the substrate?
4. Are there any WiFi or Bluetooth temperature monitors that will send a notification if the temperature drops?

Thanks for any help.
Tim
Where are you Tim? If you go to your user cp, you can put this info in your profile and we won't have to ask every time. Different advice for different parts of the world.

Second thing is that tortoises should never live as pairs.

Third thing is, species should never be mixed, especially not from different continents.

I'd make the box 48x48" more room for them to move inside and get off the heat, but still be in the warmer air.

For heat in a box that size, I'd go with an 80 watt RHP over head and an 18x28" Kane mat on the floor. Wall mounts are too close, and in the case of an RHP, you don't want them touching it.

There are two sizes of radiant oil-filled heaters. Regular size and mini. I only use minis for tortoise night boxes. I think your box is a bit small for either. I've used oil heaters on 4x4' boxes, but even then I found a little skinny type that only uses 400 wats instead of the usual 700.
 

TimR

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
41
Location (City and/or State)
Northern Virginia
Thanks, I have been reading up on many of the previous threads, especially Tom's.

I'm in Northern Virginia. I have had the Burmese Brown Mountain tortoise from a hatchling 4 years ago. Our backyard is fenced and the BBM spends the summers in the backyard and the winters in the basement, in an enclosure under the stairs. The Yellowfoot tortoise is a rescue from someone locally who could no longer take care of her.

Per suggestions, I am going to use a Kane heat mat on each side of the enclosure and an overhead mounted Radiant Heat Panel. I'm just wanting to give them a heat box to help extend their time outside before I have to bring them in.

Thanks,
Tim
 

TimR

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
41
Location (City and/or State)
Northern Virginia
So, I finished my heated shed too late in the fall to put it to use. It's fully insulated with a Radiant Heat Panel on the underside of the lid and a Kane Heat Mat on the floor.

I finally put the BBM and YF out last week. The Yellowfoot figured out the heated shed and would return to it every evening. The Burmese Brown Mountain Tortoise didn't pay any attention to it. He ended up under the tool shed in the back of the yard and was a pain in the *** to get out before the weather went cold again.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2457.jpg
    IMG_2457.jpg
    629 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_2573.jpg
    IMG_2573.jpg
    621.2 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_2462.jpg
    IMG_2462.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 27

TimR

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
41
Location (City and/or State)
Northern Virginia
The tortoise sharing their night box with some eastern box turtles.

The box has a divider, with a small door and a larger door.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4211.jpg
    IMG_4211.jpg
    610.5 KB · Views: 14

TimR

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
41
Location (City and/or State)
Northern Virginia
The Tortoises are back inside, in their 'under the stair' enclosure in the furnace room for the winter.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4967 (1).jpg
    IMG_4967 (1).jpg
    635.3 KB · Views: 15
  • IMG_4968 (1).jpg
    IMG_4968 (1).jpg
    605.1 KB · Views: 15
Top