Outdoor hide temp

Clawem

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Finished my outdoor hide all wired up and ready to go. I was wondering at what temp most people keep theirs. It is for a sulcata. The temp I have it set at now is 87 and it has been holding that temp good maybe up or down 1 degree and is heated with an oil heater and small fan to circulate the air. Would this be a good temp for them at night or should it be warmer? Thanks again for everyones input.
 

Yvonne G

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I don't use any artificial heat during good weather. My thinking is - a tortoise thermoregulates. So when he gets hot from the sun he's going to want to go into his hiding place to cool down. If the hiding place is as hot inside as the yard is outside, he's going to start to dig a burrow where he can get cooled off.

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Clawem

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My night temps have been going down into the 50's and 60's at night and my day temp's have been in the 80's.should I just shut the heat off during the day and then have it go at night? I just don't want them to get too cold and sick. Thanks
 

jeasy88

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if you have a thermostat to regulate the heat inside the hide then set it to 80-85 degrees and maybe have it on a timer so it only regulates at night.
 

Abdulla6169

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if you have a thermostat to regulate the heat inside the hide then set it to 80-85 degrees and maybe have it on a timer so it only regulates at night.
Can't he make it like start working when it hits a certain temp. I know it's possible but I don't know how... Lol :)
 

jeasy88

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depends on the thermostat, most of them just maintain a certain temp when turned on, but you would probably want it to be ~75 degrees in the summer so the tort can run to it to cool off. Then only start heating up at night to keep the tort warm. If you have a 90 degree summer temp outside the hide will probably be in the 80s anyways and you wouldn't want the thermostat to come on at all. it really just comes down to monitoring how your setup works and what temps it maintains before you start depend on it.
 

Tom

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Mine and Yvonne's day time highs are MUCH higher than yours this time of year. With no heat at all my boxes stay around 80 at night. I would set your box thermostat for 78-80, and your tortoise can come out and get in the sun for more warmth during the day.
 

Clawem

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So far so good. They have been out for the past week and everything is going good. Cosmo and Wanda have been sleeping in the hide at night now and are let out to roam in their enclosure during the day. Cosmo goes to the farthest point and just walks back and forth stopping once in a while to graze and Wanda goes all over grazing. I still give them extra food if they want including their favorite pellets (zoomed grassland formula). In the evening Wanda already goes in to the hide to sleep by her? self but Cosmo will fall asleep outside until I put him in. Hopefully soon he will get the idea and go in himself. When you put him in he goes right next to Wanda and is out like a light. The hide is like the ones that Tom has made easy to build and works great. Thanks for everyone's help.
 

ZEROPILOT

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My dog house has an infrared bulb hanging in it. It allows my Redfoot to be in the beam, or sleep near or no place near it. I've never taken a temp, but it's likely in the upper 70s on our coldest nights. (Maybe 42 degrees.) In the summer he hangs out in the shade by his water pond. Or in it.
 
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