Question about the heat wave...

[Yoda]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on how to regulate the temp with the heat being as bad as it is... I have changed Yoda's home to a mesh sided enclosure so that he is not cooking inside of an aquarium. But I still have a problem keeping his temp between 85 and 90. As a temporary fix, I have been turning his light on and off throughout the day as I see the temp getting too high, but I worry that this may not be good for him to not have his lighting on schedule as normal. Anybody have any ideas?

 

[Crazy1]

My crystal ball says your in oceanside is this correct? How hot has it been? I live inland in San Bernardino and the temps have been hitting about 106-110 this week and look like it may continue for several more days. I have my hatchlings under MVB lamps so turning these on during the day inside my house which has no air conditioning I'm afraid would roast my hatchlings so what I do is turn on the overhead regular room light. (if you can't leave a regular room light on place a regular bulb in his light fixture and raise it so that it does not raise the temp in his enclosure. Then I take them outside when I get home for some sun time. for at least 30 min. or more a day. This gives them the UVB they need. (remember UV rays are greatly deminished if passing through screen). My house temps stay between 88-98 now that I just had my roof re-insulated. (Use to get up to 106 F) Which is fine for the hatchlings. I just make sure they keep well hydrated by spraying their greens, always having clean water for them to soak in and drink and soaking them for about 10-15 minutes daily. And I watch to make sure they drink. I also watch all my torts during high temps for heat distress like open mouth breathing or panting.

 

[Yvonne G]

I bought small tubing and misting emitters from Lowe's then set it up in all my tortoise pens. I have it strung up above ground so the mist falls down. It really works to cool down the air by several degrees.

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

Great Idea Yvonne. Now I'll have to get to work.

 

[tortoisenerd]

When our house gets to hot (got us it's more than the cool side of the enclosure is too wam, then overall the enclosure is too warm) I do the following for my tort: turn off his MVB, turn on a house light high above the enclosure, and make sure he's hydrated. He can go a day or two without the UVB, and typically we'll only need to turn it off in the hottest part of the day after he's basked a bit. I usually don't have time to take him out and watch him. Lots of options. The best you can do is plan and be cautious.

 

[Yoda]

Thank you everyone. I didnt know that the "UV rays are greatly deminished if passing through screen". It seems like when I finally get one issue resolved, I somehow create a new one. LOL Oh well, thank you for all of your input. Great information!

 

[Crazy1]

Yoda you are not the only one. I seem to have that gift too. Get it fixed something else is wrong.