Should I or not??

[Nay]

Bet most of you thought this would be a 'should I get a new tort?' Well nope it's about using a heat pad. I know some of you use a 'pig blanket' Maggie for sure and not sure if this would be on the same lines?

This is Jack, emerging from over a week of cold rainy weather

The rain started and I was tempted to bring all of them in, I only brought in my little Nougat,(who I still trying to sell!)My hubby was like, oh it never rains in South America right? I did go check on them and all three were buried in deep, I have the bottom of this house as another shelter. They seems none the worse for wear, but none of them ate in 5 days.
So my question, I found this at a tag sale..

We use them at work for recovering dogs and cats. I am not sure if it would be OK to put out, under the dog house, (there is no bottom on the dog house) and they burrow in. Has anyone tried this? It still gets pretty cool, maybe 50's at night at times. But do I put stuff on top, or I have seen Maggies, kinda just on the ground..Not sure, I turned it on and it dosen't feel too hot. I am not even sure if they will go on it with out alot of hay on it...Then they can't burrow, so am I making things worse?
My dilemma.. Any thoughts?
Thanks so much Nay

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I have never used an outdoor heating system for tortoises, but as long as you're sure there is no risk of electrocution, I would use it, since you live in Massachusetts. I have been to South America (the Venezuelan Llanos) and encountered a redfoot in the wild. There they are found in forests and savannas, where the dry season lasts from November to April, and then the rainy season from April to November. Redfoots are well adapted to handling both seasons, but remember that in the tropics, seasons have differing levels of precipitation, but not very different temperatures. Year round, the temperature is going to range from the 60's to the 90's. Redfoots are somewhat cold tolerant, and can survive temperatures in the 50's, but under those conditions they might develop pneumonia. I would keep them warm.

 

[Tom]

I don't recognize that brand of pad, but with the Kane heat mats, you are not supposed to have any kind of bedding on the top of the mat. All of his new mats have an embedded thermostat and cannot overheat. I believe Maggie and Yvonne use the Stansfield brand and they buy the thermostat to go with it too.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Yes, I use Stansfield brand and I use a thermostat with it so I always know just how hot it is. And the directions say not to have anything like hay or a substrate on top of it. Bob loves his and sleeps on it every night. His is 5 years old and still works fine even after Sulcata pee on it...I would never use one without a thermostat...

 

[Nay]

I can't seem to find a brand, but I wonder what this means"After winter season"? Does this look familiar?

Maybe I'll plug in for a day and see if they go on it..Thanks for the opinions.

Nay

 

[lynnedit]

I wonder if you could attach it to the side of the enclosure to just heat up the area, that way you would not have to worry about dirt getting on it.
Or, could you put a thick piece of wood on one end of the enclosure, a bit above the dirt, with the mat on it, so they have the option of going on the mat or digging in the earth. That way it would still throw off some heat.
You could put some plastic runner with strips cut over the door to help hold in the heat?
Sounds like a good idea to run it for several hours to see what it does.
If it works ok, you could get a thermostat on line that works with heat mats.

 

[african cake queen]

hello there! i dont know about heater but maggie sure is a gem! cute.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

If you are talking about me...or Bob...his pig blanket is not outside on the ground. His is in his sleeping box inside a 20'X12' heated and insulated shed. I don't think I would use a mat like that outside on the ground without a regulator. How will you know just how hot it is? How will you keep it from burning the tortoises.
I think if those were my animals, I would set them up in a more protected way with dry heat at night. I wouldn't let any of my tortoises stay outside in a 50 degree night. To MY way of thinking that's just too cold. They need to be set up better. You can buy a large dogloo and hang a heat light to keep them warm at night. I have a friend who just hangs a black light bulb thru a hole in the top. They stay warm and dry that way. He has several Leopard and Sulcata tortoises and he has a couple of large dogloo's with a black light bulb hanging in them and his tortoises all go in at night and 'cuddle' together. They are kept warm and dry and it's an inexpensive way to keep them. I would do that rather then use an unregulated heat mat...but I also don't know anything about the mat you are planning on using. I am just giving you my opinion...

 

[Laura]

If you use the mat, it needs a thermostat.. and you also need to offer the tort or any animal, the option of being on it, or off.
I also use the Stanfield. Its made for pigs, so very durable. No bedding. Its in a dog house type thing.. on rubber mats.
www.osborne-industries.com or something close to that.. best prices...

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I'm glad Laura reminded me...they need enough room to be able to get off the mat too. Bob's sleeping box is big enough for him to move off the mat to thermoregulate

 

[dmmj]

hello there! i dont know about heater but maggie sure is a gem! cute.

We all think maggie is cute we just don't say it, because we don't want to embarrass her. Bob is also included.

 

[Yvonne G]

hello there! i dont know about heater but maggie sure is a gem! cute.

I believe Nay's tortoise's name is "Jack," not Maggie! LOL!!

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Hi Nay:

The label is telling you not to keep the heat pad in use after the cold weather is over. They want you to store it safely indoors until next season's use.