Sleeping outside her hide??

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Destiny

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I only had a one 160W UVA/UVB/Heat light in her Tort table and got some advice to add the CHE light to help with the humidity and heat. Well tonight she was all over the place doing laps, not sure what that was about. Well I put the CHE behind her hide and instead of sleeping in her hide she is sleeping directly underneath the CHE. I'm assuming this means the heat is not getting to through the hide to warm the inside?

I am going to build her outdoor enclosure this weekend so I will be building the hide that Yvonne has with the place for the CHE inside the hide for the times when it gets cold. Should I also get a pig blanket? I am making her enclosure under my screened in patio... I feel safer that way. So I will be able to put the pig blanket without worry of water getting to it. I feel if I make it in the yard I'll never be able to work for worry of something happening to her! I'd like to put down some sod also, will that be okay?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Destiny said:
I only had a one 160W light in her Tort table and got some advice to add the CHE light to help with the humidity and heat. Well tonight she was all over the place doing laps, not sure what that was about. Well I put the CHE behind her hide and instead of sleeping in her hide she is sleeping directly underneath the CHE. I'm assuming this means the heat is not getting to through the hide to warm the inside?

I am going to build her outdoor enclosure this weekend so I will be building the hide that Yvonne has with the place for the CHE inside the hide for the times when it gets cold. Should I also get a pig blanket? I am making her enclosure under my screened in patio... I feel safer that way. So I will be able to put the pig blanket without worry of water getting to it. I feel if I make it in the yard I'll never be able to work for worry of something happening to her! I'd like to put down some sod also, will that be okay?


I don't think sod will be good for her. It is full of weedacides and fertilizers and growth hormones and other stuff that could make tortoises sick. It's is also my understanding that the sod has a plastic backing or some sort of backing that isn't good for tortoises.
I really just wanted to say that a pig blanket is protected and rain won't hurt it at all. A large tortoise pees on it and believe me they put out a lot of water...so water won't hurt it. They are hard plastic/rubber and really last a long time...
 

Destiny

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maggie3fan said:
Destiny said:
I only had a one 160W light in her Tort table and got some advice to add the CHE light to help with the humidity and heat. Well tonight she was all over the place doing laps, not sure what that was about. Well I put the CHE behind her hide and instead of sleeping in her hide she is sleeping directly underneath the CHE. I'm assuming this means the heat is not getting to through the hide to warm the inside?

I am going to build her outdoor enclosure this weekend so I will be building the hide that Yvonne has with the place for the CHE inside the hide for the times when it gets cold. Should I also get a pig blanket? I am making her enclosure under my screened in patio... I feel safer that way. So I will be able to put the pig blanket without worry of water getting to it. I feel if I make it in the yard I'll never be able to work for worry of something happening to her! I'd like to put down some sod also, will that be okay?


I don't think sod will be good for her. It is full of weedacides and fertilizers and growth hormones and other stuff that could make tortoises sick. It's is also my understanding that the sod has a plastic backing or some sort of backing that isn't good for tortoises.
I really just wanted to say that a pig blanket is protected and rain won't hurt it at all. A large tortoise pees on it and believe me they put out a lot of water...so water won't hurt it. They are hard plastic/rubber and really last a long time...

Okay so no sod, I will use the substrate I am using now then. This may be a stupid question but could I find a healthy form of "grass" to use for part of her enclosure?
 

Stephanie Logan

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Webskipper bought some dichondra sod from a nursery, and put it in his Greeks' pen for them to munch on, then when one gets eaten down he switches it out for another one and lets the first one rest and recover: http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-11774.html

You could probably try out an idea like this one for Eleanor, only on a bigger scale. :p
 

Redfoot NERD

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If she is making laps and 'behind' the hide under the heat-emitter that means she was looking for someplace safe and secure to hide in away from all of the light... and she was trying to get warmer!

How can I say this again without being misunderstood or hurting your feelings? "You have a WC yellowfoot tortoise that has spent the past 10-12 years in the rain-forest of Brazil -- quite warm, very humid and dimly lit. 160 watt light has/had her stressed.

Have you read this? - http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/trophab.html

Living in FL humidity is not as much an issue with you as is the lighting.. which is why the patio enclosure is the best choice! Remember yellowfoot tortoises are "Forest tortoises"!

This is not difficult once you get a handle on how to provide the best needs.. by understanding where your particular species comes from FIRST...

Terry K
 
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