Temperature of Tortoise

[ckromulus]

I just purchased a new directional 12:1 spot ratio infrared thermometer so that I can accurately measure the temperature of the substrate under the basking lamp and in the cooler areas... the SUBSTRATE (in the hide) directly under the basking lamp is about 115 degrees (75 watt bulb 12 inches away) and the tortoise who was just about under it but off to the side...his shell was at about 95-97 degrees.... the area of the hide without the basking lamp is 97-100 Is this all acceptable? What should the actual temperature of the tortoise be? As a comparison in terms of the 115 degrees... it is about 80 here today and the substrate outside of the hide 97-100.

In the Hide:
Under 75 W (@ 12 inches) lamp substrate is : 115-120 F
Not under lamp: 97-100 F

tortoise shell: 97-99F
tortoise head: 92-95F

Outside:
Substrate in sun : 100-102F

Outside water dish: 87-92 F

Is this all good?
Thanks in advance guys and girls

 

[ascott]

Does your tortoise ever go into the hide and rest there? I would imagine that if you moved the hide a little out from under the lamp until you get a read of about 80 your tort will have then a cooling off spot but can then go back to the basking spot to charge up when he needs to...a cooler and a hot spot...you know?

Also I believe the ambient temp should not be that high (97-100) if I am understanding correctly? Should be closer to 88-90 ish....if I am understanding incorrectly I apologize...

Wait round a bit for the sullie pros to share their input...

 

[ckromulus]

Does your tortoise ever go into the hide and rest there? I would imagine that if you moved the hide a little out from under the lamp until you get a read of about 80 your tort will have then a cooling off spot but can then go back to the basking spot to charge up when he needs to...a cooler and a hot spot...you know?

Also I believe the ambient temp should not be that high (97-100) if I am understanding correctly? Should be closer to 88-90 ish....if I am understanding incorrectly I apologize...

Wait round a bit for the sullie pros to share their input...

I wrote hide but meant to say inside the 70 gallon deckbox... The light is on one side with nothing on the other

 

[ascott]

Lol and so do you mean an outdoor deckbox as his outdoor house?

 

[tortuga_please]

100 not under the lamp sounds high to me personally

 

[ascott]

Ok..so I went and read prior post....caught up now apologies here....

I would think that the temps in the hide are way to high...and you said the heat bulb is 12" away from the tort...I would be concerned that he will be overheated pretty quickly....where abouts in the world are you? So we can get an idea of your weather where you are......

 

[ckromulus]

I'm in central Florida...yes it's his outdoor deck box he sleeps in at night... He doesn't have to be in there but he seems to enjoy it.... It all seems kind of high to me too but again this is the temperature of the surfaces during mid day I went and bought a regular thermometer and put it in last night...after about An hour I went back out and checked it and it was at 75F with the light on on the hot side...I will check tomorrow during the dAy to see what the ambient temperature is when the sun is out...it's only a 75W basking lamp I suppose that I could go with a 50W but that seems low to me....again it is not as if he is stuck in the deckbox it's 80 outside but he seems to enjoy the deck box so I'm a little confused...thanks for your patience w my horrible explanations

 

[mary t]

Is the deck box outside a place he can get in and out of or is the whole thing his habitat? Where in central Florida? How big are your sullies? Sorry if you answered these questions already but I'm Internet is running a little slow...

 

[ckromulus]

He can come and go out of the deckbox as he pleases he has a 14 ft by 12 ft habitat that the deckbox is in... Right now I have half of it blocked off as I have sowed sulcata food seed on the other half and am waiting for it to grow. The humdity in the deckbox is about 70-80% an there is a 1 inch layer of dirt covered with 2-3 inches of cypress mulch in there. He is about 1 yr old and I am waiting for my scale to come
in the mail to weigh him. He seems to be a typical sized 1 yr old. He seems healthy. But he spends most of his time in the deckbox by choice. The first two days I got him he just bombed around the enclosure non stop but now he is just kinda chillin comes out of the deckbox but only when it's sunny

---

...and I am just south of daytona. I just want to make sure I am taking good care of him

 

[mary t]

You'll get great info here... Since I put mine out she has days that are wet or chilly by our standards and she stays inside too. When Willie does that for a day or two, I'll take her out and let her explore the whole backyard that sometimes helps her find special foods... And treats. I also keep my inside shed about 80 that way it's not to much warmer than the outside. I know as a Floridian when the weather dips below 80 I would rather stay inside.lol..

 

[ckromulus]

Ok thanks for the advice...I will take him out for a romp around the yard tomorrow of he does not poke his head out...it was about 80 in there all day today...I think the other day when I got the high temps it's was about 80 humid and 3pm so w the light on it got a bit hot in there . I will have to keep an eye on that thanks again