Tortoise enclosure area

TaylorTortoise

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Hello ALL!
I know I post on here a lot, So does anybody know a good way to help with keeping a room temperature's humidity lower from the basking bulbs? The room my tortoise is in makes the room hot when walking in. Is there a way we can prevent humidity from escaping the enclosure so much? Random, curious question. (NOT the biggest deal, JUST curious)

THANKS ALL!!
 

TaylorTortoise

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What kind of an enclosure is it? Any pictures?
An open top garden table turned into a tortoise enclosure. Raised garden bed table enclosure. With two lights over a reptile screen for a reptile cage on the basking side. But it heats the entire room! Any ways to make the room feel bareable when walking in? Such as using plexiglass ontop of the open areas to minimize room humidity? I have a hatchling joining the area in another garden table. Im hoping with the air on in the summer it should help. But you can feel the difference when you enter.
 

Chubbs the tegu

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Definitely closing the top would help. With it being a garden table type tho , ubprob dont have enough height to have the heat lamps hanging inside the closed top. Maybe a mini greenhouse topper would work if u could find the right size
 

Tom

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Tom, How do I make a closed chamber using the raised garden tables I have? Is it possible?
The green houses like what Chubbs showed you is one way, though I have no experience doing it that way. Not sure how well it would solve your problem because the thin plastic might not insulate very well.

I buy closed chambers made from sheets of expanded PCV. These are impervious to rot, and they hold in heat and humidity very well. With these enclosures you end up using a fraction of the electricity to maintain the correct temps compared to an open topped enclosure. This alone means you are heating up the room less. Containing the heat you generate inside the enclosure whee you want it, heats up the room even less. So you burn a quarter of the electricity, and that heat is contained inside the enclosure.

Open tables allow all the heat and humidity to escape up and into the room. The usual problem is that it becomes difficult and desiccating to maintain warm temps inside the enclosure this way, but the other problem is that you end up heating up the entire room because all that heat your generate for the tortoise enclosure just floats up into the room.
 

TaylorTortoise

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The green houses like what Chubbs showed you is one way, though I have no experience doing it that way. Not sure how well it would solve your problem because the thin plastic might not insulate very well.

I buy closed chambers made from sheets of expanded PCV. These are impervious to rot, and they hold in heat and humidity very well. With these enclosures you end up using a fraction of the electricity to maintain the correct temps compared to an open topped enclosure. This alone means you are heating up the room less. Containing the heat you generate inside the enclosure whee you want it, heats up the room even less. So you burn a quarter of the electricity, and that heat is contained inside the enclosure.

Open tables allow all the heat and humidity to escape up and into the room. The usual problem is that it becomes difficult and desiccating to maintain warm temps inside the enclosure this way, but the other problem is that you end up heating up the entire room because all that heat your generate for the tortoise enclosure just floats up into the room.
would sheets of plexi glass over the cage help hold in humidity/heat?
Can you post pictures of your PCV closed chamber enclosures so I can get an idea on how to make a closed chamber?
 

Tom

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would sheets of plexi glass over the cage help hold in humidity/heat?
Can you post pictures of your PCV closed chamber enclosures so I can get an idea on how to make a closed chamber?
 

TaylorTortoise

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THANKS TOM
Might consider this type of enclosure for the future, I have a Russian tortoise (clearly in my pic) and I have a Western Hermanns on the way.
Do closed chambers work for these type of species? ALSO, would plexi glass over an open top help as well with humidity and keeping humidity from rising in the room?
 

Chubbs the tegu

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The prob with plexi is the heat and humidity will warp it and its gonna bow like crazy
 

MarginatedMooney

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I have a screen-top enclosure that I covered with plexiglass and it has helped dramatically with keeping heat and humidity in. I cut holes in the plexi for my heat lamp and CHE which sit on top. I've noticed there is a chimney effect and I'm still losing some heat and humidity. It's way better than an open top but not as efficient as a PVC closed chamber would be, or covering the enclosure with a greenhouse. Also, I feel like I'm probably having to work harder to keep my humidity up than I would for a true closed chamber.

From what I've learned here on the forum, PVC closed chambers are really the way to go and I plan on making one fairly soon. Yes, they also work well for Western Hermann's. I believe they work well for all species when they're babies at least.
 

Mrs.Jennifer

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I have a screen-top enclosure that I covered with plexiglass and it has helped dramatically with keeping heat and humidity in. I cut holes in the plexi for my heat lamp and CHE which sit on top. I've noticed there is a chimney effect and I'm still losing some heat and humidity. It's way better than an open top but not as efficient as a PVC closed chamber would be, or covering the enclosure with a greenhouse. Also, I feel like I'm probably having to work harder to keep my humidity up than I would for a true closed chamber.

From what I've learned here on the forum, PVC closed chambers are really the way to go and I plan on making one fairly soon. Yes, they also work well for Western Hermann's. I believe they work well for all species when they're babies at least.
This past year, my husband and I built a PVC closed chamber and it was life-changing for both my Russian tortoise and me. We live in Connecticut and it was always a huge effort to keep the temperature and humidity up during the winter in our 210 year old house. I had been running an electric heater and whole room humidifier in his room for years. With a closed chamber, I could set everything on a thermostat and timer and not have daily maintenance. Our electricity bill was a lot less too! I can’t recommend a PVC chamber enough.
 

TaylorTortoise

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This past year, my husband and I built a PVC closed chamber and it was life-changing for both my Russian tortoise and me. We live in Connecticut and it was always a huge effort to keep the temperature and humidity up during the winter in our 210 year old house. I had been running an electric heater and whole room humidifier in his room for years. With a closed chamber, I could set everything on a thermostat and timer and not have daily maintenance. Our electricity bill was a lot less too! I can’t recommend a PVC chamber enough.
Can I see pictures of your set up? How does it help with the electric bill?
I am trying to figure out a set up for the PVC closed chamber
 

1wildtiger

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Here’s some pics of my closed chamber enclosures that I recently got from @Markw84 . I had a table top before with a greenhouse cover on it and was better than no top at all but these closed chambers are amazing at keeping heat and humidity in and the torts happy!! Best purchase I’ve ever made!! ?❤️?
 

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Mrs.Jennifer

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Can I see pictures of your set up? How does it help with the electric bill?
I am trying to figure out a set up for the PVC closed
Can I see pictures of your set up? How does it help with the electric bill?
I am trying to figure out a set up for the PVC closed chamber
We basically followed this tutorial that was posted. It was so thorough! I save on the electricity bill because I don’t have to heat and humidify an entire room because of having an open top. The closed chamber is more energy efficient.

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/building-your-own-expanded-pvc-enclosed-chamber-–-for-beginners.159220/
 

TaylorTortoise

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We basically followed this tutorial that was posted. It was so thorough! I save on the electricity bill because I don’t have to heat and humidify an entire room because of having an open top. The closed chamber is more energy efficient.

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/building-your-own-expanded-pvc-enclosed-chamber-–-for-beginners.159220/
I dont heat or humidify my current room my tortoise is in. We have a humidifier built in and room temps are always around 69-70.
 

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