Tortoise table size

[donatello_raphael]

I'm building a tortoise table to fill a space around 1.3x1metre. Is there a maximum size you should build tortoise tables?

It's not such the size I'm worried about its more the heating, I don't want my torts to fall asleep in the cool end and catch a cold because I don't have a heat source where they're snoozing (for those cold nights, not such an issue at the moment)

I'm planning on having a basking lamp controlled by a dimming stat for the basking spot and uv tube the same end of the table for their uv rays.

Do I need to consider any heating for the night? It will be an indoor tort table...

 

[JoesMum]

How big are your torts? To be honest, a table that size won't last long. You have to assume that you will need more space. Once they get to 10-15 cm long, it can be quite considerable.

 

[Redstrike]

Generally, there's no maximum size, the larger the enclosure, the better!

If we knew the species of tortoise you are keeping it may help answer your above questions, but I'll tell you what has worked for me.

I have two redfoot yearlings so I keep the cool end around 27ºC and the warm end at ~32ºC. This is fairly simple in the summer, but in the winter I have to run ceramic heat emitters of different wattages on either end. The cool end receives a 60-watt while the warm end receives a 100-watt emitter. Both are hooked up to a thermostat. During the summer I can usually unhook the 60-watt CHE on the cool end. I'll also say that the CHE's rarely run when the basking bulb is on during the summer. So you may consider CHE's for night-time heating (again, depends on the species of tortoise, I know Russians do well with a nightly cool-down).

I'm not sure what a dimming stat is, but hooking up an on-off thermostat to a bulb is generally not a good idea. It's best to hook it up to a timer and let it run for 10-12 hours, adjusting the height for the desired temperature(s). Let this heat the enclosure during daylight hours and the CHE's (on a dimmer switch/rheostat or thermostat) can kick in at night. Having a bulb turn on and off will decrease its life and is pretty unnatural for the tortoises. I'm assuming this is what you mean?

 

[donatello_raphael]

Hi thanks for your replies.

The torts are hermanns and probably around 6-7cm. The dimming stat dims the bulb rather than turning it on and off pretty much the same as a light dimmer switch works?

I have a ceramic heater (100watt) ATM with an on off stat that I will probably reserve for winter / cold night use. But I doubt that will be enough to heat the enclosure considering it's size?

27degC for the cool area seems quite hot? Is that just for that species of tortoise? I get around 22-24 deg cool end with the current setup, 32 basking spot. I have the night heater set to 15 but I don't think it ever comes on as the house is quite warm at the moment.
Hopefully they will be living outside for the summer, possibly coming in at night.

 

[Redstrike]

Hi thanks for your replies.

The torts are hermanns and probably around 6-7cm. The dimming stat dims the bulb rather than turning it on and off pretty much the same as a light dimmer switch works?

I have a ceramic heater (100watt) ATM with an on off stat that I will probably reserve for winter / cold night use. But I doubt that will be enough to heat the enclosure considering it's size?

27degC for the cool area seems quite hot? Is that just for that species of tortoise? I get around 22-24 deg cool end with the current setup, 32 basking spot. I have the night heater set to 15 but I don't think it ever comes on as the house is quite warm at the moment.
Hopefully they will be living outside for the summer, possibly coming in at night.

Yea, 27ºC works well for redfoots, but I would bump it down for hermanns. I have no experience with dimmers and lights, but if it's working for you, then I say it's great!

 

[Jacob]

The bigger you can make it the better it is, so you wont have to upscale later down the road, as much.
What kinna tortoise do you have, and how big is it?
How big are you thinking of make the enclosure?