Warmth from Substrate?

[Oxalis]

Regarding the "Why does my Russian tortoise stay buried?" thread, I'm still mastering the combination of light duration, intensity, and temperature for my little dude. So now I'm wondering if maybe the ground/substrate of his tortoise table needs to be a little warmer (especially in the winter), since it sits off the floor. The lights seem to give off plenty of warmth (on a timer) but the substrate still feels a bit cool. I assume in the wild, the tortoise would derive some heat from the ground. Is there a good product that can help with this? Obviously I'm worried about the underside getting too hot since it's wood, so I was thinking of one of those heated basking rocks? (LLL Reptile's website was a bit tough to navigate for me.) Or maybe simply a space heater? Feedback welcome!!!

Here is my enclosure if you'd like to look: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/steves-new-enclosure-the-first-one-ive-built.80648/

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

That looks like it has legs? My russian's table has legs, and he's in a room where is stays relatively warm, so I've never had issue with substrate warmth? Those heated rocks are nono's. They get wayyyy too hot, and can burn reptiles. They don't monitor temperature either, and are real health hazards for a lot of animals!
I think it was @Yvonne G who had these seeding mats you could get that got nice and toasty, but I can't remember if they were on wood or not.
I think in the wild, at night, the ground would be cold, because the as the air cooled off, the heat would rise and the dirt would get a little chilly.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Tortoises are designed to heat at the shell, as in sunlight from above. Not from their bodies. I think that is what the experts will say and it makes sense. I, however have a 15 watt "heat rope" taped onto half of the bottom of my closed chamber indoors enclosure. These ropes get warm, but not hot and will transfer the warmth through wood, through substrate, etc. the result isn't really a warm spot, but a warmer enclosure with a cooler section. The heat radiates and I've had great success. Heat ropes are also very cheap. The light is a flourescent 5.0 UVB that only provides a minimal amount of heat and does not burn off my humidity.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Where did you get that? Maybe be toasty for future reptiles?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I bought it online from Petco online. I use the 15 watt. It is 11 feet long but only 5' of it is heat and the rest is just electric cord. Once you coil it on the bottom, that 5' isn't very much. If you Google heat ropes there are several. I think mine was zoo med?

 

[Oxalis]

Ooo the rope sounds like a good idea so I'll have to look into that. I do remember now that the plug-in rocks are dangerous... One suggestion my boyfriend had were the infrared bulbs. Do those work well too? However, he seems to be more active now that I have lowered the lamp a few centimeters! Thanks for the input!!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In my opinion, bulbs used to heat an enclosure will also greatly diminish the level of humidity. The lighting inside my closed chamber is strictly for UVB. The way that mine is set up, I keep temps of about 81-82 degrees 24/7 and humidity at over 85%. My little tortoise does also spend a few hours out doors as well.