Long story short we are going out of town for a week over Christmas and I want to make it as easy as possible for our pet sitter to care for our hatchling. I worry mostly that he might turn off the MVB and forget to turn on the CHE at night, or think he did and not realize because there's no indication. I was considering getting a heat mat to stay on at all times so he only has to turn the day light on and off. Is a heat mat okay for babies? There would be approx 1.5in of coir and he never burrows in the area I'd put it. It's a 55gal wide tank with 7/8ths enclosed at the top.
Heat mat for baby
- Thread starter legan52
- Start date
Put the lights on a timer.
Put the CHE on a thermostat set to 80F - it will only come on when it's cold (at night) so you can leave it plugged in 24/7 with a thermostat.
Forget the heat mat.
PS Enjoy your trip
Put the CHE on a thermostat set to 80F - it will only come on when it's cold (at night) so you can leave it plugged in 24/7 with a thermostat.
Forget the heat mat.
PS Enjoy your trip
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I don't believe in heat mats or baby tortoises. They don't seem to realize that they can move off of them if it becomes too hot. I totally agree with Joesmum's advice.
Me too!
Joe's Mum hit all the right chords here. Timer for MVB, thermostat for CHE, no neat mats.
Put the lights on a timer.
Put the CHE on a thermostat set to 80F - it will only come on when it's cold (at night) so you can leave it plugged in 24/7 with a thermostat.
Forget the heat mat.
PS Enjoy your trip
Thanks for the info! I've had bad luck with timers in the past but maybe I've just gotten bum ones. I'll give it another go.
Just out of curiosity, I've already added the other stuff to my amazon cart, but is that the only reason why those shouldn't be used? Even if they don't heat up beyond 90 or so, for example, is it bad to have the heat coming from below?
There are reports of vivariums shattering with heat mats in them.
The other problem is the humidity of a tortoise enclosure. Dampness and electricity make shocking company - literally.
That's good to know, I never considered it in that way and had never heard of shattering issues. We had a friend who had given us a mat she never used, but I'd much rather play it safe!
