Heat questions for new out door rnclosure

[Kristen A]

Yesterday was my sulcata cirby's first day in her new enclosure out doors. See the picture.She has a great 4x4 house that is insulated on all sides with electrical.It has shaded, screened windows(no glass) for air circulation. I have heating questions.
I installed a Krane heating mat and a ceramic heater. I have been watching the inside temp and with all heat off it gets to 95 degrees in the day and stays that way till about 10 pm. It is down to the 60s in the AM. Is that too hot or cold? She has shown me she can get in and out. I got a heat regulator from Zilla but haven't played with it. Any suggestions?

 

[Millerlite]

As long as he can get out of the sun and into some shade when it's 95 and has a place he can sleep and not lose so much heat at night the temps to me sound fine. Also make sure there is water available if he decides to get thirsty

 

[Kristen A]

As long as he can get out of the sun and into some shade when it's 95 and has a place he can sleep and not lose so much heat at night the temps to me sound fine. Also make sure there is water available if he decides to get thirsty

So you think 95 in the house is OK if he is in the shade? The air stays pretty fresh with the side vents.

 

[wellington]

How old and large is your tort? Older torts can handle lower temps then young ones. Also, you do need to put water in for him. A container large enough for him to get into and soak if he wants.

 

[sibi]

The house registers at 95 degrees even as it sits in the shade? What I'd be concerned with is that there is no cool spot (80-85 degrees) for him to go to if he wants to get cooled down. What might happen is that he'll start to dig or burrow to get cooler. Also, night temps at 60 degrees is too cold unless there's a heated pad under him. He looks like he's over one year old, am I right? He probably isn't use to cold temps, Right? Well, I would make his window to be closed tight at night so that the heat will stay in and keep the cooler temps at night out. Don't forget to either build a shallow pond for soaking, or get something that he can fit into for soaking. I'm making a shallow pond with cement. All you have to do is dig a shallow hole in the ground, shape it out with your hands, pour wet cement into it, shape it out with your hands, let it dry, then rinse the cement out tbroughly about 3 times before filling it with water. If you want, when you dig the hole, arrange to put a PVC piping to drain out the water into the ground. If you do that, don't forget to buy a drain plate and plug at Home Depot. That way, when the water has to be changed, all you have to do is pull the plug out.

 

[Tom]

It serves no purpose to insulate and then have vents on the sides. You say windows, but no glass? So it's just open all the time? I would close those vents. There are no vents in an underground burrow. They will only serve to let your warm air out on a cold night.

95 is fine right now, but how hot will it get in summer? You might need more roof insulation or you may need to hang some strong shade cloth over it. When the house is 95, is there a cool area for her to go to? Think in terms of a 105 degree summer day. Where will your tortoise go to cool off?

Use your thermostat. It will help maintain the correct temps around the clock. When the house gets too warm in the full sun, the thermostat will simply shut down your electrical appliances. I like 80 degrees for this time of year. Once it starts to get really hot in another month or two, I turn it down to 70ish for young ones, so that it doesn't get too cool at night. I unplug my adult's box in summer.

I like your enclosure. That should last another year or two.

 

[Kristen A]

Hi,
Thank you so much for all the great info.
Cirby will be 5 in June. I got a ceramic dish that I am planning to set in the ground for her to soak in. This will give me the option to move it to another location if I need to. but I sure like the idea of the PVC to drain the water.
The "windows" are rectangular areas on two sides of the house. They have screens and doors to close them up completely if needed. Her yard always has shade and sun available for her.

last night I hooked up the heat regulator and it didn't get colder then 65 where it went into the 50s one night before. Right now it is 68 in her house and 67 in the yard. What is hard for me to believe is that in the after noon when the outside temp is 85 or so it is in the 90s in her house with no heat on. It is insulated so well. I haven't gained confidence in the heat regulator. I have it at 75 and its in the 60s.
I think when all is said and done things will be good but I am keeping her mostly in her indoor enclosure until I feel confident in the temp control.

 

[Tom]

You may need different heating elements, larger hearings elements, more insulation, or less air movement. The thermostat only turns things on when the temp drops below a certain point. It cannot make more heat. Your CHE and Kane mat are either on or off. If the house isn't warm enough, it's because you are either losing your heat, or not producing enough in the first place.

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I also have a 4x4x2' house and mine stays 75-80 on below freeing nights with an 18x28" Kane heat mat and an overhead Radiant heat panel. The radiant heat panel makes about the same heat as a CHE, but it's spread out over a wide area and therefore much safer than a CHE for a larger tortoise. This will really matter when your tortoise gets a little bigger. You don't want concentrated heat on a small area of a large shell. It can dry them out or burn them.

If you are using the same sort of equipment and its not staying warm enough, you either have too much air movement or inadequate insulation.

 

[Tortuga505]

I love the roof. I would like to copy that idea

 

[Len B]

Very nice area for cirby, You say it's insulated on all sides, does that include the floor and roof areas?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Re: RE: Heat questions for new out door rnclosure

The radiant heat panel makes about the same heat as a CHE, but it's spread out over a wide area and therefore much safer than a CHE for a larger tortoise. This will really matter when your tortoise gets a little bigger. You don't want concentrated heat on a small area of a large shell. It can dry them out or burn them.

Tom, would mounting 2 CHE's horizontally (attached to the top of the walls instead of the roof) on opposite sides of the house AND both on thermostat, prevent the dry issue you are referring too?