Keeping my Russian tortoise warm at night.

[ictteacher]

Hi guys

I live in London with my tortoise and the weather is starting to get a lot cooler. My tortoise is around 2 years old. She lives indoor and the temperature at night is starting to hit 21c. Her day heat/uv light is on my 7.30am before I go to work Until 7.30pm. The temp during the day is around 31c under the light and 23c at the cool end. I'm a little be worried about the temp at night and it dropping any lower As I won't have the flat heating on at bed time.

Can anyone suggest a inexpensive heater, light or mat pads and temp controller that I could buy just make sure my girl is ok over the nights. England's winter is coming and I would like to be ready for it.

Thanks

Andre

 

[bextort]

Hi I live in Manchester and have a Russian a couple years older than yours.
I was having similar heat issues so bought a heat mat from eBay which was inexpensive and ceramic heat emitter (CHE) from tesco website, was around £15-£20. The CHE bulb produces heat without light so perfect for night keeping the temps from dropping too low

 

[Yvonne G]

You can use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or a black/red incandescent bulb for night time. You might also consider covering the habitat at night to keep the warm air in. I just use cooking foil to cover and I go over the lights and all.

 

[stinax182]

if the temp doesn't drop any lower than 65°f at night, that is okay. as long as in the morning he has the chance to bask under a temp of 95°f. Russian tortoises benefit from having a drop in temp at night. but if it does get colder, i suggest a ceramic heating element. heat without that pesky light at night.

 

[hunterk997]

if the temp doesn't drop any lower than 65°f at night, that is okay. as long as in the morning he has the chance to bask under a temp of 95°f. Russian tortoises benefit from having a drop in temp at night. but if it does get colder, i suggest a ceramic heating element. heat without that pesky light at night.

I agree, my russian does best when the night time temps drop around the 60's. they are more tolerant of temperatures.

 

[Tom]

Some keepers claim 10-12 C at night is fine for russians. I've never tested this.

 

[lynnedit]

21c is 69F. That is absolutely fine for a Russian tortoise at night. In fact, it can go down a bit lower.
No need for night heat at those temps.

The key is keeping the lights on long enough (you are) and achieving a warm enough basking area and ambient area during the day.

I am more concerned about your basking area at 31c or 87f. That is too cool for a basking area. A cover like Yvonne suggests during the day might help, or a stronger bulb (or adding a CHE to boost temps, but during the day).

 

[ictteacher]

21c is 69F. That is absolutely fine for a Russian tortoise at night. In fact, it can go down a bit lower.
No need for night heat at those temps.

The key is keeping the lights on long enough (you are) and achieving a warm enough basking area and ambient area during the day.

I am more concerned about your basking area at 31c or 87f. That is too cool for a basking area. A cover like Yvonne suggests during the day might help, or a stronger bulb (or adding a CHE to boost temps, but during the day).

Thank you guys for the help. This has been massively helpful to me. I'll pop to Tesco or my local pet store tomorrow for the CHE. I will try and up the temp for my girl, my light bulb is only a 75w one. The reason for this was because in the summer months my flat is super hot in the days reaching 95f plus And at night 75f. My flat also get a lot of sun light. All my girl would do is hide in her log. I started off with 150w bulb then down to a 125w one and then finally what I have now. Now she will walk about for a bit and use the whole enclosure. Which is a log better for me and her.

The one thing I have notice is that she is spending more time under the basking light. Which suggest to me that she is feeling the cold.

Thanks again

Andre and coco.

 

[Ryongsyong]

I also live in London and have a three year old Russian. During the winter we have two heat mats inside his vivarium, we put a drape over it to keep the warm air in, and then leave the central heating on in the room he's in. It costs a fortune but he's worth it .

(A ceramic heater would probably be cheaper.)

 

[ictteacher]

I also live in London and have a three year old Russian. During the winter we have two heat mats inside his vivarium, we put a drape over it to keep the warm air in, and then leave the central heating on in the room he's in. It costs a fortune but he's worth it .

(A ceramic heater would probably be cheaper.)

Hi guys

Just an undated on what I have order for my tortoise.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006JWUG2A/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Kemodo ceramic heat emitter 100 watt black

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0025Y8TA2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Reptile ceramic bulb lamp heater holder

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002SUF6RW/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Habitat pulse-proportional thermostat

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003ARXC0A/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Digital max min grow room.

If any one has anything like this please tell me how your set is working for you. Is there anything I'm missing.

Andre.

 

[lynnedit]

That looks great. You can set that up near your basking area to boost the temps there during the day.
Then it can be a back up at night if it gets really chilly.
Those thermostats are excellent.

I'm still not worried about temps at night. These tortoises do well with a temp differential; cool nights to warmth during the day.
They just need that toasty basking area.

 

[bextort]

Thank you guys for the help. This has been massively helpful to me. I'll pop to Tesco or my local pet store tomorrow for the CHE.

Before you head to tesco the CHE bulbs are not available in store, only from their online supplier

 

[lynnedit]

Looks like Andre got the CHE on Amazon UK?

Anyway, post pics when you get it set up!

 

[ictteacher]

Yeah I order the stuff on amazon cheaper then the pet shop. Looks like one of my posts with all the information has been removed. Not too sure why??? It should be with my on Monday until the I've cover the enclosure up with foil to pick the heat in. I'll post again when I've set it up.

 

[lynnedit]

I can see the post of your purchase links, I believe. In any case, sounds good!

 

[ictteacher]

Hi guy some picture of my setup.

What do you guys think ???

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And here is one with the new temps.

 

[TheSwede]

I think the enclosure is too small. Should be more space to nice around...

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*move around...

 

[ictteacher]

Yeah I agree. that's my next project to build a bigger box. That will have to do for the winter thou. Plus I'm going to take out the wood panel that blocks half the enclosure.

 

[TheSwede]

I also would think about to get som extra lighting. Normal daylight, seems a little dark. Too dark can make the tortoise to drop activity...

 

[ictteacher]

I've taken these pictures at 8pm at night today. I live on the top floor of a three story apartment block my flat has a massive bay window. So lighting during the day is not an issue.