Make tort table warmer?

[Shelbymom]

Just recently moved our 10" Sulcata out of an aquarium tank into a new
tort table. Can't seem to warm things up. 68 degrees in the cool zone and only 79 degrees near the hot zone. She has a 100 watt basking lamp about 5-6 inches off carapace. (directly under the heat lamp is the only really warm spot). Tort table is 3 ft wide and 5 1/2 feet long.
Humidity currently at about 60%.
Please help, I don't want her to get sick because it's too cold.

Janine

 

[tortoisenerd]

Do you say the light bulb is only 5-6 inches above the tortoise? Wow. What type of "basking lamp"? Do you have UVB? I recommend a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB), either the Mega Ray or T-Rex. Get a 100 watt. This would provide UVB, heat, and light. One bulb will heat up most of the enclosure, but depending on your room temperature you may need more. You could add additional Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHE) or black light bulbs if you need additional heat. These can also be left on at night. You want to aim for a basking spot of 95 degrees with the rest of the table 70-95.

 

[Shelbymom]

Do you say the light bulb is only 5-6 inches above the tortoise? Wow. What type of "basking lamp"? Do you have UVB? I recommend a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB), either the Mega Ray or T-Rex. Get a 100 watt. This would provide UVB, heat, and light. One bulb will heat up most of the enclosure, but depending on your room temperature you may need more. You could add additional Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHE) or black light bulbs if you need additional heat. These can also be left on at night. You want to aim for a basking spot of 95 degrees with the rest of the table 70-95.

Yes, the lamp is hung so that it is about 5-6 inches from the tortoise's carapace. It is a red heat lamp 100watt Reptisun, I believe. Stays on 24-7. No UVB in that lamp. We have a daytime Reptisun 10.0 48"inch tube that stays on 12-14 hours, but throws no heat.

With the humidity at 60%, do you think it's too cold/damp? Keep in mind substrate is loam/playsand mix with about 10% coir added.

Are my concerns about an URI, valid if I don't rectify temperature situation ASAP?

Janine

---

Do you say the light bulb is only 5-6 inches above the tortoise? Wow. What type of "basking lamp"? Do you have UVB? I recommend a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB), either the Mega Ray or T-Rex. Get a 100 watt. This would provide UVB, heat, and light. One bulb will heat up most of the enclosure, but depending on your room temperature you may need more. You could add additional Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHE) or black light bulbs if you need additional heat. These can also be left on at night. You want to aim for a basking spot of 95 degrees with the rest of the table 70-95.

I'm gonna have to get something, the rooms ambient temp at night can approach 62-64 degrees. That seems way too cold to me.

Janine

 

[tortoisenerd]

Yes, cold temperatures can have a tortoise more susceptible to illness. Also, they tend to not like to eat unless they can warm up to the 80s. Quick solution is to get cage clamp lamps and ceramic heat emitters. Best solution is to get a MVB (use a lamps stand with a deep and wide hood fixture with a ceramic socket) plus one or two CHEs. Provide a temperature gradient between 70-95. With your table dimensions I recommend the MVB more towards the middle. A CHE on one side, and maybe on the other side depending on how the temperatures look. I have a 5.5 ft by 1.5 ft table, using a MVB with one CHE (winter only). I have a cool area about room temperature or a few degrees above, and then the rest is 70-100. I leave the CHE on 24 hours and the MVB on 13 hours. 60% is a good humidity. Is this measured on the substrate, or a gauge on the side of the table? You want to measure at the substrate level.

Please up the temperatures ASAP. Could you even run a space heater near the table in the meantime? Cover part of it with foil or a lid to a plastic bin? Just keep it safe as far as fire hazards. The room temperature at night may be ok. Some will say yes, some will say no. You want to aim for a night temperature just below the low day temperature. You do need a temperature drop. For desert torts it is usually recommended to keep it at least 65-70 at night for hatchlings, at least 60-65 for adults. I personally think 60 is a minimum for your tort and I would be fine with that if I had a tort your size and type. I am more worried about the day temperatures. That is my advice and I'm sure others would have different opinions. Any questions? Hopefully you get more opinions soon. Best wishes.

 

[katesgoey]

I don't keep Sulcata, but I do have a yearling Leopard indoors and their care is similar with level of humidity the main difference (Leopards need less). You said the temp "near" the hot zone is 79 - what is it directly in the hot zone? I ask because 5-6" seems awfully close, but since its a red lamp I'm not familar with the distance needed. I keep my UVB light 10-12" away from the carapace and my CHE around 9" away. At night the cool end on mine is approx. 70 degrees, during the day, it is 72+ degrees with the hot end around 92 degrees - in between it ranges between to the two. I'm thinking because you have a 5' long table, your temps may not be that off. Take the temp right under the basking lamp, then a few inches out, etc. Keep that area more humid than the cooler end. If you still can't reach 90+ on the hot end, I would switch to Mercury lamp that Kate suggested, but keep it 12" away from the carapace. What kind of thermometer are you using? Sometimes certain brands/types just aren't that accurate.

 

[Shelbymom]

Yes, cold temperatures can have a tortoise more susceptible to illness. Also, they tend to not like to eat unless they can warm up to the 80s. Quick solution is to get cage clamp lamps and ceramic heat emitters. Best solution is to get a MVB (use a lamps stand with a deep and wide hood fixture with a ceramic socket) plus one or two CHEs. Provide a temperature gradient between 70-95. With your table dimensions I recommend the MVB more towards the middle. A CHE on one side, and maybe on the other side depending on how the temperatures look. I have a 5.5 ft by 1.5 ft table, using a MVB with one CHE (winter only). I have a cool area about room temperature or a few degrees above, and then the rest is 70-100. I leave the CHE on 24 hours and the MVB on 13 hours. 60% is a good humidity. Is this measured on the substrate, or a gauge on the side of the table? You want to measure at the substrate level.

Please up the temperatures ASAP. Could you even run a space heater near the table in the meantime? Cover part of it with foil or a lid to a plastic bin? Just keep it safe as far as fire hazards. The room temperature at night may be ok. Some will say yes, some will say no. You want to aim for a night temperature just below the low day temperature. You do need a temperature drop. For desert torts it is usually recommended to keep it at least 65-70 at night for hatchlings, at least 60-65 for adults. I personally think 60 is a minimum for your tort and I would be fine with that if I had a tort your size and type. I am more worried about the day temperatures. That is my advice and I'm sure others would have different opinions. Any questions? Hopefully you get more opinions soon. Best wishes.

Right now 3/4 of the table is covered in towels so I can try to trap some heat. The cooler end is what covered because I'm too afraid to put the towels near the heat lamp and then go to bed. The cool end is registering at 64 degrees(night temp) and the warm end near the heat lamp is at 78. That thermometer is about 11 inches from the red heat lamp, and it's glued to the wall, so it's unmoveable, unfortunately.

I am already noticing that my tortie has watery eyes tonight. I just moved her into the tort table yesterday afternoon from a aquarium tank.
Can they get sick that fast? She does NOT have any nasal discharge and is NOT having any breathing isssues or wheezing. Could the watery eyes just be the change in substrate from crushed walnut shells to
60 % loam 30% sand 10% coir mix. I soaked her tonight for about 35 min and gently cleaned her shell with a soft toothbrush. Could soaking her and then putting her on the cool tort table activate a URI?
I will have to get an MVB tomorrow, and maybe the CHE too. Where can I get them inexpensively?

Janine