- Joined
- Mar 25, 2013
- Messages
- 141
Hi everyone,
I'm getting ready to move and am going to switch up my juvenile western Hermann's tortoise's enclosure. I am toying with the idea of housing her in an Animal Plastics cage that is somewhere around 6x3x3 feet in dimensions. I tend to be pretty nervous about fire risk associated with heating sources in general. Currently, she's in a Christmas tree bin with a low wattage CHE for ambient heat and a 160 watt PowerSun UVB as her basking spot. Through observation, I'm just not a fan of how dessicating the MVB is. It seems to dry her shell significantly after she sits under it, despite regular soaks and misting of her enclosure. Would a radiant heat panel be a safer and less drying option in her AP setup, or will it even heat the basking area sufficiently if the height of the tank is 36 inches? Alternatively, should I just hang a dome lamp with the Powersun from the ceiling of that cage and hope that the enclosed design will help maintain higher humidity and prevent excessive drying?
I'm new to radiant heat panels in general and would appreciate any advice. Also, if anyone's curious, the reason I'm looking for a 36" high enclosure is so I can have some potted plants in the enclosure to add landscaping and cover for the tort.
Thanks so much!
I'm getting ready to move and am going to switch up my juvenile western Hermann's tortoise's enclosure. I am toying with the idea of housing her in an Animal Plastics cage that is somewhere around 6x3x3 feet in dimensions. I tend to be pretty nervous about fire risk associated with heating sources in general. Currently, she's in a Christmas tree bin with a low wattage CHE for ambient heat and a 160 watt PowerSun UVB as her basking spot. Through observation, I'm just not a fan of how dessicating the MVB is. It seems to dry her shell significantly after she sits under it, despite regular soaks and misting of her enclosure. Would a radiant heat panel be a safer and less drying option in her AP setup, or will it even heat the basking area sufficiently if the height of the tank is 36 inches? Alternatively, should I just hang a dome lamp with the Powersun from the ceiling of that cage and hope that the enclosed design will help maintain higher humidity and prevent excessive drying?
I'm new to radiant heat panels in general and would appreciate any advice. Also, if anyone's curious, the reason I'm looking for a 36" high enclosure is so I can have some potted plants in the enclosure to add landscaping and cover for the tort.
Thanks so much!