Hello fellow lovers of the half-shell! I recently adopted the criminally adorable Libbon, a 13 year old male RF. He is everything I hoped for in a little monster and more (I can’t help gushing). Libbon is very friendly captive-bred, and has had one owner his whole life. He has been SO LOVED. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the best diet or habitat conditions. He’s been fed almost exclusively tortoise pellets, and has been living in a 2’x3’ tank with one lone cfl bulb (normal light bulb, no heat or uvb). His bedding was 100% reptile bark with nothing to retain or add moisture. When I adopted him, he was wheezing, blowing snot bubbles, and had watery eyes. Poor baby. Got him to a fantastic reptile vet, and we just finished the three week course of antibiotic injections. He also has some pyramiding and pronounced weakness in his back legs. We’re hoping that more space and better nutrition will improve his muscle tone in the back legs. I’m looking forward to loving Libbon just as much as his old family, but also giving him a husbandry upgrade!
I live in Central NC, and we have hot humid weather much of the year (insufferable for humans, great for RFs). In all but the coldest months, Libbon will have a large outdoor enclosure (8’x8’ or larger, yet to be built). For the few months that are too cold, I’ve gotten a 3’x8’ steel stock tank (thank you Ernie Johnson, for the amazing idea!!) that I’m keeping in an insulated (but not heated) workshop attached to my house. I’m following Ernie’s set-up as closely as possible, but I still have some very specific heating questions. For additional reference, substrate is about 3” of coco coir, topped with 1” of cypress mulch/repti bark. I am still figuring out what substrate works best for us, so we’re experimenting. I loathe the smell of reptibark, though.... I have a humidifier that I’ve rigged to output through a tube, and the lights/humidifier will be set on (different) timers, with the CHEs thermostatically controlled. Th top will be covered with acrylic sheet pieces, with the lights/CHE mounted to 2x4s across the width of the tank. My original intention was to use 2 100watt CHEs, a 13 watt 5.0 trop uvb bulb, and a normal incandescent bulb for light. As I’ve gotten the two CHEs running (covered with Mylar right now), I’m thinking that will likely need three during the coldest days.
Okay, so much background! On to my questions... Since we know that shell/ground/air temp measurements can vary considerably, where do you place your thermometer probes that control the CHEs? How close to the substrate? How close to the heat source? I’m using the thermostats designed for heat maps. We talk about ideal ambient temps being 82F-86F, but what on/off temps do you use for each of the zones (Bask/normal/hide)? I also have a wireless thermometer/hygrometer with 3 receivers inside of the tank. These are for monitoring, but do not control anything.
One last question! We definitely have sunny winter days in the high 50s-low 60s. Advice seems to consistently say that RFs should come inside or have a heated refuge when the temps drop below 60. How cold is too cold on a sunny day?
Thank you all for reading my novel! I appreciate any help you can offer!
I live in Central NC, and we have hot humid weather much of the year (insufferable for humans, great for RFs). In all but the coldest months, Libbon will have a large outdoor enclosure (8’x8’ or larger, yet to be built). For the few months that are too cold, I’ve gotten a 3’x8’ steel stock tank (thank you Ernie Johnson, for the amazing idea!!) that I’m keeping in an insulated (but not heated) workshop attached to my house. I’m following Ernie’s set-up as closely as possible, but I still have some very specific heating questions. For additional reference, substrate is about 3” of coco coir, topped with 1” of cypress mulch/repti bark. I am still figuring out what substrate works best for us, so we’re experimenting. I loathe the smell of reptibark, though.... I have a humidifier that I’ve rigged to output through a tube, and the lights/humidifier will be set on (different) timers, with the CHEs thermostatically controlled. Th top will be covered with acrylic sheet pieces, with the lights/CHE mounted to 2x4s across the width of the tank. My original intention was to use 2 100watt CHEs, a 13 watt 5.0 trop uvb bulb, and a normal incandescent bulb for light. As I’ve gotten the two CHEs running (covered with Mylar right now), I’m thinking that will likely need three during the coldest days.
Okay, so much background! On to my questions... Since we know that shell/ground/air temp measurements can vary considerably, where do you place your thermometer probes that control the CHEs? How close to the substrate? How close to the heat source? I’m using the thermostats designed for heat maps. We talk about ideal ambient temps being 82F-86F, but what on/off temps do you use for each of the zones (Bask/normal/hide)? I also have a wireless thermometer/hygrometer with 3 receivers inside of the tank. These are for monitoring, but do not control anything.
One last question! We definitely have sunny winter days in the high 50s-low 60s. Advice seems to consistently say that RFs should come inside or have a heated refuge when the temps drop below 60. How cold is too cold on a sunny day?
Thank you all for reading my novel! I appreciate any help you can offer!