New outdoor all year enclosure HELP!

stu

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Hello everyone it's been a while since I've been on here and I was hoping for some advice.

I have two spur thighed tortoises who have spent the last 6 or so years living outside in a specially adapted rabit cage (fully insulated heated and lighting etc). Unfortunately it has finally given up the ghost and needs replacing.

I have a wooden bike store coming which I will adapt by insulating and adding fixtures to it for heating and light again and wondered if anyone had any suggestion for products to use?

I plan to use a full spectrum bulb like previously to provide the appropriate light and some heat. I have seen the exo terra reptile dome and wondered what peoples opinions are on this as a fixture? My previous enclosure had the bulb on the roof but this will need to be hung as this enclosure is taller and I want to make sure they get the appropriate amount of light.

I will also need a non light emitting heat source for night use. I previously used a ceramic unit with an internal thermostat but I wonder if there are better products on the market now?

The enclosure will be roughly 6' by 3' and around 4' high.

Thank you for any advice you can give.
Stu
 

stu

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This is what the enclosure will be made from. Picture all sides top and base being heavily insulated and covered. mini_master_tongueandgroove_pent_shed_l03.jpeg
 
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You should get rid of the Gardner stuff because it's not safe you also need a uvb lamp and fake mulch because they like digging and hiding spots to feel safe
 

stu

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Ha ha thanks tortoise police [emoji6] any recommendation for hanging uvb holders or heating systems? I've seen a few people mention using small radiators and was wondering if anyone had tried these heating tubes? I'm just not convinced a 200w 5ft tube will be warm enough to maintain the background tempScreenshot_20181115-124525_Gallery.jpeg
 

Maro2Bear

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stu

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Hey there...

Where are you located? That makes a big difference in your requirements.

In the meantime, check out these Night Box threads. Specifically how they are heated.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/page-7

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/

Good luck, happy torting.

PS, by “spurr thigh”...do you really mean Sulcatas?
I'm based in Oxford UK so fairly mild all year. I believe I worked out they were Ibera. I'll have a look through those threads thank you.
 

ColinS

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Them tubular heaters have worked in my bird aviary. I’m in Manchester. Obviously birds and tortoise have different heat requirements but I’m sure they can work
 

stu

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Thanks Colin. I was leaning towards a oil heater but the thermostat I ordered has arrived with a lower output wattage than it was advertised at so I'm not sure if I bin the radiator idea and just go for a tube design. It will only be needed to maintain a background temp I'm hoping.
 

katieandiggy

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Thanks Colin. I was leaning towards a oil heater but the thermostat I ordered has arrived with a lower output wattage than it was advertised at so I'm not sure if I bin the radiator idea and just go for a tube design. It will only be needed to maintain a background temp I'm hoping.

I use an oil heater at the moment indoors to heat my whole room for my tort..
They are cheap and really quite powerful.
 

jsheffield

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For about a month while I was reading these post about "oil heaters" I was imagining an oil burning heater, like those kerosene heaters we used to use, that stank and smoked, and couldn't imagine that everyone on TFO was using an oil-burning version of that ... :)

I just figured it out a few days ago ... #anothertestIfailed

Jamie
 
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Maro2Bear

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For about a month while I was reading these post about "oil heaters" I was imagining an oil burning heater, like those kerosene heaters we used to use, that stank and smoked, and couldn't imagine that everyone on TFO was using an oil-burning version of that ... :)

I just figured it out a few days ago ... #anothertestIfailed

Jamie


Yes... we used to have one of those old Alladin kerosene oil type burning heaters in our basement in Pa. No heat down there other than the heat from the coal stove/boiler, but that was never intended to heat the basement. So, we had one of those “oil” heaters pretty much burning all the time once it got cold. Aagh, the days of wick trimming.

I think ours looked exactly like this one - https://www.ebay.com/i/362171249199...0%26rvr_ts%3D1ea1ec6b1670ad4fd0d1b086ffe60b35
 

stu

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So building is underway with the new enclosure/ night box.
It will have 75mm insulation board all round and eventually a small door for the tortoises to come and go as they please.

I plan on using a small oil filled radiator for background heat/ night time temp maintenance. Plus a CHE and a bulb for daytime.
I plan on lining the floor with 3mm rubber flooring to keep it water tight.

Any other advice or suggestions are more than welcome. 20181126_140025.jpeg20181126_160858.jpeg
 

jsheffield

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So building is underway with the new enclosure/ night box.
It will have 75mm insulation board all round and eventually a small door for the tortoises to come and go as they please.

I plan on using a small oil filled radiator for background heat/ night time temp maintenance. Plus a CHE and a bulb for daytime.
I plan on lining the floor with 3mm rubber flooring to keep it water tight.

Any other advice or suggestions are more than welcome. View attachment 258205View attachment 258206

Thanks for sharing ... I'd love to see more as the project moves along.

Jamie
 

Lyn W

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If you follow Tom's designs to adapt your shed you won't go far wrong.
I wonder if the height means that you will be heating empty space as heat rises, though.
 

stu

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If you follow Tom's designs to adapt your shed you won't go far wrong.
I wonder if the height means that you will be heating empty space as heat rises, though.
It will be a fairly similar design just with thicker insulation due to the temps here and the extra size of the building.
I did consider making it a foot shorter but in order to do that it would mean a lot of adjusting to a pre fab unit which might cause me more issues than it is worth. It's going to be so well insulated that I'm hoping it won't be an issue. If it starts struggling to keep the heat in I will need to reconsider.

What I am tempted to do is create a false roof inside. Effectively making the heating space smaller and then allowing me to keep all the electronics above in a storage area.
 
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ColinS

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I would still use a tubular heater as it has a built in thermostat, and I’m sure they’re a really low wattage. The ones for conservatories. Think I paid 30 quid for a 4 foot one.
 
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stu

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I managed to find this the other day for any UK buyers looking for curtains/doors.
It's a lot cheaper than what I could find elsewhere and can easily be cut down to length/width needed. Screenshot_20181127-184915_eBay.jpeg
 
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vladimir

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What I am tempted to do is create a false roof inside. Effectively making the heating space smaller and then allowing me to keep all the electronics above in a storage area.

I was going to suggest - if you have trouble maintaining the temps you could put some rigid foam insulation about 2 feet up to help keep the hot air down below. Nice job!
 
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