Temperatures!

Reptilony

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Jul 5, 2018
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935
Location (City and/or State)
QC, CAN
i just moved so i put this up last week, im still buding the basement of it. its all rigid insulated walls except for the greenhouse roof which is 2 layers with a 1 inch air gap of greenhouse poly. My sulcata is only 5 and about 25 pounds.

The greenhouse poly is there to let the sun in and is able to contain the heat well enough? If you put this up last week and there’s no snow in the picture im guessing you live in BC?
 

Reptilony

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QC, CAN
Have you thought about solar heater or as a power source

I tought about it, might be something I’ll try when the time come. Also i think it would be a good idea to have one or two(if you put it in a corner) side of the shed to be the house walls because these are already very insulated and being close the house might also give protection from the wind or even better the enclosure could be part of the inside and might be the garage or something and give to the outside by a small door.
 

calmingwind

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Mar 14, 2019
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Phx Az
I would not recommend side of a house they tend to dig down below the foundation Which could cause problems down the road. The guy that gave me biggie had his tunnel dug on the east side of the house when I got him to my house . He went straight for the east side and started to dig I was able to dig him a hole and put the igloo over it he took to it and had to block the other.
 

Reptilony

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Location (City and/or State)
QC, CAN
I would not recommend side of a house they tend to dig down below the foundation Which could cause problems down the road. The guy that gave me biggie had his tunnel dug on the east side of the house when I got him to my house . He went straight for the east side and started to dig I was able to dig him a hole and put the igloo over it he took to it and had to block the other.

That’s a good point but I would put a thick plywood floor to fix that. I guess if you have a big garage it would be the ideal place if it’s already well isolated.
 

joepesci

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Mar 9, 2019
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Ladysmith
Yep you got it BC. The roof does retain heat and act like solar because of the way i designed it (double wall) and all the heat moves up. Ill post some pics of my heating system when I get home. Next to the house is a good idea for most people but my biggest problem is too much humidity . On vancouver island anything that doesnt have good air flow gets damp, hence the floating structure.
 

Reptilony

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Location (City and/or State)
QC, CAN
Yep you got it BC. The roof does retain heat and act like solar because of the way i designed it (double wall) and all the heat moves up. Ill post some pics of my heating system when I get home. Next to the house is a good idea for most people but my biggest problem is too much humidity . On vancouver island anything that doesnt have good air flow gets damp, hence the floating structure.

Looking forward to the pics, I think a fan in the enclosure would be a good idea too to redistribute the heat because im guessing the plastic roof is still the weak spot. Yeah BC is a wet place, that’s the compromise for not having bad winters lol.
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
Maidens, Virginia
EE87B3E8-3519-4250-9970-5BD90DB5D6B4.jpeg I struggled with understanding all the temp info also. My sully Chello is about 15 pounds - 4 years old. We build a kind of hobbit house covered in soil and grass to insulate it well and use an oil heater. (I posted it all before but don’t know how to share it) It seems to work well for insulation.. but the fan is mandatory to redistribute the heat down to the floor level. He has a doggie door and, like orhers I let him self regulate (and lock him in at night ).

I did wonder at first if he would understand getting cold and the need to warm up. By trial after trial for short times leaving him out .. we learned he does.

Anyway best of luck and keep us posted.
 

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Reptilony

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QC, CAN
That’s a cool hobbit house is it hard to get in there to clean? The dirt is a really good idea.
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
Maidens, Virginia
That’s a cool hobbit house is it hard to get in there to clean? The dirt is a really good idea.
Thanks .. we are happy with it. And it looks super cute now that I’m gardening the top.. having the chance to do it all again though , I would have made the door bigger. The human door opening is 4 ft tall.. so perfect for my 4 and 6 year old. I’m lucky, he poops outside mostly and I peak in on temps and humidity. It is manageable but could be dug out more.
 

Reptilony

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QC, CAN
Thanks .. we are happy with it. And it looks super cute now that I’m gardening the top.. having the chance to do it all again though , I would have made the door bigger. The human door opening is 4 ft tall.. so perfect for my 4 and 6 year old. I’m lucky, he poops outside mostly and I peak in on temps and humidity. It is manageable but could be dug out more.

So how big is it in there? What temperature do you maintain? Do you have cold winters?
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
Maidens, Virginia
So how big is it in there? What temperature do you maintain? Do you have cold winters?
Ya our winters add cold .. snow and ice off and on. The home is around 8 x 8 inside. We keep it at 80 on one side and 86-90 on the other side (under the fan). It can be cooler near the flaps on the door when we keep it open but there is plenty of warmth in there. I struggle keeping it humid enough but in summer this won’t be an issue.
 

Reptilony

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Jul 5, 2018
Messages
935
Location (City and/or State)
QC, CAN
Ya our winters add cold .. snow and ice off and on. The home is around 8 x 8 inside. We keep it at 80 on one side and 86-90 on the other side (under the fan). It can be cooler near the flaps on the door when we keep it open but there is plenty of warmth in there. I struggle keeping it humid enough but in summer this won’t be an issue.

Wow it honestly didn’t look that big from the outside! It looks well made.
 

2wgasa

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May 23, 2017
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Location (City and/or State)
Carlsbad, CA
Thanks .. we are happy with it. And it looks super cute now that I’m gardening the top.. having the chance to do it all again though , I would have made the door bigger. The human door opening is 4 ft tall.. so perfect for my 4 and 6 year old. I’m lucky, he poops outside mostly and I peak in on temps and humidity. It is manageable but could be dug out more.

What do you use for flooring?
 

Sue Ann

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Mar 19, 2019
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436
Location (City and/or State)
chapin , South Carolina
I would like to clarify a few things about sulcata temps requirements. I’ve already tried searching existing post on this forum. So, It would be much appreciated if someone could answer all my questions. I want to talk about adult sulcatas temps because there is much less post about that. So what is the lowest correct temperature to let your tort spend the day? I have read that it would be 65F if dry? If so is that considering that the tort have been able to bask at the correct temp during the day? What if the entire day there has not been a correct basking temp because there’s been clouds the whole day? Why is it okay to let a sully be out in the 60’s if this temp would never be seen where they live? Would an adult be okay in a big room with a room temperature of let’s say 75F and a 100F basking spot? (I’ve seen sully’s in these conditions without visible problems) If so would that mean that the sully decides to bask when they want and so they are actually able to thermoregulate their body? My sully seems to do that in her enclosure however the minimum temp that I decided is 85 BUT an adult from what I have read can go lower that so can it just do the same thing but with a lower temperature? Let’s say your sully is outside and it’s a dry 65F and you give it an area when it can warm up to 100F would that be okay? If so wouldn’t that be the same things if inside? How can the Notortoise on IG can raise a healthy sully near central park NY? Im don’t think it’s a good life for a sully but still she managed to raise a healthy sully with her appartment conditions so how did she do it? Again, lots of question here but I’d really appreciate your opinion or expertise on the matter thanks!
I'm a new Sulcata owner and there is so much bad information out there. It is hard to ignore all the info. I just downloaded the 2.0 version on Sulcata care from the forum and sent in a large order for different item I now know she needs. Im in South Carolina so it is warmer than up north. I'm already designing the outdoor space.
Now how can I get some optunia cactus cuttings ?
 

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