Baby Red Foot night time temp?

[kylemaier]

Hey everyone! I've recently got a 4 month old Red Foot and I want to make sure everything is perfect. So far cruising the forum has helped a bunch! But I still have a question about night time temps for baby red foot (Manny)….Is it ok if the temp drops between 70-75F? or should I keep a heater on?
Thank so much!

 

[naturalman91]

Hey everyone! I've recently got a 4 month old Red Foot and I want to make sure everything is perfect. So far cruising the forum has helped a bunch! But I still have a question about night time temps for baby red foot (Manny)….Is it ok if the temp drops between 70-75F? or should I keep a heater on?
Thank so much!

it'd heat it up to at least 80 at night. redfoots like medium 80 temps but dropping to 80 at night owuld be just fine

 

[Killerrookie]

I would not advise you to let it go below 75 degrees. There's a huge risk of sickness for the little guy. I would keep the heater on and suffer the heat and suffer than letting the little guy suffer.

 

[naturalman91]

what type of enclosure do you have and what do you use for heat? pictures are best if possible,
a lot of us used closed chamber enclosures with CHE (ceramic heat emitter) on a thermostat to keep it steady

 

[kylemaier]

I've currently got him in a rubber maid container with a UV light and a heat light for basking, but I think I prefer the ceramic heater so I may get one tomorrow. Also keeping the humidity right is making me nervous so I'm going to change a few things tomorrow thanks to some of the posts on here. I'll post some pictures tomorrow when its complete and I'd love to get your feed back. Thanks for the help all!

 

[kylemaier]

The humidity is currently at 60, and the temp on the side is reading 72. But I've got a little zooMed tank heater on the bottom of the bin where he is sleeping, so it should be warmer there. (its not really a rubbermaid but a heavy duty pastic storage container.)

 

[kylemaier]

Because I have a light for his heat should I just run it through the night to be sure he is warm??? night light won't mess with his cycle ? He has burrowed into the substrate anyway….
Thanks again!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I use 77 as my low number. A little lower would likely do no harm if the substrate isn't wet. Wet and too cool will cause problems.
Your humidity is too low at 60%
My parameters are 76-86 degrees and 75-90%+ for humidity.
The only easy way to do this is with a closed chamber. Then it truly is very easy.

 

[tortdad]

The humidity is currently at 60, and the temp on the side is reading 72. But I've got a little zooMed tank heater on the bottom of the bin where he is sleeping, so it should be warmer there. (its not really a rubbermaid but a heavy duty pastic storage container.)

Get rid of the under tank heater. It can malfunction because of the moisture and burn your tort. They need heat from above from lights and heaters. The ChE is the way to go and put it in a thermostat set at 80. After a year you can start letting it drop down to mid 70s at night but at 4 months old you should never let it get below 80.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

+1
I use an under tank mounted 15 watt heat "rope". It heats the substrate gradually and never gets too hot to touch. Just warm. The under tank heat pads are indeed dangerous. I had one that overheated and burst the bottom of my tank when water touched the glass.
it would have cooked a tortoise for sure.
The ropes just gently warm the damp substrate and slowly release humidity through the top layer of substrate.
This is just what I use. It's the only source of heat I require in my closed chamber in my 73 degree house.

 

[kylemaier]

Here are some pics, I got a ceramic heater today. I'll keep an eye on how well it heats the place up. Its not attached to a thermostat though. Where would I find one of them?

 

[Turtlepete]

The setup is nice, but you really need a closed chamber. There is no other way to maintain the level of humidity you need. At that age I wouldn't let the temps get much lower then 75-ish. 72 is a bit on the cool side.

Any chance of covering the tank in a piece of plexiglass, cutting holes in it and placing the lamps over the holes? You will have to adjust the wattage and number of heat lamps/heating elements you are using, but the humidity will be much higher, which is optimal.

 

[kylemaier]

That's the plan today. We're could I get pexi glass cut. I'm at Canadian tire right now.

 

[crimson_lotus]

I use this for a thermostat:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002CZ0J3E/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20


I see you have one of those pet store gauges to monitor humidity/temp. Those can get pretty inaccurate. I would recommend replacing it with another digital hygrometer as they are more accurate. Don't forget to place it right at substrate level, as that is where your tortoise will be!

For a plastic bin I personally would not waste the money cutting plexiglass to fit. You can cover the enclosure with tin foil, a shower curtain, or better yet, the top that goes to that plastic bin. Just cut out a hole for the lights.

 

[kylemaier]

Just want to say a bigt thank you to everyone for their help, I have a feeling I'll be on this forum a lot!

 

[kylemaier]

I did end up cutting the lid for the lights and hanging them instead of the clamps. I'll post more pics soon. Everything humidity and temperature seems good. But I'll definitely have to grab a more accurate reader. So what is the most preferred daytime humidity? I sit around 66/67-80.

 

[kylemaier]

That's the plan today. We're could I get pexi glass cut. I'm at Canadian tire right now.

Cut the lid. 30 for the pexi glass and $85 hour to cut it. Wow.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Yeah it's pretty expensive! I was also surprised when I made my enclosure.

If there are any openings around the lights you can cover them with tin foil. Probably best to line the plastic around the lights with it as well so the plastic doesn't melt or come in contact with the lamp. I would try to get the humidity up to 75% at least but I would definitely recommend raising the temps to 80 at the lowest for your baby. With the rise in humidity it's best to keep the enclosure warm. 80 is being safe.

Do you spray the enclosure or do you have a humidifier?

 

[tortdad]

I keep my humidity at a min of 85% for my yearlings and 60% for the adults. Most of the time my yearlings are at 90% or better.

 

[tortdad]

You can buy a good digital gauge that measure both temp and humidity for $10