KarenSoCal

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
5,749
Location (City and/or State)
Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
I have the floods on at night both so it doesn’t get too cold

As Hamiltondood said, the floods should be off at night. Those are supposed to replicate the sun, which is not out at night. Tortoises follow the same day/night cycle that we do.

The easiest way to do all this is to go back to post # 20 and reread the part about lighting and heating. You want the floods on a timer for 12 hrs/day, like 8AM to 8 PM. Then for night you get a CHE, put it on a thermostat, and set it for 80°. It will only come on when the temp has fallen to 80°, usually only at night after the floods have gone off.

Here is a link to the thermostat that some of us use.


And a CHE..

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z1THZSF/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
 
Last edited:

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
How does a basking light NOT do that then?
You minimize the damage by using low wattage floods and making sure the temperature under them is adjusted correctly for the height of the tortoise. You also minimize basking by keeping the ambient day time temp higher. Pyramiding is minimized by daily soaks, frequent shell spraying, and higher humidity in a closed chamber.
 

N33dh3lp

Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2020
Messages
46
Location (City and/or State)
San Antonio
As Hamiltondood said, the floods should be off at night. Those are supposed to replicate the sun, which is not out at night. Tortoises follow the same day/night cycle that we do.

The easiest way to do all this is to go back to post # 20 and reread the part about lighting and heating. You want the floods on a timer for 12 hrs/day, like 8AM to 8 PM. Then for night you get a CHE, put it on a thermostat, and set it for 80°. It will only come on when the temp has fallen to 80°, usually only at night after the floods have gone off.

Here is a link to the thermostat that some of us use.


And a CHE..

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z1THZSF/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Awesome thank you the thermostat link didn’t work
 

Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA

N33dh3lp

Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2020
Messages
46
Location (City and/or State)
San Antonio
I found this one too is it good? I’m trying to buy everything from amazon so I can get it as soon as possible.
 

Vintage

New Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2019
Messages
26
Location (City and/or State)
Toronto
Inkbird makes a variety of temperature controllers for different purposes (aquarium, home brewing, growing plants etc.). I recently bought their model
"Inkbird Temperature Controller ITC-306T
Digital Thermostat Smart Day Night Cycle Dual Heating Outlet"
I bought it from amazon.ca, but It should be available on US amazon.

So far it has worked great for me. It has two outlets and can handle 1200W. I use it for my two 50 watt CHE's. You can program each outlet separately for both temperature and time setting. *For example*, you could have one heat source set to 80 degrees and running from 8 am to 6 pm, then have the second on 70 degrees running from 6 pm to 8 am. Of course the two heat sources can also run simultaneously. The display is nice and bright and I can see it at a distance from the enclosure.

This model meets my needs, but your setup is different from mine. If you want to see the full range of Inkbird products, there should be an "Inkbird store" on Amazon (the Canadian version has one).
 

New Posts

Top