Heat mat and heat lamp at same time? Hermanns

Flash2020

New Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
Bolton
I have both a heat lamp and a heat mat installed and was wondering will I need them on at the same time?

The cage is pretty decent size.

Just bought Him(Flash) today he is two years old.
 

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Messages
4,666
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, VA
I have both a heat lamp and a heat mat installed and was wondering will I need them on at the same time?

The cage is pretty decent size.

Just bought Him(Flash) today he is two years old.
What type of enclosure and size? Please add pictures
 

Flash2020

New Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
Bolton
The heat lamp is one side and the heat map is on the other side but actually inside instead of the outside , I am new to this and just need advice
 

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Messages
4,666
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, VA
Just the heat on one side so the tort has a cooler area to retreat to. Maybe add CHE for overnight heat maintainance. Here is a quick suggested guide. Also plants are great to add- pothos and spide plants to add COVER so they can hide
 

Flash2020

New Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
Bolton
Just the heat on one side so the tort has a cooler area to retreat to. Maybe add CHE for overnight heat maintainance. Here is a quick suggested guide. Also plants are great to add- pothos and spide plants to add COVER so they can hide
Thank you!

So at night time do I have to turn off the lamp if so will he be okay without any heat source?
 

Flash2020

New Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
Bolton
Just the heat on one side so the tort has a cooler area to retreat to. Maybe add CHE for overnight heat maintainance. Here is a quick suggested guide. Also plants are great to add- pothos and spide plants to add COVER so they can hide
I have read it should be around 32 Degrees celius on the warm side where the lamp is, now when I turn that lamp off at night will I be okay or will he be to cold if it drops the warmth?
 

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Messages
4,666
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, VA
As long as it gets no colder than 68 degrees at night you are fine . My Russian is in my basement and likes to tunnel to get closer to the low 60's at night
 

Lyn W

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
23,497
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Hi and welcome.
It looks like you've been given some bad advice - from a pet shop? They rarely know about tort care but are happy to sell unsuitable and unsafe equipment for profit.

This is the caresheet you need to follow keep Flash happy and healthy.

Heat mats aren't recommended for torts because if they burrow to cool off they will be nearer the heat and could over heat.

Pellets aren't a good substrate because they are too dry (as is sand, straw and hay) and they will go mouldy when they get wet. See the caresheet for better options.

What are you using for UVB and do you have a basking area?
 
Last edited:

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I have both a heat lamp and a heat mat installed and was wondering will I need them on at the same time?

The cage is pretty decent size.

Just bought Him(Flash) today he is two years old.
Heat mats should not be used for tortoises.
Pellets should to be used for tortoise substrate.
Here is lighting and heating info:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
  3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Please read the care sheet linked by Lyn. It will help you.
 

Flanman

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2020
Messages
57
Location (City and/or State)
Fishers Indiana
The importance if you get a heat mat is that your tortoise is still able to self regulate. In the cold night a tortoise will burrow in to the ground because the ground holds heat from the day. In the day a tortoise will burrow in to the ground occasionally because the ground has not yet started absorbing the heat completely, and is cooler. I used to have a heat mat and I kept it in the hot side so they still had an exclusively cold side in the day and still had some heat in the night. I stopped using it because I replaced my substrate with something that was deeper and was able to hold heat better, much like natural earth. You could have it on only at night if you don’t want to worry about your tortoise not being able to burrow to cool off in the day.
 
Top