Heat pad with thermostat

[Thomas tortoise]

I know someone that breeds sulctata tortoises and he puts the babies in a plastic tub with a heat pad and he never has any problems. So I guess my question is. Can a Use a heat pad with a thermostat in my future baby sulctata tortoises enclosure. If not then why?

 

[Tom]

I know someone that breeds sulctata tortoises and he puts the babies in a plastic tub with a heat pad and he never has any problems. So I guess my question is. Can a Use a heat pad with a thermostat in my future baby sulctata tortoises enclosure. If not then why?

No. Its not safe. It goes against their natural instinct to burrow into the earth to get away from heat (the sun). As they burrow down when they feel hot, they get closer to the heat pad and feel hotter. This makes them burrow down even farther trying to escape the heat. They end up cooked or burned. They don't have the sense of logic that a human has. The reptile vets that I am friends with see burn cases regularly. Heat for tortoises should come from over head. Laying on a flat rock that has been warmed by an over head bulb, or the sun, should be fine, but the heat should not be generated from underneath.

A notable exception to this is using Kane heat mats for large outdoor housed tropical tortoises in a temperate climate. In this instance it is safe due to redundant thermostats, and the tortoises ability to slide off of it. Losing heat through the plastron on a cold surface can be a real problem on cold winter nights, and the Kane mats work well to prevent that.

 

[Thomas tortoise]

No. Its not safe. It goes against their natural instinct to burrow into the earth to get away from heat (the sun). As they burrow down when they feel hot, they get closer to the heat pad and feel hotter. This makes them burrow down even farther trying to escape the heat. They end up cooked or burned. They don't have the sense of logic that a human has. The reptile vets that I am friends with see burn cases regularly. Heat for tortoises should come from over head. Laying on a flat rock that has been warmed by an over head bulb, or the sun, should be fine, but the heat should not be generated from underneath.

A notable exception to this is using Kane heat mats for large outdoor housed tropical tortoises in a temperate climate. In this instance it is safe due to redundant thermostats, and the tortoises ability to slide off of it. Losing heat through the plastron on a cold surface can be a real problem on cold winter nights, and the Kane mats work well to prevent that.

Okay. One more question. What temp should the rock be under the heat lamp? I had a roch underneath the heat lamp they the rock got to 130 F. So I removed it. But after that I found out the lamp was to close so I koved the lamp up but I didnt put the rock back in.

 

[Tom]

Okay. One more question. What temp should the rock be under the heat lamp? I had a roch underneath the heat lamp they the rock got to 130 F. So I removed it. But after that I found out the lamp was to close so I koved the lamp up but I didnt put the rock back in.

Don't worry about the rock temp. If your heat lamp is set correctly the rock temp will always be good.

To set your heat lamp correctly, place a digital thermometer directly under the bulb at tortoise shell height and let it bake for an hour or more. Raise or lower the lamp to get that around 95-100. If the rock was 130, then your bulb was much too close, or too high in wattage.

 

[Thomas tortoise]

How about having a heat pad on the side of the enclosure?

 

[Thomas tortoise]

Would it hurt the tortoise if the heat mat is on the side? @Tom ?