Heating pad?

[remitort071312]

Hey everyone I know I've been asking a lot of questions but I am a new tort owner and this is the first tort I've opened, so I know that moisture is very important for a sulcatas shell, I mist Remi and soak her daily, also I have been putting a heating pad under her cage ( which is very large) right under her hide, the temp in her hide is 65-75 during the day and with the heating pad on at night it's 75-85 I only do this do to the fact it's very cold in my house. But her hide has a lot more moisture since I put the heating pad on at night, I'm just worrying that it's not good for me to do this. She seems to enjoy it. Any comments will be awesome thanks

 

[Laura]

i think you need warmer temps or she wont eat or digest food well.
You need a basking light and maybe a CHE for nighttime...

 

[acrantophis]

Hey everyone I know I've been asking a lot of questions but I am a new tort owner and this is the first tort I've opened, so I know that moisture is very important for a sulcatas shell, I mist Remi and soak her daily, also I have been putting a heating pad under her cage ( which is very large) right under her hide, the temp in her hide is 65-75 during the day and with the heating pad on at night it's 75-85 I only do this do to the fact it's very cold in my house. But her hide has a lot more moisture since I put the heating pad on at night, I'm just worrying that it's not good for me to do this. She seems to enjoy it. Any comments will be awesome thanks

You should use a ceramic heat element on a thermostat with a remote probe. It's the easiest way to control temp. If you want to save some cash, Newtec has a nice one. If you want to go expensive get a Helix. Heat pads are usually supplemental heat for a sulcata. Is it a heat pad in the enclosure or out? If its in a glass aquarium try covering a section of the top to trap some escaping heat.

 

[FlapJackrage]

Ditto, you need higher temps in your enclosure. Maybe 90 degrees at least. As long as the pad isn't covering the whole enclosure so he can cool down if he gets too hot, i would say its a good thing. But im not a professional yet on Sulcatas either.

 

[remitort071312]

Her basking zone is around 90-100 plus I take her out side during the day to make sure she gets some vitamin d from the sun, I have a Mvb bulb which provides both vitamin D and heat, it is in a ceramic light fixture, the temps given were that of her cool zone which is where her hide is located, she also has regular bms and urinates daily too, mostly during her soaks. And she is in a plastic tote that I cover with a towel so heat says in her tote. The heating pad is not inside her tote it is located under it.

 

[Tom]

For a baby sulcata with humidity, no part of the enclosure should ever drop below 80, in my opinion. So your heating pad technique sounds great, but I think you need it 24/7. Just to be safe, is it a purpose made reptile heating pad that is specifically made for undertank heating? Monitor that device closely. They can get too hot, or sometimes develop "hot" spots and for some reason, some reptiles don't know to get off of them when they get too hot. You should be using a temp gun for this purpose. You could use a remote probed thermometer, but it would be difficult to continuously move it around to all the different parts of the humid hide all the time.

 

[remitort071312]

I've been checking the temp daily and have a reptile digital thermometer that I can place inside her hide, I've also been putting my hand in there to check it, I now how sensitive there shells are when they are so young so I don't want to hurt her, its a human heating pad and it's very old so it doesn't get very hot, but hot enough to keep her hide humid for her, she seems healthy and very active.

 

[Tom]

remi, I would not use that. It says right on the label to not have it covered by anything. Those can develop some serious hotspots. And using an older one makes it even more likely to short out or malfunction. It is really a fire or burn hazard. Even if its been okay for a while, it could malfunction at any time.

There are better, safer heating solution like CHEs on thermostats, that are much less risky.

Just trying to be helpful here and share what I have experienced. Not trying to be a jackass.

 

[remitort071312]

I wouldn't think your being rude, I don't leave it on when I'm not home either but I will deff stop using it and look into the CHE for her at night thanks

 

[acrantophis]

I wouldn't think your being rude, I don't leave it on when I'm not home either but I will deff stop using it and look into the CHE for her at night thanks

Try some heat tape on a rheostat. A rheostat controls how hot the element will get and you can still use it later when your tortoise gets bigger. Heat tape is cheap and so are rheostats!

 

[daringescape]

I wouldn't think your being rude, I don't leave it on when I'm not home either but I will deff stop using it and look into the CHE for her at night thanks

I currently use a seedling heat pad that is meant for keeping under a tray of plants - It works well as a supplementary heat source, but I still use a CHE as well.

Im totally new to tortoise keeping as well though, so don't take my word for it!

 

[remitort071312]

I just want to provide the best care possible for my baby tort, I never knew I'd become so attached to a tortoise.