Heating questions for outside leopards

[kimber_lee_314]

As some of you know, I just took in a leopard tortoise. (I have babies but this is my first adult.) I bought a Kane pig blanket and have a rubbermade deck box. My question is, can I put the mat right onto the rubbermade floor, or do I need to cut a piece of plywood to put it on? What temperature should I set the thermostat to?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I would cut a piece of plywood big enough to cover the whole floor. Your temp should be about 85 to 90 degrees making sure he has room enough to get off of it.

 

[Tom]

You can set it right on the floor. The newer models have an imbedded thermostat built in. This is a fail safe so that they can never reach dangerous temps. So if its one of these types, I would turn it all the way up for your application outdoors in a plastic shed here in SoCal. That is how I used mine for many years. I had the old style though, so yours will be even safer. I would also put a CHE over the tort and put it all on a thermostat. Those boxes are not sealed enough to hold in heat and so the mats really do nothing to warm the air in the box. You don't want your leopard breathing cold air, and its cold out here tonight. The combo of the two worked really well for me for many years. Ultimately, I decided that I didn't like the cooler temps in the rubbermade boxes and built my super insulated, great big tortoise box with the oil heater in it. Did you ever see this thread?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-Mother-of-All-Tortoise-Boxes#axzz1fXgUWhBH

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Thanks for all your help, Tom. You've given me a lot of ideas for next winter!

 

[Tortuga_terrestre]

You can make some dough mass producing these houses....I do not have patience or the skills to make a house like this one... Just a suggestion.

You can set it right on the floor. The newer models have an imbedded thermostat built in. This is a fail safe so that they can never reach dangerous temps. So if its one of these types, I would turn it all the way up for your application outdoors in a plastic shed here in SoCal. That is how I used mine for many years. I had the old style though, so yours will be even safer. I would also put a CHE over the tort and put it all on a thermostat. Those boxes are not sealed enough to hold in heat and so the mats really do nothing to warm the air in the box. You don't want your leopard breathing cold air, and its cold out here tonight. The combo of the two worked really well for me for many years. Ultimately, I decided that I didn't like the cooler temps in the rubbermade boxes and built my super insulated, great big tortoise box with the oil heater in it. Did you ever see this thread?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-Mother-of-All-Tortoise-Boxes#axzz1fXgUWhBH