Heat's out

[brodie7838]

The boiler in my house is down and I don't know when it will be fixed. It's snowing and supposed to get pretty cold tonight. I already have two 1500W space heaters in the room where my red-foot tortoise enclosure is, along with the three 75W ceramic emitters inside the enclosure, but I'm struggling to keep the temps where they need to be and it's only going to get colder tonight and tomorrow. I can't add a third space heater as I've already maxed out both circuits in this room as it is. I have placed two of the ceramic emitters near where she's hanging out but I'm worried and wanted to get some input from the community.

 

[Tim Carlisle]

The boiler in my house is down and I don't know when it will be fixed. It's snowing and supposed to get pretty cold tonight. I already have two 1500W space heaters in the room where my red-foot tortoise enclosure is, along with the three 75W ceramic emitters inside the enclosure, but I'm struggling to keep the temps where they need to be and it's only going to get colder tonight and tomorrow. I can't add a third space heater as I've already maxed out both circuits in this room as it is. I have placed two of the ceramic emitters near where she's hanging out but I'm worried and wanted to get some input from the community.

Possible to place her in a smaller space that's easier to heat in the meantime?

 

[wellington]

I was going to suggest the same thing Tim Carlisle suggested. Specially for night time it can be a much smaller space.

 

[Tom]

How about hot water bottles and a Kane mat?

 

[brodie7838]

Thanks for your suggestions. I used some corrugated plastic to make a separator in the enclosure as well as a lid, and focused the heat from the ceramic heaters in just that area. Temps are slowly inching back up. I'll keep fussing with it. Thanks everyone.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Can you post a recent photo of the enclosure? I can't find any, except a small temporary one, in your older threads.

 

[COmtnLady]

The boiler in my house is down and I don't know when it will be fixed. It's snowing and supposed to get pretty cold tonight. I already have two 1500W space heaters in the room where my red-foot tortoise enclosure is, along with the three 75W ceramic emitters inside the enclosure, but I'm struggling to keep the temps where they need to be and it's only going to get colder tonight and tomorrow. I can't add a third space heater as I've already maxed out both circuits in this room as it is. I have placed two of the ceramic emitters near where she's hanging out but I'm worried and wanted to get some input from the community.

Can you boil water on the stove, or is your water heater a gas one? If so gather the biggest jugs you can find (gallon milk bottles, gatoraid or juice or pop two liters, etc.) fill with the extremely hot water, put the caps on tight in case they fall over, and put them inside the enclosure. Put a blanket or two around the enclosure to insulate it and keep what heat you can inside. (Be careful the cloth doesn't touch the lamp-bells/shades, might be a fire hazard, but get the insulation within a inch or two of the light shades.) You will have to re-do the hot water every hour or so as it cools down. Keep the lid closed as much as you can when doing this to minimize heat loss. if you let the water get too cold it will work in reverse and make the enclosure cooler.

Do you have any of the Rubbermaid-type tubs with lids? That would be a much smaller space to try to keep warm, easier to insulate and you could "fake" a cover with your lights and foil crimped tight around the bottom of their bells and across the tub's top (make a foil lid with working CHE to keep tub interior warm).

Do you have a car with a working heater? Warm the car up, put your tortoise in a container (like a liquor box or that size Rubbermaid-type tub, with a top to keep the heat in - or fake a foil one. Snuggle it up to the where the vent would blow on the passenger's feet of the front seat. put pillows or towels between the tort-box and the firewall/angled part of the floor toward the engine, underneath the box on floor, and put blankets around all the rest of the exposed parts to insulate.

Is there a public building or friend's house that will be warm that you could go to? The student union, an all-night laundromat, that sort of thing, if things get dire. I'd even talk with the cop shop or fire station before I'd let my tort get cold. There has to be some emergency shelter somewhere.

 

[ryan57]

If I was in this situation I would simply place the tortoise in a cardboard box that I cut down to just above the height of the tortoise, put a heated blanket covering the top and wrapping the box to the extent possible and throw another thick blanket over the heated one to keep the heat in. Done.

 

[COmtnLady]

If I was in this situation I would simply place the tortoise in a cardboard box that I cut down to just above the height of the tortoise, put a heated blanket covering the top and wrapping the box to the extent possible and throw another thick blanket over the heated one to keep the heat in. Done.

The problem is that his tortoise is a Red foot, so needs tropical levels of heat (and humidity), and Colorado's weather tonight involves a lot of snow and wind. Its going to get really chilly in brodie7838's house. While I am located a couple hours away from there, it is currently 10F/-12C here, and from the TV weather reports, their area can't be a heck of a lot different than that. The tort needs some heat included inside the blankets.

Edit ~
I just reread your post Ryan. I missed the part where you said a heated blanket first time. If you mean an electric blanket that would work.
Sorry about not noticing that sooner.
Note: You have to be careful not to get crimps/sharp folds in an electric blanket or to have more than one layer or will get way too hot, might even be a fire hazard. Same if you try using a human's heating pad for sore muscles. They have to stay flat and in one layer.

 

[COmtnLady]

How are things going?

 

[brodie7838]

So far so good, the sectioned-off area of her enclosure is holding temps pretty decently. She's eating, pooping, and moving around pretty normally which I take as good signs.