Simon Carter
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2014
- Messages
- 1
I have looked for an answer to this question, because I'm sure it must be here somewhere, but there are so many posts I have given up searching.
I've had a Hermanns since December, he is about 4 years old 5 inches long, has been kept indoors until recently, we have built an outdoor enclosure, to allow him more space to roam, with a heated house 5 foot long, with a ceramic heater at one end, and a daytime basking light at the other, which is protected from the elements, dry and insulated, but not heated at night. Outside he has bark, digging soil, & grass areas too (total area about 20m sq) day time air temp is about 17-20 centigrade, night 12-15 centigrade. My concern is that he buries himself outside, and goes to sleep in the damp cold ground, when I pick him up after several hours he is very cold to touch, and sluggish...if I place him in the heated sheltered area, he wakes up again, basks, eats and then goes back out, explores and buries himself again... Am I just being paranoid? Will he cope with the cold? Or should I keep on being a helicopter parent, and putting him back in the warmth? (I have been locking him in the drier warm area at night, in the morning when I open the door he doesn't rush out, happily staying in the warm, but after a few hours with the basking light on he then emerges, explores, eats and buries himself in the cold...) I understood that they will return to warmer areas when they get cold, and regulate their temperature by moving between warmer and cooler areas, he seems to lack this ability...??
I've had a Hermanns since December, he is about 4 years old 5 inches long, has been kept indoors until recently, we have built an outdoor enclosure, to allow him more space to roam, with a heated house 5 foot long, with a ceramic heater at one end, and a daytime basking light at the other, which is protected from the elements, dry and insulated, but not heated at night. Outside he has bark, digging soil, & grass areas too (total area about 20m sq) day time air temp is about 17-20 centigrade, night 12-15 centigrade. My concern is that he buries himself outside, and goes to sleep in the damp cold ground, when I pick him up after several hours he is very cold to touch, and sluggish...if I place him in the heated sheltered area, he wakes up again, basks, eats and then goes back out, explores and buries himself again... Am I just being paranoid? Will he cope with the cold? Or should I keep on being a helicopter parent, and putting him back in the warmth? (I have been locking him in the drier warm area at night, in the morning when I open the door he doesn't rush out, happily staying in the warm, but after a few hours with the basking light on he then emerges, explores, eats and buries himself in the cold...) I understood that they will return to warmer areas when they get cold, and regulate their temperature by moving between warmer and cooler areas, he seems to lack this ability...??