Need Ideas to help raise the temperature.

[janiedough]

Percy stays in a utility room that houses the hot water heater. One side of the utility room is attached to the house, and the other side is the outside wall of the house.

The outside wall of this part of the house is basically just paneling - very thin wood.

I lined the parts of Percy's "alley" with doors and aluminum siding. I use a 150W Basking Bulb.

The temperature stays a good 10*F higher than outside. However, on the days that the temp gets lower than 50*F I need to increase the heat in that room somehow.

I tried a Ceramic Heat thing, but it was only 60W and it didn't put a dent in the temp.

**I also now have the floor COVERED with banana leaves. He eats them and I replace them. He also has put some good poops in there to make himself feel at home

It's a large space the size of a closet, but there is the hot water heater in there, etc. so I am scared of fire hazards.

Any ideas?? I open to building other things to this alley.

Should I just get him a pig blanket? He is only 12" and about 10lbs.

He also has free rein to go in and out of this room as he chooses.

I'm also worried about him getting dehydrated. I am not 100% sure he is drinking out of his water "bowl."

---

another issue i am having is the basking light is on 24/7 which I know is not good for him

he needs some night time heat.

 

[webskipper]

Ok start with a timer for the lights. The basic pet trade outlet strip has a timer to control day/night cycles. The sun lamp can be on the in the day and a nocturnal heat lamp can turn on for the night with the same timer.

Replace the aluminum with wood, say at least 12" high to keep in the heat. Metal is a heat sink and radiates heat well.

Experiment with 2 or more of the nocturnal heat lamps (75W or 100W) and I would recommend that the floor be covered with a couple inches of substrate.

How cold do your feet get when walking barefoot on concrete? Get the idea?

 

[janiedough]

Ok start with a timer for the lights. The basic pet trade outlet strip has a timer to control day/night cycles. The sun lamp can be on the in the day and a nocturnal heat lamp can turn on for the night with the same timer.

Replace the aluminum with wood, say at least 12" high to keep in the heat. Metal is a heat sink and radiates heat well.

Experiment with 2 or more of the nocturnal heat lamps (75W or 100W) and I would recommend that the floor be covered with a couple inches of substrate.

How cold do your feet get when walking barefoot on concrete? Get the idea?

the floor actually isn't cold. But I am going to put some more banana leaves.

I have aluminum over wood - so are you saying take out the aluminum all together?

 

[Meg90]

Go and get some bags of Cyprus. Your leaves are not cutting it. They are not made to live on concrete and even living that way for a few weeks could do some major damage. I can't imagine how it is for him to walk on it. That is why people don't recommend housing torts on smooth surfaces--they can get splay legged and get damage to their joints, and would you like to sleep on concrete when in the wild you'd have a nice soft burrow?

Have you thought about just getting him a heater? They make tons of models now, and you could hang it so it pointed down and blew hot air directly on him. I think you need to up his temps asap. Cold is a recipe for disaster, especially in a species that would never encounter it naturally. I think you should leave the basking bulbs for day time, and just run a heater 24/7

 

[Yvonne G]

You need to cover that floor. Choose a day when its going to be fairly sunny and just take everything out of there. If you don't want to spend the $$$ on a rubber horse stall mat, then find a piece of plywood that will fit the floor space. Cut it to fit and put it over the cement. There is no "should I" to it, yes, you need to buy a pig blanket! I buy mine from Osborne-Ind.com/ Or Osborne Industries. They come in many sizes, but you're going to spend about $65 on the F911 controller and about $100 on the pig blanket. This is money well spent. It will keep your tortoise warm and healthy in the cold months. If you can find some old sheets of used plywood then cut them to fit the walls too. All your heat is just going right out those flimsy walls. Once you have the floor covered, then you can put down some substrate if you want. I like to leave my floor mats clear because its easier on the clean up.

 

[bettinge]

Insulte the outside wall would also help retain the heat. As stated, there are many heaters you can buy for that area or get a couple of 250w CHE's!

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...amic-bulbs/-/exo-terra-250-watt-ceramic-bulb/

 

[janiedough]

thanks guys!

and just so yall know Percy comes inside when it gets below 60 in his enclosure.

So get the pig blanket AND CME's? or should I just get one?

Will CME's really increase the heat that much in this big of a space?

and I will cover that floor with the horse mat - been trying to find some around here, but the ranch outlet that I knew of closed and the feed store that I know of doesn't carry it.

I know it seems I am really slow in getting this done, but I have been trying and it hasn't gotten that cold except maybe twice, and percy then comes in. I do live in South Louisiana...

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and yvonne can you tell me which pig blanket you recommend? I just looked at the website and there are TONS to choose from.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have at least one of almost every size they sell, but the most of one size that I have is 1 1/2 x 2 feet. I bought two 3'x3' and they're just way too big even for the biggest tortoises. You want to leave some bare floor space so if the pig blanket malfunctions the tortoise can get off of it. So right now I have Dudley (over 100lbs), Bo and So (both over 100lbs) on the 1 1/2 x 2 foot pads. They hang off the edge, but its ok. Your little sulcata will be able to fit on this size pad for years.

In my tortoise sheds I have a pig blanket for the tortoise on the floor, then two light fixtures hanging from the ceiling so the fixture is about 2' from the floor. In one fixture I have a regular 60 watt incandescent bulb which I turn on when the sun isn't shining on cloudy or over cast days. In the other fixture I have a black light bulb (or you can use a CHE in this fixture) which I turn on at night. If you use a CHE you can either leave it on all the time or only turn it on when its cold. My leopard tortoise shed isn't as air tight as the newer sheds that I built, and I'm always having to adjust what I have in there to keep it warm. Right now there are two pig blankets (3 tortoises), two day light fixtures, two fixtures with 100 watt CHEs in them and two fixtures with black light bulbs. In the mornings the shed is only 60 degrees, so I'm going to have to go back to the drawing table and see what I can do to insulate the shed better.

 

[janiedough]

ok so one 1.5x2' pig blanket - the one that increases the temp by 30* not 20* right?
and get a 250W CHE

and then a night time (I am thinking of using blacklight from Wal-Mart like you said in other posts) bulb

so the day time and night time bulbs will switch on and off on a timer, the pig blanket and the CHE will always be on.

And put something on that floor!

sound good? I need to get shopping...

Thanks guys! Thank you so much!

---

OH! but I still have a question about dehydration.

I am not sure if he is drinking out of his waterbowl. How will I be able to tell if he is dehydrated? I mean Percy is fine - walking around, alert and active. No weepy eyes or stuffy nose, not even stress noises when I pick him or anything. He eats grass outside plus whatever wandering jew, aloe, romaine, turnip greens, etc. that I feed him about once a week.

 

[K9KidsLove]

Janie...Do you soak him? I soak my Sulcatas once a week in a tub they can't climb out of, for about 20 minutes. If he is dehydrated, his eyes may be sunken in.

I have a 12' x 12' 'Turtle/Tortoise room' that I put my guys in when it is too cold outside. Since I don't keep them on the floor, I don't have heat mats. When I get to build my outdoor shed, I will have the rubber mats & heat blankets.

Since my furnace is broken, I have a 250 watt infrared red heat bulb from Walmart that is for well pump houses. It is on 24/7, in a 10" clamp lamp which is in the far end of the room, laying on its side on top of a tank, facing into the room. It keeps the room 70-80 depending on the outside temp. Each tank/enclosure has its own day heat light and UVB.

I live in MS so my temps are similar to yours.
Good luck
Patsy

 

[janiedough]

I haven't soaked him in a few weeks because it rains here everyday, and i catch him out in the rain. I also wanted to see if he would drink out of that water bowl.

His eyes look good. Clear, not sunken or watery. Anything else to watch out for as far as hydration??

Should I break down and soak him? I hate to wet him when its so cold out.

If I put a big water saucer in his enclosure do you guys think he will get in it and soak? Percy was raised on carpet or in a small tub with dirt. He didn't start really living til I got a hold of him. I hate messing with him a lot, not because it's a hassle to me but because I feel like he doesn't like it and he rather do it himself.

I'm just trying to figure out a way to let him get his own water without me picking him up and soaking him.




The pig blanket will be here tomorrow! I think I am more excited than he ever could be

 

[Madkins007]

Heating thoughts:
- I would definitely insulate. Using rigid foam insulation board would be quick, cheap, and easy. I personally would do the floor and at least 3' up the walls, preferably all the way up- and insulate the ceiling as well- OR- use the insulation board to make a ceiling a couple feet over the heaters.

Humidity thoughts:
- A good way to see if a tortoise is dehydrated is the Donoghue Ratio- take the straight line carapace length (SCL) in centimeters to the third power, and multiply by 0.191 to find the expected minimum weight in grams. This often shows the problem before the sunken eyes, etc. does.
- Most species benefit from the option of humid or not. You can offer a humid hide, a humid corner, etc. Some people just put a shallow pan of very damp Cypress in a warm area and let the animal 'soak' on it if they want.
- Soaks, by themselves, are not generally as effective as managing hydration in other ways. They only really absorb a little liquid through the cloaca, and hardly any through the skin as a whole.
- Although- sometimes torts REALLY like to climb in and just sit. I strongly recommend water dishes that allow them to select to soak if they want, easy to get in and out of, deep enough to stick their head under water to drink, and set as flush to the surface of the substrate as possible.

 

[webskipper]

Why not just go get a huge tub from the local farm supply/hardware store?

They make preformed ponds that are flat with steep walls so that the Tort could not scale them. Go to L o w z and ask for the Niagara preformed pond. A lot warmer than what you have and easy to clean. m a c c o u r t dot com

 

[janiedough]

Why not just go get a huge tub from the local farm supply/hardware store?

They make preformed ponds that are flat with steep walls so that the Tort could not scale them. Go to L o w z and ask for the Niagara preformed pond. A lot warmer than what you have and easy to clean. m a c c o u r t dot com

that doesn't sound feasible for my setup....?

---

Heating thoughts:
- I would definitely insulate. Using rigid foam insulation board would be quick, cheap, and easy. I personally would do the floor and at least 3' up the walls, preferably all the way up- and insulate the ceiling as well- OR- use the insulation board to make a ceiling a couple feet over the heaters.

Humidity thoughts:
- A good way to see if a tortoise is dehydrated is the Donoghue Ratio- take the straight line carapace length (SCL) in centimeters to the third power, and multiply by 0.191 to find the expected minimum weight in grams. This often shows the problem before the sunken eyes, etc. does.
- Most species benefit from the option of humid or not. You can offer a humid hide, a humid corner, etc. Some people just put a shallow pan of very damp Cypress in a warm area and let the animal 'soak' on it if they want.
- Soaks, by themselves, are not generally as effective as managing hydration in other ways. They only really absorb a little liquid through the cloaca, and hardly any through the skin as a whole.
- Although- sometimes torts REALLY like to climb in and just sit. I strongly recommend water dishes that allow them to select to soak if they want, easy to get in and out of, deep enough to stick their head under water to drink, and set as flush to the surface of the substrate as possible.

Since I live in Louisiana humidity is always 40% or more. However, thanks for the info. I will try the Donoghue Ratio thing tomorrow.

 

[janiedough]

ok so I put a mat down, and I put in the pig blanket. and I put in a black light to interchange with the basking light.

Last night it was about 32* outside, and about 50* in his enclosure away from the light. Under the black light and above the pig blanket it was 63*

However Percy was not on his pig blanket, he was "burrowed" in the corner.

so what do i do....?

 

[webskipper]

So now we are about 10 degrees away from where we want to be.

Can Percy live with the humans upstairs for a few months? That would solve the temperature issues.

He won't take up much space.

 

[Yvonne G]

Put the pig blanket in the corner that he likes to burrow in.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

He needs to be in a box like Bob's sleeping box. He goes to bed in his sleeping box every night. It has a pig blanket in it and he sleeps in the same corner on that pig blanket. Can't your husband make a wooden box for him? Or move the dogloo inside and put the pig blanket in it and hang the light in it. Put a couple of blankets over it as a kind of insulation. Also you can get that insulation that's like styrofoam and line the walls of the room.

 

[Yvonne G]

I looked at your pictures again, and it looks to me as if Percy DOES have a sleeping box. His half dog crate IS his sleeping box. Put the crate in the corner that Percy prefers, with the pig blanket under it. It might take a week or so of you picking him up every night and placing him inside the crate, but he will eventually get the message.

 

[K9KidsLove]

So did he sleep on his mat last night?
Patsy