New two-room house: how best to set it up?

[Mortimus]

I've had a new house built for my Greek Spur-Thighed tort. It is identical to the one pictured (without the water damage), except with a beam across the apex of the roof to aid in installing lamps etc. It's this bit that I'm looking for advice on: I have a basking lamp, heat pad (which will be connected to a thermostat), UVB strip light, and (still-to-get) ambient lighting, which all need to be installed.

Where do you guys suggest I locate each of these elements? I know the heat pad needs to go on the ceiling, but as to where everything else is best located, I'm struggling to envisage. I'll need to secure a gang extension socket somewhere too.

I do have the option to remove the partition wall if it would work better without it.

Just to be clear, she has a large secure outdoor space in which to roam; this is just her overnight house and where she will go to sleep and chill during inclement weather (I'm in the UK and my tort isn't too fond of our wet days!)

All suggestions and advice much appreciated; if you can share pictures of your own similar setups that would really be helpful.

 

[wellington]

I would not use the partition but would use a partial partition about the area I put a red line. Then make the area where I put a red circle the warmest area, so put heat mat and the basking light on the same side but basking light further down towards middle of that half about where the partition would end.
Without insulation though, it's not going to stay very warm if it gets cold out

 

[wellington]

 

[Tom]

I've had a new house built for my Greek Spur-Thighed tort. It is identical to the one pictured (without the water damage), except with a beam across the apex of the roof to aid in installing lamps etc. It's this bit that I'm looking for advice on: I have a basking lamp, heat pad (which will be connected to a thermostat), UVB strip light, and (still-to-get) ambient lighting, which all need to be installed.

Where do you guys suggest I locate each of these elements? I know the heat pad needs to go on the ceiling, but as to where everything else is best located, I'm struggling to envisage. I'll need to secure a gang extension socket somewhere too.

I do have the option to remove the partition wall if it would work better without it.

Just to be clear, she has a large secure outdoor space in which to roam; this is just her overnight house and where she will go to sleep and chill during inclement weather (I'm in the UK and my tort isn't too fond of our wet days!)

All suggestions and advice much appreciated; if you can share pictures of your own similar setups that would really be helpful.


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You don't need ambient light or UV for an outdoor house. You need ambient heat to keep the temperature from dropping too low on cold days or nights, and you need a basking lamp for days when the weather just isn't cooperating.

I don't think a heat mat on the ceiling will do it, but your thermometer will tell you if that is the case. I'd remove the partition, as it serves no purpose. The basking bulb on a timer should warm the whole enclosure on days when it is on, and you don't need it on days that are warm and sunny.

See how I do it here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Mortimus]

I would not use the partition but would use a partial partition about the area I put a red line. Then make the area where I put a red circle the warmest area, so put heat mat and the basking light on the same side but basking light further down towards middle of that half about where the partition would end.
Without insulation though, it's not going to stay very warm if it gets cold out

Thanks. The box is properly insulated so should hold the heat.

 

[Mortimus]

You don't need ambient light or UV for an outdoor house. You need ambient heat to keep the temperature from dropping too low on cold days or nights, and you need a basking lamp for days when the weather just isn't cooperating.

I don't think a heat mat on the ceiling will do it, but your thermometer will tell you if that is the case. I'd remove the partition, as it serves no purpose. The basking bulb on a timer should warm the whole enclosure on days when it is on, and you don't need it on days that are warm and sunny.

See how I do it here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Ah, I had read the thread you linked above previously and perhaps misunderstood about the ambient lighting. Will it not matter that the house is pretty dark once the roof is closed if there is no ambient light? I thought she might not know when it's day/night time without it, as before she had a greenhouse as her 'house', so light was naturally coming in during the day.

She's an old tortoise and doesn't get out and about as much as she once did, especially in the cooler months when she likes to snooze and just bask. I was worried that during these times she wouldn't get enough natural UV, so my plan was to have the UV on just during these times. Is that completely unnecessary then? I'm thinking especially of when she's winding down for brumation in the Autumn and stops going outside completely for days or weeks at a time. If it's not needed it's one less thing I need to install in the house, so that would be good.

 

[Tom]

Ah, I had read the thread you linked above previously and perhaps misunderstood about the ambient lighting. Will it not matter that the house is pretty dark once the roof is closed if there is no ambient light? I thought she might not know when it's day/night time without it, as before she had a greenhouse as her 'house', so light was naturally coming in during the day.

She's an old tortoise and doesn't get out and about as much as she once did, especially in the cooler months when she likes to snooze and just bask. I was worried that during these times she wouldn't get enough natural UV, so my plan was to have the UV on just during these times. Is that completely unnecessary then? I'm thinking especially of when she's winding down for brumation in the Autumn and stops going outside completely for days or weeks at a time. If it's not needed it's one less thing I need to install in the house, so that would be good.

I'll remove the partition completely then; I thought it might aid in having a warm area and a cool area, but perhaps not?

In the wild, the tortoise would seek shelter under a bush, or some species utilize burrows. There are no lights there, but just like in your tortoise house, they can see that it is sunny and daytime. They position themselves in or out of the sun to warm or cool. Your tortoise house simulates the shade of a burrow or bush. When the tortoise needs UV or warmth, it can step out into the sun. If there is no sun due to weather, the tortoise can bask under the artificial "sun" in your night house. They will get enough UV on other days, and they store D3, so they don't need UVB all day every day.

Old tortoises should be just as active as young ones. You might find with warmer more favorable conditions, your tortoise's activity and appetite may pick up a bit.

 

[Mortimus]

In the wild, the tortoise would seek shelter under a bush, or some species utilize burrows. There are no lights there, but just like in your tortoise house, they can see that it is sunny and daytime. They position themselves in or out of the sun to warm or cool. Your tortoise house simulates the shade of a burrow or bush. When the tortoise needs UV or warmth, it can step out into the sun. If there is no sun due to weather, the tortoise can bask under the artificial "sun" in your night house. They will get enough UV on other days, and they store D3, so they don't need UVB all day every day.

Old tortoises should be just as active as young ones. You might find with warmer more favorable conditions, your tortoise's activity and appetite may pick up a bit.

Thanks. That makes sense, I just wasn't sure how much daylight would get in to the house once the roof and door is closed, but I'll soon be able to tell.

On a different note; presumably I need substrate across the entire floor? In the past she had always slept in a pile of straw (I have recently learned this isn't the best - I inherited her from someone who didn't really know what they were doing), so I wasn't sure if I should have some kind of bedding for her in one area where she can go to as her 'bed'.

She's still very active in the warmer months, it's when she's winding down in the autumn that she tends not to venture outside as often.

 

[Tom]

...it's when she's winding down in the autumn that she tends not to venture outside as often.

That is pretty normal, but you will likely see improvement in that with the heated shelter. Control of the temperature, regardless of the weather outside the box, allows you to wind her down for brumation more safely and reliably. You can keep it warm enough as you are clearing all the food from the gut, and then cool it at the correct pace.