Norbert is finally adjusting and active.

[sachmn]

I've had him for a couple of weeks now and he finally seems to be a lot more comfortable. He doesn't try to hide every time I'm in the room near his enclosure and often seems just as curious about me as I am about him.
I saw him soak today and he's been eating his fair share. He does still sleep most of the time but he's moving back and forth from the cool side for a couple days then the warm side, and so on. I also saw him soak for the first time today which was cool.
I do, however, have a question on regulating the temperature, mainly on the warm side. I have the heat lamp roughly 10 inches from the substrate and for a while it was saying 92-95...well, today it jumped to 115-120. Nothing has really changed in the enclosure for it to take such a steep incline. He has been sleeping over there as well, so I'm wondering if maybe this isn't actually too hot for him since he seems to be choosing to be there.
I do have the thermometer probe right under the light, where as he seems to be off to the side a bit, just outside of that direct path of the heat.
Ambient room temp. at night is between 72-75. The cool side of the enclosure during the day is about 76-80.
Any feedback on maintaining that 90-95 temp. is more than welcome, I'm pretty perplexed by it.
Thanks

 

[Tom]

I've had him for a couple of weeks now and he finally seems to be a lot more comfortable. He doesn't try to hide every time I'm in the room near his enclosure and often seems just as curious about me as I am about him.
I saw him soak today and he's been eating his fair share. He does still sleep most of the time but he's moving back and forth from the cool side for a couple days then the warm side, and so on. I also saw him soak for the first time today which was cool.
I do, however, have a question on regulating the temperature, mainly on the warm side. I have the heat lamp roughly 10 inches from the substrate and for a while it was saying 92-95...well, today it jumped to 115-120. Nothing has really changed in the enclosure for it to take such a steep incline. He has been sleeping over there as well, so I'm wondering if maybe this isn't actually too hot for him since he seems to be choosing to be there.
I do have the thermometer probe right under the light, where as he seems to be off to the side a bit, just outside of that direct path of the heat.
Ambient room temp. at night is between 72-75. The cool side of the enclosure during the day is about 76-80.
Any feedback on maintaining that 90-95 temp. is more than welcome, I'm pretty perplexed by it.
Thanks

His behavior tells me that you've got it right. If he is healthy and self-regulating his temperature by moving back and forth, I wouldn't change it. If he were always on the cool side, I'd say raise the lamp a bit. Or vice-versa.

I try to have three temps to choose from in any reptile enclosure. Cool side, warm side and basking SPOT. I like a basking spot to be 110-120. This is different than the warm side temp by a lot.

I measure the "hot spot" by putting a tortoise sized rock or a brick directly under the hottest part of the spot light and letting it sit there for a couple of hours, then putting a remote temp probe on top of it for another hour or so. This will tell me the hottest temp on the highest part of the tort. This is important because if your tort is 6 inches tall there can be a substantial temp difference between the top of his back and the bottom of the enclosure.

Sometimes those remote probes take a long time to give an accurate reading. Sometimes the temp seems to stop climbing after 20 minutes or so, but if you let it sit there longer it will gradually keep rising as the cage furnishings and substrate get warmer and warmer. After a bit of the moisture from the substrate is done evaporating(and cooling), the temp will rise a bit as the substrate becomes drier. Meaning you'll get a lower reading early in the morn or soon after a misting, than you will later in the day, after things have dried out a bit. Might this account for your sudden temp change?

 

[-ryan-]

A much quicker and more accurate way to get a temperature reading is to get a hand-held temperature gun and measure the temperature of the tortoise's shell when he is at different points in the enclosure. This will not give you an accurate reading of the tortoise's core temperature, but that is really not important to us. It will allow you to see what his target temperature is at different points in the day.

You can also do the rock idea, but keep in mind that a tortoise isn't really a rock or a brick, so they will heat up differently (though not too differently). Again, a temperature gun will give you accurate, immediate surface temperature readings.i

 

[sachmn]

Thanks for the feedback. I had considered both of those options but hadn't really decided on either but will probably end of doing both because I'm a little neurotic like that. Ryan, do you have any suggestions for a decent laser thermometer?
For the time being he seems to be doing alright, since he can, and has, moved back and forth within the enclosure, and is more and more active.
Thanks again. Any other opinions are more than welcome.

 

[llamas55]

http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers

I'm wondering about the above Raytek MT4 Mini laser thermometer, which before shipping is $33 on the page above. I also would like to be more precise for Tommi Tortoise.

 

[-ryan-]

That looks like a decent product. I have a few from pro exotics, which are around the same price (and you get the benefit of supporting a fantastic reptile breeding facility). They are also more compact. I have the PE 1, as well as an older version of it. To be honest, I like the older version better, but the PE 1 is still a great little device. You just point it at the surface and click and it will give you an immediate reading. I usually get it pretty close to the surface in question because that ensures accurate measurement (if you hold it far away you are actually measuring a composite temperature of a larger area... which is actually also pretty useful).

I think their great. Digital thermometers in conjunction with these will help keep tabs on temperatures throughout the enclosure.

http://www.tempgun.com/order.html#pe1

I also saw ryobi has one that is affordable and available locally (as long as you have a home depot near you):

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Of course, I think it is best to try to support the reptile industry when we can... but I am a bit hypocritical because I buy almost everything from home depot (supplies for enclosures, lights, substrate, etc. etc.)

Best of luck!

 

[Stephanie Logan]

I also got the PE-1 on Danny's (Egyptiandan) advice; I think he uses the PE-2 now. So that's an endorsement to consider!

I want to see more photos of young Norbert's face. Redfoots are so photogenic.

 

[sachmn]

I will definitely get some better shots up soon, I'm still trying to take it easy on him as he's still getting used to me and his new home.

 

[Madkins007]

Uhhhh... I think over 100F is a bit warm- I get uncomfortable when my hot area gets above 95F. Red-foots, especially the young'uns, are not generally happy when being blasted.

If he is self-choosing the really hot location, I would ensure that the rest of the place is warm enough- 85F is a good working average for Red-foots.

As for a decent infra-red thermometer- Harbor Freight carries a few at a good price- http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=thermometer&Submit=Go

The more you spend, the more accurate- but really, if it is within a couple degrees, it is good enough for our needs. What I want is a laser aiming light or a probe so I KNOW what I am measuring, an easy to read display, and something that measures pretty quickly so I can shoot several areas in my habitat in a short time.

You should also invest in a humidity gauge. Accuracy is not massively vital here either. You can get cheap ones at pet shops, but I prefer the digital ones as part of a home weather station, like http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96417

Controlling temps- the easiest thing I have is a decent thermostat with a probe. It generally does a decent job of controlling the temps without any help from me. Zoo-med makes a decent one, but there are several good ones on the 'net. This is the one I would get if I had the money: http://www.bigappleherp.com/Herp-Power-Proportional-Thermostat#

 

[llamas55]

Thank you for this site, Mark, I have not seen some of these heating choices, and like the instructive videos that explain.
Sorta, but not quite, different topic, but has anyone used this heat rope (say, around a hide or along the edges of the container)
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes?

 

[sachmn]

Those look interesting, I've never seen them before.

 

[Madkins007]

I use the FlexWatt tape from Big Apple. The thing about the rope is that you need to zig-zag a bunch of it to create the right heat.

I DO like the idea of GENTLE heat from below if the room is cool or the substrate would otherwise be clammy.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Come on guys.. redfoots don't need 3 different heat ranges! They don't need a 'cool' spot and they don't "BASK" like other torts do. They don't really like light. Mid 80's is where they need to be.. so do your best to maintain that. Heat emitters - NOT LIGHTS - is what you need for heat IF you're not using some other source. I'm hearing more about the 'ropes' but they need to be able to warm a redfoots hide area because that IS where they spend most of their time.. hatchling thru adults!!!

Take a look at the 'redfootcare' link below...

Terry K

 

[llamas55]

I'm envisioning kind of a rope wrapped tunnel as one tort hide choice, top and bottom, sides.

I still like my orchidarium (which, as it turns out, may be too dark for the orchids) because the plants are hooked to the habitat inside and above the tort (she can walk below the pots), so the leaves all but fill/block and filter the light, which only hits the middle for her, should she choose to be there.

I still had to add the warm air humidifier tho, humidity was not high enough with just plants.

Now I'm trying to note a difference in the shell and see if pyramiding halted, which I so hope it has.

 

[sachmn]

I just added a warm air humidifier too, but since my table is open top I put that plastic lid over the humidifier vent so it's directed into the enclosure and dripping down.
I've just been having a really difficult time maintaining a decent temperature. I'm experimenting with hanging the Heat Emitters and angling them into the covered area to turing one off when the humidifier is on so the heat from it and the Emitters doesn't drive the temp. up too much.
It's really just come down to realizing that I just need a couple of thermostats, that should make it quite a bit easier. But that is a couple of weeks away so I'll have to keep experimenting with it till then.