russian tortoise

[Squiggles]

Do I keep posting here on this thread with various questions, or start anew?
Anyway, I would like any referrals for a ceramic heating element on a thermostat. I am becoming overwhelmed with all the choices and the one stars that accompany everything. I am going to home depot tomorrow for a Milwaukee temp gun just incase there are any thoughts on that. What kind of fixture does the 65w flood light go in, because I read you don't want to use a clamp fixture and of course that is what I have? Speedy should probably go to the vet and I am not sure I want to take him back to the place that told me to put only hay in his cage. I live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago if anyone has a favorite vet. My husband and I made a tortoise table today. We tried to copy the PVC sheet one. It takes up most of the room. Is the only way to keep the heat in to put a top on it. It seems sad to close it all off. I've rambled enough any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Krista S]

I use the Inkbird ITC-306T thermostat and love it. You can program a day temp and night temp on it, and it also has 2 plug ins if you want it to run 2 heat lamps. I use the Fluker’s brand of heat emitters and have it and the 65 watt incandescent flood bulbs screwed into 8” Exoterra extra deep dome fixtures. Some dome fixtures come with a hanger and a clamp. You’re correct that you don’t want to use the clamp. I have my fixtures hanging from ZooMed full size reptile lamp stands that have the big steel plate on the bottom. There’s many ways to do this, but this is what I use and it has worked well for me. Did you see my reply to you the other day about the flood light bulbs?

With regards to keeping in the heat, if you have the enclosure in a large open space, then yes, the only way to keep the heat in is to make the enclosure a closed chamber. I see you say it takes up most of the room, so you may be similar to my scenario. I have a small bedroom that is the warmest room in the house to begin with, so that’s where I have my table. The walls of my enclosure are 2 feet tall for a couple of reasons. It helps keep the heat in, and if I ever decide to cover it, I will have enough height to do that. Although The enclosure is where the heat is, I am essentially heating the whole room which isn’t very energy efficient. The pay off is that I can have an open top enclosure, so I’m ok with that. You can decide what works best for your environment and tortoise.