Types of plastic coverings for enclosure

[KT1]

Hi everyone!
I am new to the forum and am a new mom to a baby leopard tortoise.
I have him(?) in a large stock tank, and have covered the top w/ a clear shower curtain liner.
I am a bit concerned about the plastic liner being over the CHE dome--it gets really hot.
Is it safe to cover the CHE with the liner? What do other folks use to cover their enclosure (preferably clear)
Many thanks! Katie

 

[Golden Greek Tortoise 567]

Hi everyone!
I am new to the forum and am a new mom to a baby leopard tortoise.
I have him(?) in a large stock tank, and have covered the top w/ a clear shower curtain liner.
I am a bit concerned about the plastic liner being over the CHE dome--it gets really hot.
Is it safe to cover the CHE with the liner? What do other folks use to cover their enclosure (preferably clear)
Many thanks! Katie

I don’t know how to answer your first question, but for my hatchlings, I do a closed chamber. All the fixtures are inside the enclosure and I make the chambers out of plywood, with a plexiglass screen.

 

[TortoiseWarrior]

Hi and Welcome...
If you show pictures some notable members can give great advice.
I also use a closed chambers for my torts. @Tom has built an enclosure or two. I would ask him

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings.

Definitely upload some pix of your enclosure set-up. In the meantime, be very careful with your shower curtain set-up over your CHE. Is your CHE on a thermostat? Your shower curtain can easily warm up & sag down onto the CHE, melt & catch fire. So, be very careful.

 

[KT1]

Greetings.

Definitely upload some pix of your enclosure set-up. In the meantime, be very careful with your shower curtain set-up over your CHE. Is your CHE on a thermostat? Your shower curtain can easily warm up & sag down onto the CHE, melt & catch fire. So, be very careful.

 

[KT1]

Thanks so much for the responses! I have attached two pictures, one with the clear curtain down, and one with it lift it up.
on the left and the dome lamp is the fluorescent light, in the middle is the UVB bulb, and on the right is the CHE bulb. Right now, I am leaving the CHE bulb uncovered because I am very worried about the shower curtain getting too hot and causing a fire.
I do not yet have a thermostat, but one is on the way! I am also planning on putting some small potted plants, succulents and weeds toward the back.
I know this is a temporary enclosure, but I’m hoping it will get me through the winter, but not at the cost of my little guys health.
and I thought I had learned a lot when I got my Russian tortoise rescue and he was in an aquarium…, LOL!
Please help! Thanks so much, Katie

 

[TortoiseWarrior]

Is this the route you are trying to go?
How much humidity is your enclosure holding? I think the best way to hold humidity is to trap it by sealing the enclosure. (Closed chamber)
I suppose you could raise the cross bar, or lower the lights to keep the lamps off the the curtain cause you don't want that stuff touching.

Google Image Result for https://www.petsulcata.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/close-chamber-tortoise-enclosure.jpg

Here is another, can you do something like this?

 

[TortoiseWarrior]

Closed "Chambers"

Been meaning to do this one for a while now... Over the years I have kept a lot of reptiles in a lot of different ways. I've learned a lot of stuff about a lot of species. Since finding and joining this forum almost two years ago, I've learned a TON more. Now I'm not just stumbling around...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Here is some info I think will help a lot

 

[KT1]

Wow!! Thanks so much for all that info!
I am going to read all the information carefully, especially the tortoise forum thread that goes back nine years and it’s 19 pages, LOL!
I really want to do the closed chamber because from reading on this forum I think it’s the right way to go. With that said, I think right now I will increase the height of the light fixture so I can drape the plastic over all of the lights without having to worry.
I know the enclosure is not hot enough nor humid enough with the one and open and that concerns me.
I may play around with the CHE by turning it off for part of the day and completely covering the enclosure to see if that raises the heat and humidity.
Again, all help is welcome and I so appreciate it!