What wattage and brand to use?

[noillatsyrc]

Hi! Sulcata tortoise newbie here. I just created my own tortoise enclosure for my room so that I can take him outside at night and bring him into the enclosure at night, and even leave him in the enclosure during the day if I’m not home. I’ve had him for about a couple of months and apparently a fellow tortoise forum member mentioned that my baby was started wrong by his breeder which is why I want to make sure he starts back up again tomorrow in a better condition. I’ve got a 100 watt Zoo Med Power Sun UVB for the day and a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter for the night time that each hang at about 16 inches away from my tortoise. My substrate consists of repti bark and cypress mulch. My humidity ranges around 70 and the heat has been at a consistent 78-85 degrees but my house has ac and I feel that my enclosure doesn’t feel warm enough, especially with my little guy seeming a bit slower than when I have him outside. I’ll stick my hand inside to rest the temperature and I’ll feel the substrate and it all feels so cool still, even his basking rock. I was thinking about hanging a small dome inside with a chain of some sort to create a basking spot that may also potentially warm up the enclosure (I planned to use a Nano 40 watt ceramic heat emitter). Does anyone have any ideas or advice based on what they’ve used for their enclosure?? Anything would help!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings.

Quick question. Is your CHE on a thermostat and on 24/7? If not, it should be.....& you could add another CHE or get a larger CHE. Make sure you keep it on all the time and keep it connected to a thermostat.

I would also cover up all those vent holes.....hot air is escaping.

 

[Tom]

That is a pretty good start.

Ambient should be no lower than 80 day or night, and it should creep up close to 90 during the day with the heat lamps. You definitely need a thermostat to control the CHE, and probably need a second CHE.

You should move the power strip to the back of the enclosure, instead of inside. Thermostat should be outside too.

Humidity should be 80+% all the time. Reduce ventilation and add water to the substrate to accomplish this.

Get a digital thermometer/hygrometer form home depot to check temps and humidity. They cost about $12 and you can move it all over the enclosure. They also record highs and lows.

All this and more is in here: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/t...leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/#post-1814413