Outside tortoise house

[Tortoiselee94]

Hi everyone i have a well established outside spur thighed Tortoise which has lived outside for years obviously comes in in very cold though .

But I'm going to be making his outside house completely water tight and insulated and going to add a heater tube with a thermostat to keep him warm of a night etc

What is this best bedding to put in the house which he will like and that is safe with heater tube . Heater tube will be about foot and half high away from the tortoise

Many thanks
Lee

[Nina]

Hi Lee,

That is an excellent thing to do and I think your tortoise will definitely appreciate having some heat in hs outside house. What sort of heater tube are you using? I'm assuming that it's this sort that has a built in thermostat: https://www.toolstation.com/dimplex-the ... f4QAvD_BwE

For a substrate I would use ordinary screened topsoil as it's a more natural substrate for any tortoise, and you could make it several inches deep so that he could dig in a bit if he wanted to. It's also easily spot cleaned if he has a wee or poo in there. You can buy bags of screened and or sterilised topsoil at any garden centre, Homebase, etc.

It would be great to see photos of the house when it's finished -- might inspire others to do the same!

Nina

[Tortoiselee94]

Hi thank you for the reply and yes that's the exact tube I was thinking along with a a thermostat . I know they have built in stats but not very accurate really .

And yes I will upload pictures once done . I should be starting it tomorrow with any luck .

Thank you with bedding so you say just top soil? Nothing like hay ontop etc . Thanks
Lee

[Nina]

Hi Lee,
I guess you could put some hay on top, but it's not necessary as in the wild they would only have soil, and also if hay gets wet it can get bit mouldy which isn't good, so I would stick with topsoil (and you could mix a bit of children's playsand in with it if you like (but not absolutely necessary).

Nina

[Tortoiselee94]

Ok thank you . House is all build electrician is coming around to fit plug socket outside and ive ordered a thermostat just not sure if to use a tube heater or a heater bulb in the house

[Nina]

I think there are pros and cons. A tube is safer than a bulb, because if a bulb blows and hot pieces of glass fall down it can cause a fire (rare, but we know of one case where that happened and it set fire to some hay or straw that was on the floor of the enclosure). However, a tube doesn't provide light, and if he is going to be in there for any length of time -- like for many days or weeks -- then he will need some light, and if for a very long time then he will need some UVB too, especially if he is going to be in his little house for a long period of time like in autumn and spring when it might be too cold for weeks to go out. And where does he hibernate?

Nina

[win01]

I'm curious, during the changing seasons – say early fall or late spring – do you adjust the heating temperature based on the outside temperature, or do you keep it at a constant level year-round?

[Nina]

For indoor enclosures I keep it constant all year round. Tortoises aren't native to the UK, and it is better to approximate the temperatures of their natural habitat, which are much warmer than here. In the preparation for hibernation/brumation though, we gradually lower the temperature and the hours of light to approximate what would be happening in the wild, and that prepares them.

Nina