Hi I have a year old maginated tortise who is 48 grams it is eating morning and night has regular daily baths it has slowed down a lot since the cold weather and i am worried about the drop in temperture it was only 10 in its room last night  my main question is would it be a good idea to buy a heated progaror thing from the garden centre the sort you grow seeds in for the night time .

He also has not pooed that i can see for the last three days i thing that he has just slowed down a lot . As I have had him since september i did not want to hibernate him this year as we are all still geting used to each other

any advise is greatly recieved

thanks

Jill

Hi Jill,

Those kind of overnight temperatures would explain the tortoises sluggish behaviour. I reckon a minimum of around 16 degrees C overnight to ensure the tortoise doesn't go into "wind down" behaviour. The propergator might be an idea as long as its got a themostat. Would you be taking the tortoise out of its home and into the propergator each night or would you include it in its existing home? If its going in its existing home you might need to "train" the tortoise to use it by placing it in there at night for the first few days but they are very good at finding warm spots.

Alternatively a ceramic heater and thermostat are equally as good, creating a warm focused heated area. They come in handy in emergencies too, if bulbs blow and the like.

Hi

I was thinking i would take him out of the table and put him in there with his much loved hide away

my basking area is a combined light  i have been having it on for about 12 hours so it sound like i need to buy a ceramic heater and thermostat is it very comlicated and have you a idea where i could buy these from and if so how much

thank you

Hello,

Hi,

There are a huge range of thermostats available, the ones I use have day/night settings which switch at set times but you dont really need this as long as you remember to switch your thermostat and heater on when your lights go off (or you could use a timer)

These are the kind of ceramic heaters I have

http://www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/exo-terra-heat-wave-ceramic-heat-emitter-100w-686-p.asp

A thermostat like this would do the trick

http://www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/habistat-temperature-thermostat-300w-308-p.asp

You would also need a lamp holder with a ceramic socket for the Ceramic "bulb" something like this

http://www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/zoo-med-repti-porcelain-clamp-lamp-964-p.asp

The links are to the Shelled Warriors online shop, Sarah who runs the shop is very helpful, you could email her your requirements and she can sort you out a kit.

shelledwarriorsshop@hotmail.co.uk

There are of course, other online suppliers and most reptile shops will stock these items. :)

This might look a bit expensive at first but I've just had a look at good thermostatically controlled plant propogaters (I think the thermostat would be essential) and they're not cheap.

hope this helps,

Dave.

Thinking about it I've gone a bit over the top here (I do love a bit of tortoise kit) Could you get one of the little electric room heaters from Argos and just heat the room overnight? I was looking at these the other day and the majority now come with a thermostat.

H I have been leaving his basking light on which is the red kind and i moved his table aroun and for the last two nights the temps just droped to 20 so i thing i have cracked it he had a good wee last night so all i need him to do is have a poo then i will be more happy

I also wanted to say a big thank you for all the help and advise I am new to this and dont want to makeany mistakes to affect him

thank you once agin

JIll

im getting a horsefield soon and i was wondering what temps i should have in the shade and under the basking light in the day and temp at night as they are being kept in yhe shed. information varying so much

Hi, congratulations on choosing a Horsfield they are great little torts.  Hete is a link to our care sheet which will help you with your research before you get him http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/files/Horsfield%20Care%20Sheet%20May%202008.pdf 

Regarding temps in the tort table it should be around 30-32c under the basking lamp and about 20c in the cooler areas, night time you can turn the lights off, or perhaps on thermostat so that it doesnt fall below 10c.

Regards Vivienne