Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in Southern California and alot of african tortoise owners keep their torts outside. I think those people live more inland where the temp stays warmer at night. I live near the water and the humidity is higher and the climate is cooler, even dropping to the 60's at night mid summer. I need plans on an area my torts can stay warm at night in. I'm not really interested in dimensions, just more interested in building materials and heating elements. Also looking for something that is not going to catch on fire.

Thanks

Without getting into the debate of "over or under" heat sources in these "hot houses", I would reccomend Kane heat mats. They are durable, cleanable, and heat up nicely. Just do a search for them. They sell many different sizes. That is what I use and I too live on the coast.

My two cents....

Tortuga

how to build the enclosure?
does the matt just sit on the bare floor?

I think the matt would be cheaper to run, right?

The heat mat comes with pre drilled holes so that you can afix it to whatever flooring is in your enclosure with a couple of screws. Make sure that your tortoise has a choice so that he can cool off on a part of the floor that does not have the heat mat, or warm up on the heat mat. The size of the mat depends on the size of your tortoise. If you follow the link below, I use the big long one for my 90 pound tortoises due to their size. I also have some that are 2 foot square for some of my smaller species.

This link takes you to the Kane site and you can buy them at a variety of places on the net, just type in Kane Heat Mats into google.

http://www.kanemfg.com/polyethheatmat.htm

Good luck