Reptile & Amphibian Forums

For the 3 coming months of winter down here in the south, my tortoise is living in my garage(in a watering trough) with heating and such. Anyway, I heard that in the winter if they dont have lots of room, they will begin losing their muscle mass leading to a weak tortoise? How can I prevent this...There is no way that I can enlarge this winter. However, this febuary I am building his final enclosure which will be about 300 sq feet of outdoor space including a heated building. The watering trough that is full of hay, heated by a ceramic heater, is about 7-8 sq feet of space. (My tortoise, sly, is about 1 foot long(his shell).

Extra: I am a bit worried about sly because in my garage the temperature automatically fluctuates greatly. I just bought him a 150W ceramic heater that is about 6 inches from the top of his shell when he is right under it and there is a temperature gradient. There is also a piece of cardboard on top in the middle to prevent drafts. Is this going to be ok? I am really considering ordering a thermostat from big apple herp (an ON/OFF not a porportional). They make a good one it seems for about $30.

Thanks for all advice. Sorry for the length :S

I am a bit worried about sly because in my garage the temperature automatically fluctuates greatly. I just bought him a 150W ceramic heater that is about 6 inches from the top of his shell when he is right under it and there is a temperature gradient. There is also a piece of cardboard on top in the middle to prevent drafts. Is this going to be ok? I am really considering ordering a thermostat from big apple herp (an ON/OFF not a porportional). They make a good one it seems for about $30.

6 inches from his shell sounds a bit too close for a 150 watt ceramic. What you could do is get 2x4's and build a stand that reaches across the pen with about 20 inches from him depending on how tall your turtle is. and you hang the lights from it to your desired position but not that close to him. 2 of thoose red heat flood lights,"seen them at walmart" a regular lightbulb for just regular light, the UVB light so his bones stay up to par, and use the ceramic at night. Use a temp gun too regulate the temps on your basking area. You can also in addition line the outside of your pen with styrofoam to create a insulate to prevent most heat from escaping.

also cardboard and ceramic heaters don't mix. potential fire hazard even more if it ignites the hay your turtle is on.

This is his current set up...

Just finished the table he is on...4 feet off the ground to get away from drafts. The big lamp (silver in the left corner) has a 150W ceramic heater. The little lamp in the middle is a 40W appliance bulb just to light the enclosure(its on a day/night timer and the ceramic heater is 24/7). There is alfalfa(rabbit) pellets on the ground and he hides in his hay on the far side (right) that you can not see very well in the enclosure. When it gets to cold I have a oil heater that i will hook up to raise the garage temp a bit. Made this today...Tell me what you guys think. I have a older UVB bulb i found that works in the attic from a year or two ago. I'm going to hang it over the middle of the cage.