Habitat - Indoor :: Baby it's cold....inside?!

[Starchick]

Hey everyone! I haven't been able to get on the forum much lately, because I've been insanely busy packing and moving and trying to find a job and getting registered for school. We were in San Diego last week (Michael had a business trip and I went along) and got back Saturday night, Sunday I packed up Napoleon and Moxie and my air mattress and moved out to Utica, and Monday morning I started my new job at 8 am, and went from there to my first class. So I've been going nuts.

Anyway, the point of the post is that my new apartment is in a very old house that was chopped up into apartments. I can't control the temperature, there's only one thermostat and the landlord sets it at 68 in the evenings when everyone's home, and 62 at night and during most of the day. Problem is that it never actually gets up as high as he sets it, so the air temperature is about 62 in the evenings, about 55 the rest of the time (friggin cold!) I cranked the heaters in the tanks, and they're holding steady at about 78, and the basking spots are staying warm, but do I need to worry about the temperature of the air when they come up to breathe? I covered the open end of Napoleon's tank with a towel but it doesn't seem to do anything to hold the heat in. Moxie's tank would take some work to cover since her lamps are clamped right to the side of the tank. Any thoughts?

[mikee]

My suggestion would be to put in two heaters. Have one set at 78 and one set at 75 or 76. If you do that the second heater will not cut on until the water lowers too the lesser temp. It may take a little trial and error but it can be done.

[Starchick]

I'm not too concerned about the water temperature though, that seems to be holding up okay. It's the air temperature I'm wondering about.

[mikee]

I don't see a problem as long as they stay in their water and you are keeping at the 78 degrees and the basking at about 90 degrees. The issue may be when you take them out in a cold room. If they are kept at a relative warm temp they should be OK.

[Cramer]

What school are you registering at? I just finished at Herkimer College last semester. That's about 1O-15 minutes from Utica.

And, there is (as far as I still know) a little but cool pet shop in Ilion that has a huge RES and a huge Yellow Bellied slider in an indoor pond setup with a Cayman Croc! I wonder if it's still there?...

[BullDog]

I think it should be alright. The water will heat the air immediatly above it (where the turts breath) so it wouldn't be super cold. And if the basking temp is ok, that helps warm the air in/around the tank as well.

I have covers for my two tanks (plexi glass on one, glass on the other) which cover half the tank. Whenever I open the lid, I get a rush of warm air. If you have a spare piece of plexi, or even plywood you could stick over one end of the tank, that would help keep the warm air in.

[Starchick]

Thanks, Bulldog, I've got a piece of plexi somewhere at the old apartment, I'll have to keep an eye out for it this weekend when I move the rest of my crap!

Cramer, I'm going to SUNYit. I haven't had much chance to drive around and investigate, but I'll definitely try to find that shop! I found one in New York Mills by accident a couple weeks ago, and they had a massive red foot tortoise!

[jenaero]

My suggestion would be to call the landlord and tell him that those temps are simply unlivable for you and everyone else! Do you pay your own electric bills? If not, set up a few space heaters if the landlord won't correct the problem.

[LOBO]

i agree. if your going to live there its not fair for u not to have some say in how hot or cool it is. and if your going to get space heaters make sure u get the kind that automaticall shut off if they fall over. otherwise they can be a huge fire hazard.

[megcornell]

In my apt, the landlord controls the heat, and he pays for it, but it never gets that low! 62 and 55 degrees are not humane, and he could be reported for such low temperatures, even if he is paying the utilities.
I agree with jenaero, you should talk to him about the temps, if he didn't tell you about that when you moved in and it's not in the lease, then it most certainly should be negotiable.

[Starchick]

The landlord's wife told me that the last tenant complained about how cold it was so they got her a space heater, so I might be able to get them to give me one. I haven't talked to them since I actually looked at the thermometer and realized that it was lower than they said, so they might be willing to adjust it for me.

[wezeles]

Look up your local rental laws.. i worked as an apartment manager for a couple years, in most states renters have far more rights than the landlord...

they usually have casses like these where the health department has stepped in or the courts themselfs rule that the landlord keep the temp at a average level... usually 68 winter 72 summer... id do that before wasting money on a space heater, unless he pays electric too.. then crank it up on him... electric heat is way more than gas...

[scripta_elegans]

Not to belabour the point but yeah, that's very illegal, and they need to fix it. I would say that anyhing below 66 anytime is unpleasant.
I should add that I am sure those temps are probably too low for turtles. If you completely cover the tank, I would guess that the air temp still might be a little low above the water. If they do get you a space heater, I would put it near the turtles.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Since you are going to school, contact someone at the school. My school has a lawyer or something on staff that deals with unfair landlords and I gather that most schools do too. Nothing else, you can consult them (for free since you are a student) and find out what your rights are, and then if the landlord doesn't fix it, you can have the school bully them.

It's good to be a student ...

[megcornell]

That's true, colleges have a lot of help for renters because they know most or their students rent.

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/realestate/h ... ty.html#28
Here is the NYS tenants rights guide. It says about what minimum temps should be maintained legally.