Pajarita wrote:How about using a heating pad for the tortoise? I know they like to bask in the 'sun' so it might not be the best solution as far as the tortoise is concerned, though...
It's not so much the heat she needs, but the UV. About the only way to keep a tortoise healthy indoors is to use an "active heat" UVA/UVB lamp. Fluorescent lamps that claim to provide UV don't seem to work for tortoises. She is about a 16 year old, female(suspected by size) Egyptian Tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni).
They are pretty fragile and hard to keep. I wouldn't recommend one as a pet, not that I think you can obtain one now.
She belongs to my daughter, who doesn't even really live here any more. I should really find her a home in a climate in which she can be outside more often. Being out in the sun is the best thing for them. The good thing about tortoises, as far as re-homing goes, is that they don't seem to care if people exist.