# under the basking light



## John (Mar 15, 2011)

can people please post recorded tortoise temps taken while basking and then the ground temps under same light.it is my understanding that a tortoise sitting under a heat source being of greater mass than the surounding air and substrate can absorb and hold more heat.this is why a rock under the light can get hotter than the substrate.so if you take a reading of the substrate and it is 95 degree's,what is the temp of the tortoise and how long did it take him too reach that temp?if he needed too bask longer too achieve an optimal temp would he not benefit from the longer exposure too the uv?or is this exsposure detrimental?


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## Robert (Mar 15, 2011)

Interesting. 

If I can suggest, also indicate the height of the tortoise being measured. I'm interested to see the difference between a basking hatchling and an older tort. 

Will follow up with these readings a bit later.


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## CtTortoiseMom (Mar 15, 2011)

Okay I tried to take pics but do not have enough hands. She measures just under 6 inches from bottom of carapace to highest part of her dome. She woke up at 76 degrees and after 30 minutes of eating and basking her temp was reading 86 on the top of her carapace which was directly under the light and 77 degrees on her side and lower back of carapace. She is still basking but I have to leave. I am going to try and measure her temps every 10 minutes and also log the frequency and duration of each time she bask's. It will be interesting to compare it to what she does outside.


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