Lighting in the Indoor Enclosure/Chamber?

I am curious. Does anybody think there could be a benefit to staging the lighting during the day as follows...

7am - Fluorescent UV lamp turns on.
Ambient Temps remain in mid 80’s
10am - Incandescent Flood turns on.
Ambient Temps raise to 90’s and 100-ish in basking zone.
6pm - Incandescent Flood turns off.
Ambient Temps drop back to mid 80’s
7pm - Fluorescent UV lamp turns off.
Ambient temp drops to 80 degrees.

What say the experts? Might this help with the dessicating effects? Would it more closely simulate natural conditions?

Just curious...

I like your thought process here. I haven't done it this way. I usually do the opposite. I have the basking bulbs come on first and then add the brighter lights later, but your way makes more sense in regards to temps and carapace desiccation. Try it out and share your results.

@Markw84 What do you think?

If you try this, keep track if you can, their behavior during each stage.

Will do. I’m assuming that these guys are Crepuscular due to the extreme heat mid-day in their natural habitat. I am hoping it would help with the torts activity level. Maybe they will do more cruising around and foraging before the heat and bright light kicks on later in the AM. Then, in the evening when the heat from the incandescent dissipates, maybe they will come out again to roam around and forage. I would offer food only between 7am-8am and again between 6pm-7pm.

Hopefully, the bright light from the fluorescent UV light will draw them out at dawn and dusk. Worth a try. I am planning to monitor my tort via video so I can see when it carries out it’s activities (roaming, eating, bathing/drinking, basking, guarding the castle, seeking shade, sleeping, etc.).

I think it is wonderful that you're thinking this way. It'll be interesting to see your results.

I usually have the UVB lamps coming on later with the basking bulbs and have something else as the ambient light, or even a large window.

Also, an older article in the same vein: http://www.ivis.org/journals/exoticDVM/9-3/Brames.pdf

Greetings all. When our Sully was a hatchling, I had his lights hooked up on three timers. First one was a low wattage one, maybe 25 Watts, that came on early....to coincide with the sun coming up. This would also increase the temp just a few degrees too. An hour or so later..the hotter basking lights followed by higher intensity UVA/UVB for the day. Then, they would turn off in reverse order.

The duller light in the AM seemed to entice Sully to sneak out and start his day...of leisure.

I'd be interested to see how you feel it works for you. I have not had the brighter, midday spectrum fluorescents come on first and stay on longer.

I do like to phase on my lights and somewhat simulate a daily cycle. So I use 3 timers on my enclosures. The low watt basking lights come on first and off last. My thinking is to more simulate that crepuscular timing of early morning and evening, but I am trying to more match the lighting o that time by using the more redder color lights. I find they wake up and immediately go bask and warm up when they come on in the morning. That is the same activity my outdoor tortoises do every day as the sun first hits their enclosure.

1 hour later the ambient full spectrum grow lights come on. They also go off 1 hour sooner than the basking bulbs. This gives me the daylight ambient for 12 hours. I then run the T5 HO UVB 5 hours in the middle of the day.

With my Burmese, I also adjust the total photoperiod to give a 4 season difference as they would get that for a circannual cycle naturally. I do not do that for my sulcatas or leopards.