Night time bulb?

Hai

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Do any of you use a night time bulb? Can they see without any light? I've notice on my days off when the lights turn off some times he's not iin his home which I'm sure is fine since its indoors. it gets really dark once the lights shut off. So should I have some type of night bulb?
 

Yvonne G

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A lot of people are nay sayers about them, but I use black light bulbs and I swear by them. None of my tortoises eat their substrate (the main reason 'they' say to not use them), and they keep the enclosures nice and toasty. I buy them by the case online.

Your tortoise doesn't need 'light' at night, as all they do at night is sleep. The only reason for a black or red bulb, or for a ceramic heat emitter (heat without light) is because you want to keep the enclosure warmer than the room its in.
 

Big Charlie

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I never used a night bulb except when I first got my tortoise, because the pet store set me up with a red bulb. I switched soon afterward to a CHE. Tortoises don't move much at night. They don't really need to be able to see. What would be nice is if the daylight bulb gradually dimmed like in nature rather than just switching off.
 

TechnoCheese

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My problem with the colored bulbs is that they can see both the color and the light, so having light on at night can’t exactly be fun for them. Keep in mind that, just like us, they need to have a day and night cycle and would likely prefer sleeping in the dark.

I would just stick with ceramic heat emitters and radiant heat panels for night heat, if you need it.
 

JoesMum

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Tortoises aren't nocturnal. They need darkness at night to sleep like you do.

They have excellent colour vision and are not terribly intelligent. They see things coloured red or purple by a coloured bulb and they will try to eat it... we see tortoises that have gut blockages after eating substrate coloured by these lamps too often.

If you need extra heat at night use a Ceramic Heat Emitter or Radiant Panel. Your tortoise doesn't need a night light.
 

lisa127

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Like Yvonne, I do use the black night heat bulbs for my box turtles. I never use the red ones. I had to use a red one one in an emergency situation.once and the turtle did react to it. Not one of my turtles has ever reacted to the black night heat bulbs though
 

Markw84

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I do not use any colored incandescent bulbs for heating tortoises or turtles.

Chelonians do have a broader range of vision and can see wavelengths of light we cannot. What we see is not what they see. Using light at one extreme end of the visible spectrum is not wise in my opinion. It could effect their daily and annual rhythms (circadial and circannual).

My main problem with them is using a bulb that only puts out very near IR as the heat source. That is the most desiccating. So we are providing a heat source with extreme near IR, yet no associated bright light with it to help the tortoise "know" it is being exposed to near IR. Near IR is deeper penetrating and can damage hair follicle level cells in human skin and probably then the epithelial fold in tortoises where keratin is formed. It would be more drying to the new keratin expanding in the growth seams. Yet, very dim light to let the tortoise "know" it is being exposed.

Why do this when you can use a CHE that only puts out mid to far IR and will never burn out and need to be replaced? Or a radiant heat panel that only puts out far IR.
 

Hai

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I do have a CME and heating isn't a problem. Just was curious on the subject bc it seems like he will stay outside his house when the lights shut off
 

JoesMum

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I do have a CME and heating isn't a problem. Just was curious on the subject bc it seems like he will stay outside his house when the lights shut off
Tortoises sleep where they darn well please. They don't really understand the concept of bedrooms and if they feel safe will just go to sleep where it is warmest. They may lack intelligence, but they are not completely stupid :) If their choice is unsuitable then move them... but do it after they've cooled down a bit or they simply walk back to their chosen spot!

CHEs should be mounted high enough to raise the ambient temperature without creating a hotspot. Of course the enclosure must be covered for them to be effective.
 

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Nordys is outside 24-7. She has a 4x8 grass enclosure. I have a 50 wt. red bulb inside her house for warmth. Is the color appropriate? is there something better? I live in Phoenix.
 

Big Charlie

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Nordys is outside 24-7. She has a 4x8 grass enclosure. I have a 50 wt. red bulb inside her house for warmth. Is the color appropriate? is there something better? I live in Phoenix.
Red isn't good. Tortoises need it dark at night like we do. The heater you use will depend on how large your tortoise is, how large the enclosure is, and how effective the heater is. For smaller tortoises, a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) works fine. It fits into probably the same fixture as your red bulb. The good thing about CHEs is they don't burn out. If your tortoise is bigger than the size of the CHE, it's best to switch to a radiant heat panel so the heat isn't concentrated only on a portion of your tortoise. You should put a thermometer inside the house to check how warm it gets. You can plug your heating element into a thermostat to keep the temperature correct.
 

Nordys

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Red isn't good. Tortoises need it dark at night like we do. The heater you use will depend on how large your tortoise is, how large the enclosure is, and how effective the heater is. For smaller tortoises, a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) works fine. It fits into probably the same fixture as your red bulb. The good thing about CHEs is they don't burn out. If your tortoise is bigger than the size of the CHE, it's best to switch to a radiant heat panel so the heat isn't concentrated only on a portion of your tortoise. You should put a thermometer inside the house to check how warm it gets. You can plug your heating element into a thermostat to keep the temperature correct.
The size of the house will determine the temp. What would a good wattage be to maintain 60* in a small house? Thank you very much for the help.
 

ZEROPILOT

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For years, I used "black" incandescent heating light bulbs in my outdoors enclosure sleeping quarters on the few nights a year that it gets cool. But not so cold that my tortoises must be carried inside the house. Into my enclosed sun room.
I used them because when I'd go outside to check up on them at night, I could see the glow. Letting me know all was well.
I stopped using them and went to 75 watt CHEs because of this lighting discussion and the fact that the CHEs work better and last an eternity compared to my incandescent bulbs. I set my timer and I KNOW that they are working.
It never failed that those incandescent bulbs would blow just when they were needed.
So, black incandescent are both less effective and far less reliable. And are actually more expensive than the CHE considering the longer service life.
 
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Tom

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The size of the house will determine the temp. What would a good wattage be to maintain 60* in a small house? Thank you very much for the help.
What species are we talking about?

Only your thermometer can tell you what wattage will work for your individual situation.
 

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