Baby Russian Tortoise Lighting

Aidan814

New Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2019
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Newton NJ
I have almost everything I need for my baby tortoise but I am still working on the lighting. Whenever I look up the lighting it just ends up confusing me. I would love it if someone could just link something good for me on Amazon or something because when people start recommending different things it just gets confusing. The baby russian will be living in this tub for the time being.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Argee-45...MIgY6GruGk5AIVCZyzCh2D0AI2EAQYAiABEgKda_D_BwE
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Jan 9, 2010
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I'm going to leave two links here. They should appear green on your screen. Click on these links and all your questions are answered, plus more important info that you haven't asked about yet. There is a lot of wrong info out in the world on tortoise care. Read these threads and then come back and ask any questions that weren't answered.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer for 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. Unless your house gets unusually cold at night, you can skip this step for a Russian. Night lows above 60 require no night heat for Testudo species.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb. If your tortoises room is already adequately lit, you don't need this one either.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside in a safe secure enclosure for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.
 

Aidan814

New Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2019
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Newton NJ
Still just reading that gives me confusion because I still see all these different types of lights and I dont know how to put a HO type fluorescent tube over the tube I will be using for the baby russian. And there are so many different types of each of those kinds of lights I still am not sure what to buy and I want to provide the best for my little guy.
 

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Messages
4,666
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, VA
1. Old fashioned filament wide head bulb
2. CHE-ceramic heating element on a temperature controller like an Inkbird
3. LED grow bulb 5000-6500
4. 18” UVB with an 18” light fixture- take off the plastic covering the light

Google or check amazon
 
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