Baby sulcata, sunlight exposure and cold air

[mr.k]

Hello ...

I live in Virginia, and have a baby sulcata. He (or she, I don't know the gender exactly) is doing ok, is alert, moves surprisingly quickly. I had a question regarding winter and exposure to sunlight and read a few posts. Some posts suggest immersing in warm water and then keeping them in a non-windy place where the sunlight is falling. Some other posts suggest a rubber mat exposed to sunlight and non-windy place.

I have UV bulbs and stuff but would prefer exposing to direct sunlight for a short while. My question is --- the days now are cold --- 45 to 50 degree days. Even if they are immersed in warm water or placed on warm rubber mats or whatever, they still will be breathing cold air right? Will that affect them and cause any respiratory disease or something?

Is there any way to do a brief 15-20 minute exposure to direct sunlight in winter (in Virginia) or is it better to wait for the summer?

Thanks to you all in advance ....

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings and welcome to the Forum. There is a lot of good info on the raising of young sullys under the African Tortoise section...raising Sulcatas. You want to make sure you have a fully enclosed chamber set up with proper substrate, lighting, humidity, hides, and food of course.

IMHO regardless of the sun, the outside temps are just too cold at this time of year for hatchlings now in our DELMARVA area. Keep your tort inside, proper lighting, humidity, etc. next summer, ur tort will be ready for dandelions, sun, grass and more.i

 

[Bee62]

Hello ...

I live in Virginia, and have a baby sulcata. He (or she, I don't know the gender exactly) is doing ok, is alert, moves surprisingly quickly. I had a question regarding winter and exposure to sunlight and read a few posts. Some posts suggest immersing in warm water and then keeping them in a non-windy place where the sunlight is falling. Some other posts suggest a rubber mat exposed to sunlight and non-windy place.

I have UV bulbs and stuff but would prefer exposing to direct sunlight for a short while. My question is --- the days now are cold --- 45 to 50 degree days. Even if they are immersed in warm water or placed on warm rubber mats or whatever, they still will be breathing cold air right? Will that affect them and cause any respiratory disease or something?

Is there any way to do a brief 15-20 minute exposure to direct sunlight in winter (in Virginia) or is it better to wait for the summer?

Thanks to you all in advance ....

Hello and welcome to the forum. When you take a tortoise from the warmth of her or his enclosure to the outside in cold weather the tort will surely get sick. Please don`t try that.
When you use a new UVB bulb and change it every 3 - 4 months your baby will get enough UVB to stay healthy.

 

[teresaf]

No coil lights...

 

[Tom]

When you use a new UVB bulb and change it every 3 - 4 months your baby will get enough UVB to stay healthy.

There is really no need for that. I hate wasting perfectly good items. All of the tubes I've tested are lasting 2 or more years and still putting out great UV.

 

[Tom]

Hello ...

I live in Virginia, and have a baby sulcata. He (or she, I don't know the gender exactly) is doing ok, is alert, moves surprisingly quickly. I had a question regarding winter and exposure to sunlight and read a few posts. Some posts suggest immersing in warm water and then keeping them in a non-windy place where the sunlight is falling. Some other posts suggest a rubber mat exposed to sunlight and non-windy place.

I have UV bulbs and stuff but would prefer exposing to direct sunlight for a short while. My question is --- the days now are cold --- 45 to 50 degree days. Even if they are immersed in warm water or placed on warm rubber mats or whatever, they still will be breathing cold air right? Will that affect them and cause any respiratory disease or something?

Is there any way to do a brief 15-20 minute exposure to direct sunlight in winter (in Virginia) or is it better to wait for the summer?

Thanks to you all in advance ....

50 is way too cold for a baby, and even more so with water involved. Soak the baby daily in a warm area, like inside the enclosure.

Get a UV tube for the winter, and don't worry too much about it. They can go a few weeks with no UV with no problem. UV levels in winter tend to be very low anyway, so there is little to no benefit to taking them outside unless the weather is warm.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

Please post pics of your tort and his/her enclosure asap.

 

[Bee62]

There is really no need for that. I hate wasting perfectly good items. All of the tubes I've tested are lasting 2 or more years and still putting out great UV.

It is said that these bulbs should be replaced latest every half year. Do you, or can you measure the UV output of your elder UVB bulbs ?

 

[Yvonne G]

I use a soaking tub that they can't climb out of, yet is small enough to fit back into the enclosure. That way he's still in a warm environment.

 

[Tom]

It is said that these bulbs should be replaced latest every half year. Do you, or can you measure the UV output of your elder UVB bulbs ?

Yes. With a meter anyone can measure the UV output of any bulb as often as they want with the push of a button.

For example: I am baby sitting some radiata babies for a friend who is on vacation right now and he brought over his UV tube with them. He bought a replacement bulb because he thought the current one was probably not producing any more UV at almost 2 years old. For comparison, in mid day, late June, when I point my meter directly at the sun I can get readings as high as 8.1 UVI. That is as strong as it gets here. This 2 year old bulb that my friend brought over was still making a reading of 10.2-10.3 at the height he had it mounted. I have some regular old 24" ZooMed 10.0 tubes that are making the same UV after three years of daily use that they made when new. These ZooMed bulbs are on a timer and they come on from 6:30am to 7:30pm every day, 7 days a week for three years.

In my opinion, a meter is an indispensable tool for anyone using indoor UV sources. Without it, you are just guessing. No different than guessing the temperature without a thermometer. Well, actually its worse than that… We can at least feel the temperature with our skin. We can't feel the UV levels. Here is the one to get: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
If this one is difficult to get in other countries, ZooMed puts their own label on these and sells them too. Same unit from the same source.

 

[Bee62]

Yes. With a meter anyone can measure the UV output of any bulb as often as they want with the push of a button.

For example: I am baby sitting some radiata babies for a friend who is on vacation right now and he brought over his UV tube with them. He bought a replacement bulb because he thought the current one was probably not producing any more UV at almost 2 years old. For comparison, in mid day, late June, when I point my meter directly at the sun I can get readings as high as 8.1 UVI. That is as strong as it gets here. This 2 year old bulb that my friend brought over was still making a reading of 10.2-10.3 at the height he had it mounted. I have some regular old 24" ZooMed 10.0 tubes that are making the same UV after three years of daily use that they made when new. These ZooMed bulbs are on a timer and they come on from 6:30am to 7:30pm every day, 7 days a week for three years.

In my opinion, a meter is an indispensable tool for anyone using indoor UV sources. Without it, you are just guessing. No different than guessing the temperature without a thermometer. Well, actually its worse than that… We can at least feel the temperature with our skin. We can't feel the UV levels. Here is the one to get: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
If this one is difficult to get in other countries, ZooMed puts their own label on these and sells them too. Same unit from the same source.

Okay, I knew a meter before but I have none and never used one, but this will be my next purchase to test my UVB bulbs. It will save money when I have not to change them so often. Thank you !