Jenna Ryanne
New Member
Hello! My husband and I are setting up the enclosure for our future Russian tortoise hatchling, and we are having trouble getting adequate temps in the basking spot. Right now the temps are reading at an even 90 degrees. I read on multiple forum posts though that the temps need to be between 95 and 100 for a Russian. We have a 40 gallon glass terrarium, and we bought a 5.5” THRIVE dome lamp equipped with a 100 watt bulb. Right now we have the lamp sitting on the metal screen top; however, we had planned on purchasing the THRIVE lamp hanging feature which would elevate it another couple of inches above the tank. I’m wondering how we can get the temps up higher. Did we buy a bad brand or is the wattage not high enough? I’m really not sure as I’ve never owned a tortoise or any other reptile before, so I have no experience. Any help that you guys could give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!