Basking/Heat Lamps

[Esiotrotescapee]

Hi

I’m having trouble getting g hold of basking/heat bulbs. I usually use red and green and alternate them when one goes. I’ve seen different colours but are unsure. Shall I stick to what I know.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

Hi

I’m having trouble getting g hold of basking/heat bulbs. I usually use red and green and alternate them when one goes. I’ve seen different colours but are unsure. Shall I stick to what I know.

Thanks

What species and size tortoise are you heating?

Colored bulbs should never be used over tortoises. They have better color vision than we do, and these bulbs can cause problems for them. You want "white" light for daytime, and darkness at night. Night heat, if needed, can be provided by a CHE or RHP, and either should be controlled by a thermostat. (Ceramic heat emitter, radiant heat panel.)

You can get the correct incandescent heat lamps there online from Swell. Arcadia makes and sells good ones. Get a "flood" type bulb.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.