basking question

[ewan]

do i need a basking bulb if i have the arcadia t5 12% desert uvb strip light and a arcadia ceramic heat emitter, i also have a arcadia mercury vapour d3 uvb/uva while i wait for my t5 to arrive

should i leave the mercury one on while i have the t5 and che? it is about 50cm from the floor of the table
do i need a basking heat bulb if i have a che?

 

[Tom]

do i need a basking bulb if i have the arcadia t5 12% desert uvb strip light and a arcadia ceramic heat emitter, i also have a arcadia mercury vapour d3 uvb/uva while i wait for my t5 to arrive

should i leave the mercury one on while i have the t5 and che? it is about 50cm from the floor of the table
do i need a basking heat bulb if i have a che?

Hello and welcome. All of these bulbs do different things. Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

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.

Please give this a read for lots more info:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

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Questions are welcome.

 

[wellington]

What species do you have?
A basking bulb is not the same as a uvb or ceramic heat emitter.
The mercury bulbs should not be used, they cause pyramiding and are too harsh on the shell.
The incandescent flood bulb is for basking.
The flourescent is for uvb and the ceramic heat emitter is for added day or night heat.
Redfoot tortoises do not need a basking bulb.

 

[ewan]

What species do you have?
A basking bulb is not the same as a uvb or ceramic heat emitter.
The mercury bulbs should not be used, they cause pyramiding and are too harsh on the shell.
The incandescent flood bulb is for basking.
The flourescent is for uvb and the ceramic heat emitter is for added day or night heat.
Redfoot tortoises do not need a basking bulb.

hermanns
ill take away the mercury one.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

hermanns
ill take away the mercury one.

Do you know how old roughly? Adult or baby?

If a baby, hopefully this thread I made might be useful to look over! It covers equipment, levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

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This includes some more closed chamber options, some more efficient than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

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If housing an adult give this one a read instead

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

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Some further inspiration for an adult set up

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

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Lastly, probably the most important, this one is also really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

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Hope they help! Welcome to the forum! Always happy to try and answer any further questions