Bella's bulbs came in I bought 100 watt ones this time....how close should they be for her basking?
Distance for 100 watt
- Thread starter LadyV
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I would start at 10" from the top of the carapace. If the temp is 95-100, that's fine. If the carapace gets above 105 degrees, I would raise the light a few inches until you get the temps you want.
If it is a Powersun, be sure to send in the warranty info, as they will replace a faulty bulb up to 12 months.
Thank you
Oh, and usually the distance is about 12" for the 100w bulb, don't go closer than 10" (you don't want to get a hot spot on the shell), might need to position a bit farther away. Base it on accurate temps on the shell.
Your tortoise will love the heat from the 100W bulb! 
Do you have a temp gun? That is the easiest way to determine how close to place the bulb. Just aim it at the top of the tortoise's shell, and adjust the bulb up or down to have a temp of about 95-100. This will depend on what is below the bulb (rock or substrate), and how large the enclosure is, but as mentioned above, will likely be between 10 inches and 14 inches. I'd start with it on the high end of the range, and slowly move it down - having too low temps for a little bit is less harmful that overheating.
If you don't have a temp gun, you can also place the probe of a thermometer under the hot spot, you'll probably have to put a rock or something under it to have the probe be at the same height your tortoise's shell would be at.
I found that even just moving the lamp down by an inch can result in an exponentially higher temp. I was shocked that in my Greek tortoise enclosure, I suddenly had temps of 115-123 in the hot spot, and quickly adjusted the height of the lamp up.
Do you have a temp gun? That is the easiest way to determine how close to place the bulb. Just aim it at the top of the tortoise's shell, and adjust the bulb up or down to have a temp of about 95-100. This will depend on what is below the bulb (rock or substrate), and how large the enclosure is, but as mentioned above, will likely be between 10 inches and 14 inches. I'd start with it on the high end of the range, and slowly move it down - having too low temps for a little bit is less harmful that overheating.
If you don't have a temp gun, you can also place the probe of a thermometer under the hot spot, you'll probably have to put a rock or something under it to have the probe be at the same height your tortoise's shell would be at.
I found that even just moving the lamp down by an inch can result in an exponentially higher temp. I was shocked that in my Greek tortoise enclosure, I suddenly had temps of 115-123 in the hot spot, and quickly adjusted the height of the lamp up.
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