Enclosure UV Help

[tevanburen]

Hello all,

I'm redoing the lighting in my enclosure (for a Hermann's that's approaching 3 years old), and I have the ability to essentially start fresh. My questions boil down to: what is the best UV setup?

I'm almost certain that this list of questions has been asked before, but I wasn't able to craft good enough searches to find it. The following thread is close, but at this point it's approaching 5 years old: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/t5-ho.170640/

My current plan, as inspired by the linked thread, is to use a T8 linear bulb from 7am-7:30pm for light and some UV (a reading of about 1-2 on the index), and then have a T5 from 11am-4pm for peak UV (about 3.5-4.5 on the index).

Questions:

1. Is this "some UV all day and high UV midday" strategy still among the best recommended? Or has the crowd found a better plan?
2. Are my desired high/low UV readings (3.5-4.5 high / 1-2 low) what I want, or are there better numbers to strive for?
3. Should I use the described lighting setup for the entire enclosure, or should I omit UV lighting from a side of the tank so that there's a gradient?

Thanks in advance!

 

[RandyTortoise]

Hello all,

I'm redoing the lighting in my enclosure (for a Hermann's that's approaching 3 years old), and I have the ability to essentially start fresh. My questions boil down to: what is the best UV setup?

I'm almost certain that this list of questions has been asked before, but I wasn't able to craft good enough searches to find it. The following thread is close, but at this point it's approaching 5 years old: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/t5-ho.170640/

My current plan, as inspired by the linked thread, is to use a T8 linear bulb from 7am-7:30pm for light and some UV (a reading of about 1-2 on the index), and then have a T5 from 11am-4pm for peak UV (about 3.5-4.5 on the index).

Questions:

1. Is this "some UV all day and high UV midday" strategy still among the best recommended? Or has the crowd found a better plan?
2. Are my desired high/low UV readings (3.5-4.5 high / 1-2 low) what I want, or are there better numbers to strive for?
3. Should I use the described lighting setup for the entire enclosure, or should I omit UV lighting from a side of the tank so that there's a gradient?

Thanks in advance!

Personally, I think your plan works very well. Just provide basking spot for heat regulation and a “hide” that the tort can come in and out of, and it will regulate his own temp plus get as much uv as he wants.
Some people only keep their Arcadia t5 bulbs on 5 or 6 hours. I just look at the environment that the tortoises evolved in to make a determination. In the wild, UV rays are all around them for 12 hours plus every day and they go in and out of it all day long. Mostly they warm up in the morning then heat up their bodies and seek out shade. Even in the shade the uv and uvb rays reach them.
For me, I think your set up is well thought out.

I have my leopard tortoises outside right now with a tortoise house. They walk out at around 6:45 am to sit in the sun and get fed and then go back in the house on their own around 8 am. Then they come in and out all day long until it is about an hour before sunset at which time they are in the heated house to go to sleep for the night.

Look, everyone has an opinion. This is just mine and it works for me

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi!
Such setup, target UV levels and timings sound pretty natural (we have UVI 1-2 from 8AM till 6.30PM, however reaching UVI 8-9 at noon but I would not try to replicate that). If you don't have the equipement yet, you can also look at Arcadia ProT5 Bird lamps (2.5% UVB and 30% UVA) for the ambient UVB/UVA (it should last longer than T8 lamps) or Arcadia LumenIZE series.

The only thing is not clear to me - if such setup has real benefits for tortoise health and behaviour. I would ask @Markw84 or @jaizei to comment.

As for the coverage - I would provide low UVB over 2/3 of the enclosure and high UVB zone over 1/3-1/4. What's the planned enclosure size?

Also, keep in mind that UV output from lamps is additive (same as visible light), so it's important to have a measurement device (Solarmeter 6.5) to check UVI when both lamps are on.

 

[tevanburen]

Thank you @RandyTortoise and @Alex and the Redfoot so much for the input. Alex, I don't have the equipment yet, so the Arcadia suggestions are great. I have a solarmeter 6.5 so I should be able to tune my setup to give whatever readings I'm looking for.

As for the coverage - I would provide low UVB over 2/3 of the enclosure and high UVB zone over 1/3-1/4. What's the planned enclosure size?

The enclosure is roughly 9 square feet - I should be able to rig the setup so that I achieve this suggested gradient

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you @RandyTortoise and @Alex and the Redfoot so much for the input. Alex, I don't have the equipment yet, so the Arcadia suggestions are great. I have a solarmeter 6.5 so I should be able to tune my setup to give whatever readings I'm looking for.



The enclosure is roughly 9 square feet - I should be able to rig the setup so that I achieve this suggested gradient

For 9 sq. ft. enclosure I, perhaps, wouldn't overcomplicate setup. A single T5 HO tube should be fine (plus a basking lamp and bright ambient LEDs, of course). Yet, 9 sq.ft may be not spacious enough: 8 sq.ft. is nice for hatchlings and for adults something closer to 30 sq.ft is recommended.