Heat and Light for a Baby Hermann's

[timetravellingtortoise]

All right, I'm getting my baby Hermann's finally in a week or two. (I was going to get one earlier and then financially things went wonky). Anyways, I'm getting a lot of jumbled answers for what heat and light to use and where to put them and such. My enclosure is about 3 1/2 ft long and almost 2 ft deep and I'm wondering how I should light it and heat it. (There are plans to double its size as it gets bigger.)

I already have a fixture with a stand from a friend. It's the ZooMed Deep Dome Ceramic Fixture. I do not have any light bulbs of any sort for it though. I was thinking of doing the ZooMed PowerSun 100W, but I've heard a lot of not so good reviews. Another is that babies need different lighting than adults? I've also heard that UVA and/or UVB should be across the whole enclosure and just a basking area for just heat.

So, keeping in mind I would like to spend as little as possible. What would be the best way to light and heat my enclosure?

Thanks in advance!

 

[sibi]

Unfortunately, proper lighting is going to cost you. The powersun 100 or 150 is good but costly for a bulb. The CHE must of cost you too. I tried to look into a long uva/uvb bulb, but it really didn't work for my closed enclosure. PetSmart was running a sale on lighting and many other goodies, but I think the sales are over now. I hope someone can give you cheaper options because I'd like to check it out too. But, when it comes to lighting and heating, getting the proper UV bulbs are a must. Also, babies get the same rays as adults; they instinctively look for the uv rays and absorb it if provided. Natural sunlight is best, but if that can't be provided, then artificial sunlight is a must for at least 12-18 hours a day.

 

[GBtortoises]

A better solution for heat amd lighting for young tortoises is a combination of an incandescent lamp for basking heat and localized light and a UVB fluorescent tube for overall enclosure light and UV saturation. This way once the tortoise has warmed up to active body temperature levels from basking it does not need to remain there in order to benefit from the UV. The MVB lamps do a good job at providing UV, light and heat in a very localized area, but not throughout the entire enclosure. They force a young tortoise, which has a very low body mass, to remain under the light to reap all of it's benefits. One of the leading issues with baby tortoises is captivity is dehydration. They can easily become dehydrated under the very powerful MVB lamps. Their lights should be on 14-16 hours a day.

 

[timetravellingtortoise]

How would you recommend having a florescent tube mounted over the whole enclosure? A hood doesn't seem appropriate really.

If I were to have a second light clamped to the side of the enclosure that angled light across the whole enclosure for UVA/UVB and then just a basking spot light. Would that work? Would there be a problem with having 2 different lights that put out UVA/UVB?

 

[GBtortoises]

How would you recommend having a florescent tube mounted over the whole enclosure? A hood doesn't seem appropriate really.

If I were to have a second light clamped to the side of the enclosure that angled light across the whole enclosure for UVA/UVB and then just a basking spot light. Would that work? Would there be a problem with having 2 different lights that put out UVA/UVB?

Just a standard fluorescent strip light (available at hardware and home supply stores) either hung from small chains or mounted to a board to span the enclosure. An incandescent fixture mounted at one end for basking. There isn't a problem having two lamps that put out UV as long as the tortoise has adequate shelter from them too. But two UV producing lamps aren't necessary either. The incandescent/UV tube combination is also much less expensive and more reliable than on MVB lamp too.

In the photo below you can see examples of both mounting options. the UV tube in the middle enclosure is mounted on a board. The UV lamp on the bottom is hung from a chain.

 

[timetravellingtortoise]

So do all fluorescent light bulbs give off a sufficient amount of UV rays? Also, what is a good wattage for the bulb?

 

[GBtortoises]

So do all fluorescent light bulbs give off a sufficient amount of UV rays? Also, what is a good wattage for the bulb?

Yes, they emit adequate UV, that is what they are designed to do. The wattage will depend upon the size (length) of the tube. The wattage for a fluorescent is really not relevant to it's usage as it is with an incandescent bulb.

 

[MasterOogway]

So do all fluorescent light bulbs give off a sufficient amount of UV rays? Also, what is a good wattage for the bulb?

Yes, they emit adequate UV, that is what they are designed to do. The wattage will depend upon the size (length) of the tube. The wattage for a fluorescent is really not relevant to it's usage as it is with an incandescent bulb.

This is interesting I did not know all fluorescent light bulbs give off sufficient amount of UV rays.