Whiplash4ever
New Member
What's your go-to style or brand of heat lamp? How high above the tort should it be for optimum benefit?
Heat Lamps???
- Thread starter Whiplash4ever
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2012
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- 5,225
- Location (City and/or State)
- South of Southern California, but not Mexico
Lamps for heat alone have become less considered appropriate. Ceramic hear emitters project heat and work best (for the tortoise) when plugged into a thermostat of some sort. If your are looking for one source for heat and light, you'll still need a second source of heat for lights-out time. So consider the two as stand alone things.
If you still want heat in a light, then incandescent flood light work well, not spot but flood, 45 or 50 watt are often as much as needed. If it is a large tortoise then two or three lower wattage bulbs are better than one high wattage bulb (it spreads the heat area out more, and if one goes out, other are still providing heat)
For actual illumination T5 HO fixtures and tubes are great. There are a few sources for tubes that put out UVA and UVB, or even just near full color light.
More about your application would be great to hear about. Do you have ten sulcatas that weight 100 pounds or a marginated tortoise inside year round?
If you still want heat in a light, then incandescent flood light work well, not spot but flood, 45 or 50 watt are often as much as needed. If it is a large tortoise then two or three lower wattage bulbs are better than one high wattage bulb (it spreads the heat area out more, and if one goes out, other are still providing heat)
For actual illumination T5 HO fixtures and tubes are great. There are a few sources for tubes that put out UVA and UVB, or even just near full color light.
More about your application would be great to hear about. Do you have ten sulcatas that weight 100 pounds or a marginated tortoise inside year round?
Use flood bulbs and then use a thermometer to set the bulb height. You want it to be around 95-100 at tortoise shell height, not at ground level.
Whiplash4ever
New Member
Standard flood light bulbs?
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2012
- Messages
- 5,225
- Location (City and/or State)
- South of Southern California, but not Mexico
Yes. They will work on a thermostat as well, but then light output will vary.
Yes. These will give you a basking spot. You'll need more than one as your tortoise gets large and be very careful to check the temp under them.
You still need:
- Ambient light. I use florescent tubes or LED strips for this.
- A good UV tube.
- CHE or RHP set on a thermostat for night heat.
Wait. So regular flood lightbulbs will work in a heat lamp?
