Heating options questions

sulandcata

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Hi good afternoon at the moment I have a white heat bulb of 100W similar to this one. I wanted to change the light bulb to non-light emiting ceramic heat lamp I wanted to know if it is a good idea or not?

The One I have
1630033133133.png

The one I want to Buy it is 100 W too
1630033311358.png
 

wellington

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It depends. Is that the only light you have in the enclosure?
The che is good for night heat when there should be no light. It's also good for added day heat if a basking bulb isn't enough. A che can work for a basking bulb but most tortoises will go to the light to bask like they would go to a sunny spot.
So, yes you can switch them as long as there is light for during the day with uvb and a basking spot light.
 

wellington

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Post a pic of the enclosure and all equipment along with the temps, day, night, ambient and basking. Also what the humidity is. Post a pic of your tort too.
 

sulandcata

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O perfect thank you very much at the moment I do have a UV B but is the normal one that thye sell you at pet stores added a picture of the UVB that I use for light but I am gonna change it for the tube one in the new enclosure at the moment the humidity is 60-70 is the highest I can maintain it with plastic and covering the enclousre I am finishing a closed enclousre. Since the ones I have are starting to get small for them.

This is the UVB I have at the moment
1630040106496.png

The one I am adding after pay day
1630040161752.png
 

wellington

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O perfect thank you very much at the moment I do have a UV B but is the normal one that thye sell you at pet stores added a picture of the UVB that I use for light but I am gonna change it for the tube one in the new enclosure at the moment the humidity is 60-70 is the highest I can maintain it with plastic and covering the enclousre I am finishing a closed enclousre. Since the ones I have are starting to get small for them.

This is the UVB I have at the moment
View attachment 331744

The one I am adding after pay day
View attachment 331745
Yea that coil one can cause eye problems. I wouldn't use it for long.
 

jsheffield

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I'm a big fan of CHEs run through a thermostat and set at the baseline temp you want for the enclosure.

Then your daytime lighting (which should be on a timer, not a thermostat) can pull that upwards a bit, which will bring a natural up and down cycle in your enclosure.

There are lots of ways to manage heating and lighting, but that's one that has worked for me across a bunch of torts with varying temp/light/humidity needs.

Jamie
 

Tom

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Hi good afternoon at the moment I have a white heat bulb of 100W similar to this one. I wanted to change the light bulb to non-light emiting ceramic heat lamp I wanted to know if it is a good idea or not?

The One I have
View attachment 331742

The one I want to Buy it is 100 W too
View attachment 331743
What species?

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  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. 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.
  3. 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 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 the UK, 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
 

sulandcata

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Thank you very much for the answers sorry I thougth i did put the species they are 2 sulcatas and they do get outside time specially know that we are at 30-35C during day but still since that wont be always since some winters get a little bit colder than 15C. I will be getting both lights todays tyvm again for the answers
 

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