Hermann tortoise - basking light

[LSomers]

Hi there,

Looking for some advice.
My tortoise has a heat lamp and Uv light in viv, but doesn’t like staying in there very long, he goes in at night and I set the heat to mid 20s on thermostat…
But worried about him during the day - was thinking of setting up a basking lamp in the corner of my room ( where he tends to go) so he can get heat during the day?

What are people’s thoughts?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

When you say in the corner of your room, do you mean he has free roam? That is both very dangerous and stressful for a tortoise unfortunately, our homes don’t mimic their natural environment and that can and will take a toll on their body’s over time, we’ve seen it time and time again.
Any all in one compact heat and uv bulbs aren’t appropriate, they can cause eye burns due to concentrating the uv light into a smaller area.

Do you know how old your tortoise is roughly?

If this is for an adult, hopefully you might find this indoor housing thread I made useful, it covers equipment, levels, sizing, appropriately maintaining humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

If a baby(under 3), this is similar but covers the importance of a closed chamber, If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes other closed chamber options should you need them

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, probably the most important, this one is really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, housing, substrates etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Always happy to try and answer any further questions once you’ve read them! Welcome to the forum

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Also bear in mind for night heat tortoises need complete darkness, you want a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) ran on a thermostat for night time

 

[wellington]

You need to build a proper sized enclosure and leave him there. Never roaming your room. It's dangerous, deadly, stressful and to cold.

 

[LSomers]

When you say in the corner of your room, do you mean he has free roam? That is both very dangerous and stressful for a tortoise unfortunately, our homes don’t mimic their natural environment and that can and will take a toll on their body’s over time, we’ve seen it time and time again.
Any all in one compact heat and uv bulbs aren’t appropriate, they can cause eye burns due to concentrating the uv light into a smaller area.

Do you know how old your tortoise is roughly?

If this is for an adult, hopefully you might find this indoor housing thread I made useful, it covers equipment, levels, sizing, appropriately maintaining humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

If a baby(under 3), this is similar but covers the importance of a closed chamber, If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes other closed chamber options should you need them

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, probably the most important, this one is really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, housing, substrates etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Always happy to try and answer any further questions once you’ve read them! Welcome to the forum

Hi there! He roams during most the day as he tried to get out of Viv so I have to let him out, I work from home so I watch him throughout the day, he is 27 and has always done this.

He is in his Viv on a night with heat lamp on thermostat and early morning has his uv light for a few hours before he likes to be out.

In terms of basking - no not a 2 in 1 just a basking bulb for heat during the day that’s all.

Thanks Laura

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi there! He roams during most the day as he tried to get out of Viv so I have to let him out, I work from home so I watch him throughout the day, he is 27 and has always done this.

He is in his Viv on a night with heat lamp on thermostat and early morning has his uv light for a few hours before he likes to be out.

In terms of basking - no not a 2 in 1 just a basking bulb for heat during the day that’s all.

Thanks Laura

Is the heat lamp for night a ceramic heat emitter? I really would discourage the roaming, a suitable sized enclosure is the goal, if it’s too small he will try to be getting out of it.

Hopefully those links will help!