Horsefield lighting

[kazza22]

Hi I have a 11 month old horsefield the uvb/available lighting unit has stopped working. I have a separate heating unit which is ceramic. I need to get a fluorescent lighting unit and light. Could someone advise please. Is this suitable with this enclosure

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! Do you have a floodlight for your basking light too? Ceramics are usually to boost ambient heat and provide night heat in colder climates.

I’m not familiar with that brand uvb but I’m inclined to say it’s a cheaper unreliable model. Let me get these guys to look it over @Alex and the Redfoot @Markw84

A sure thing uv wise is the Arcadia proT5 kit or reptisun t5
With the uv timing, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity.
The right uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs, your ceramics will run 24/7 on a thermostat, this will all make more sense once you look over the links provided.

I will say for a Russian just over a year, he needs to be in a closed chamber set up, those popular wooden houses aren’t appropriate at maintaining the humidity babies need. There are a few ways to modify though! I can’t say it’ll hold up long term because of the wood, so I would look for alternatives at some point

Hopefully you’ll find this useful to go over, this thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If ever going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers, I think a bunch of the cover options will work for the set up you have

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 different closed chamber options, some work better than others

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

This idea in particular would work for you


Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing 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

Really hope this all helps! I know it’s a lot to go over sorrybut take all the time you need! They’ll always be folks to help with any further questions! We can break things down bit by bit, welcome to the forum!!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

There are only a few well-tested UVB lamps on the market, proved to be safe and effective: Arcadia ProT5, ZooMed Reptisun, Reptile Systems T5 Kit and, probably, ExoTerra T5 kits (fairly new but looks promising from the first test reports). Interesting, that none of these linear bulbs is made China (perhaps, because of phosphors coating availability).

There are a lot of Chinese brands on the market, some of them were tested and all have issues of some kind (UV spectrum safety, electronic components reliability and fluctuating quality from batch to batch).

For the UVB lamps and fixtures I would pay more and get the reliable one (price margin is not that large). For other equipment - heat lamps, lamp holders, ceramic heaters you can get cheaper alternatives (still, keep in mind, that extra cheap equipment means that maker has cut costs somewhere).