I bought a 60 watt ceramic heat bulb

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
Hello,
So I purchased a 60 watt ceramic heat bulb and have a 0.5 ubv light as well in my wooden enclosure. My tortoise seems to wake up, eat his food bright and early for about 30 mins, walk around his cage for a good 10-20 mins then he is back in his hiding pot sleeping the rest of the day.
Any ideas on why he could be less active? He is extremely healthy and almost seems like he has a baby lifestyle sleeps, eats, plays a bit, naps and sleeps more.
The 60 watt bulb is roughly a 12 inch ruler length from his basking spot or approximately 10 inches the least. As well as his uvb light sitting on top of the screen.
 

Cleopatra 2020

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2020
Messages
609
Location (City and/or State)
El Mirage. Az
Hello,
So I purchased a 60 watt ceramic heat bulb and have a 0.5 ubv light as well in my wooden enclosure. My tortoise seems to wake up, eat his food bright and early for about 30 mins, walk around his cage for a good 10-20 mins then he is back in his hiding pot sleeping the rest of the day.
Any ideas on why he could be less active? He is extremely healthy and almost seems like he has a baby lifestyle sleeps, eats, plays a bit, naps and sleeps more.
The 60 watt bulb is roughly a 12 inch ruler length from his basking spot or approximately 10 inches the least. As well as his uvb light sitting on top of the screen.
Do you have a temp gun? If I were you I would use a 65 watt incandescent flood bulb that you can control on a dimmer switch to get the exact temperature and your light above the screen is going to be diminished from the screen it needs to be direct lighting without any glass or screen in between to be effective is your turtle in a totally enclosed enclosure? And what's your humidity like?
 

Cleopatra 2020

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2020
Messages
609
Location (City and/or State)
El Mirage. Az
Hello,
So I purchased a 60 watt ceramic heat bulb and have a 0.5 ubv light as well in my wooden enclosure. My tortoise seems to wake up, eat his food bright and early for about 30 mins, walk around his cage for a good 10-20 mins then he is back in his hiding pot sleeping the rest of the day.
Any ideas on why he could be less active? He is extremely healthy and almost seems like he has a baby lifestyle sleeps, eats, plays a bit, naps and sleeps more.
The 60 watt bulb is roughly a 12 inch ruler length from his basking spot or approximately 10 inches the least. As well as his uvb light sitting on top of the screen.
you should be using your ceramic heat exchanger for night time Heating only depending on what the temperature is in your house you can run your Che on a thermostat to maintain above 80 degrees also depends on what your species is but most people use the c h e on a thermostat to always maintain above 80 degrees and use incandescent flood bulbs for basking and a fluorescent tube for UV lighting all these things or methods I mentioned have been discussed by The Forum as being the safest route to go when it comes to what kind of lighting and Heating to use safely and effectively
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
you should be using your ceramic heat exchanger for night time Heating only depending on what the temperature is in your house you can run your Che on a thermostat to maintain above 80 degrees also depends on what your species is but most people use the c h e on a thermostat to always maintain above 80 degrees and use incandescent flood bulbs for basking and a fluorescent tube for UV lighting all these things or methods I mentioned have been discussed by The Forum as being the safest route to go when it comes to what kind of lighting and Heating to use safely and effectively
I dont need the heat ceramic bulb on for during the day? We have the air on in the house so it seems like it could be too cold. It’s 68 degrees usually with the air conditioner on running throughout the house. The flood bulbs from what I know tend to be too bright and would be disturbing for being in my room. My tort table is in the corner next to the windows.
It’s a bar screen. So it has space inbetween the screen so it’s still hitting his shell. I have a russian tortoise with a tortoise gauge on the wooden table inside where the basking ceramic lamp is, the humidity is always in the Ok zone, or a bit under or above the Ok zone depending on the room and temps outside.
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
I dont need the heat ceramic bulb on for during the day? We have the air on in the house so it seems like it could be too cold. It’s 68 degrees usually with the air conditioner on running throughout the house. The flood bulbs from what I know tend to be too bright and would be disturbing for being in my room. My tort table is in the corner next to the windows.
It’s a bar screen. So it has space inbetween the screen so it’s still hitting his shell. I have a russian tortoise with a tortoise gauge on the wooden table inside where the basking ceramic lamp is, the humidity is always in the Ok zone, or a bit under or above the Ok zone depending on the room and temps outside.
What is too hot for the tortoise? I suppose the ceramic 60 watt would be perfect since its 10 inches or about a 12 foot ruler away from his basking spot sitting on top of the screen.
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
See below picture for temp gauge with everything off right now to see what the temp would be at from heating the cage all day with the 60 watt ceramic bulb
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    1.3 MB · Views: 12

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Please read this. Its all explained in here:

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer 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.
  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.
  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.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
The T8 type regular 10.0 tubes do make a little UV, but not much. The 10.0 HO type bulbs make good UV. The Arcadia 12% HO types are best.
Where can I get the arcadia 12% bulb at? I have a 0.5 % bulb uv right now and I was going to upgrade to the 10.0 uv bulb.
 

Markw84

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
5,041
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento, CA (Central Valley)
You simply do not have enough light in the enclosure for your tortoise to act normally. I believer you are confused.

If you look at @Tom s post above (post #9) he lists the four elements of proper heat and light. Your enclosures is set up with only 2 of them - heat and UVB. And the UVB from a compact fluorescent is inadequate UVB as well.

Proper heat and lighting is vital to the health and well being of a tortoise, and you will see a big difference in activity levels with the proper lighting.

IF we look at the 4 needed parts as outlined in Tom's post as it applies to you...
BASKING - you do not have any basking bulb. A CHE is not a good basking source. you want a light that also gives off heat. Tortoises are stimulated to bask by both bright light and heat. They need this to adjust their body temperature and also for metabolic functioning as the skin and body temperature are very important to health. The temperature they need for metabolism is warmer than the temperature of the enclosure. So Basking allows them to heat up their body temperature above the enclosure temperature, and move away from the basking when they are too warm. An Incandescent flood bulb is best for this as it is not too intense, yet provides ample heat along with the stimulating light.
AMBIENT HEAT - You have the CHE - which is a great way to provide and maintain a minimum overall temperature in the enclosure. It should be on a thermostat and set to come on automatically when the cooler part of the enclosure reaches the minimum temperature you want for your tortoise.
LIGHT - You are totally missing this. It is vital for the health of your tortoise and controls activity, daily routines and yearly cycles - like when its time to hibernate (brumate). It needs to be bright and daylight simulating. There are plenty of good types of LED lighting that is now available. You want the "daylight" types that are listed as 5000k - 6000K. That is very important as the Basking light is your other lighting source and it only gives off light in the 2500K color range - which is like dawn or dusk lighting. So your tortoise never sees that it is "daytime" without this type light.
UVB - You have a very inefficent type of UVB light currently. None of the compact fluorescents give off adequate UVB for a tortoise enclosure. This is quite important for you in the UK (I assume yout avatar "Abington" is in the UK not the one in PA? with room temps of 68°!) Your tortoise needs good UVB and many times of the year that is not even possible outdoors there. As mentioned, the Arcadia long tube type bulbs is perhaps the best source. I recomment the HO T5 tubes and fixtures. Arcadia makes a great fixture they call the Pro T5. I feel it is the best currently offered anywhere for tortoises. With a 12% bulb it is mounted about 20" above tortoise level and gives a nice broad UV zone. The 10% bulb would be mounted about 14" above. UV is vital for a tortoise. Not only the UVB for D3 synthesis, but the UVA for proper visual stimulation and daily and annual rhythms. The UV only needs to be on during midday for 4-6 hours.

Make these changes and you will be amazed at how much more active and alert you tortoise becomes.
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
I have two dome fixtures, do I need three dome fixtures now?

what is the best lighting that will help with activity that wont be too bright. I always thought flood bulbs made for housing ans garage lights were too strong with the brightness?

if any exact recommendations rather than throwing out a bunch of ideas I will go and purchase what I need for the two done fixures I have. I currently put a 60 watt heating uva bulb to replace the ceramic heat for during the day. With the uvb bulb that is 5.0
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I have two dome fixtures, do I need three dome fixtures now?

what is the best lighting that will help with activity that wont be too bright. I always thought flood bulbs made for housing ans garage lights were too strong with the brightness?

if any exact recommendations rather than throwing out a bunch of ideas I will go and purchase what I need for the two done fixures I have. I currently put a 60 watt heating uva bulb to replace the ceramic heat for during the day. With the uvb bulb that is 5.0
You have a species that basks in full sunlight. Why are you worried about brightness? Even forest dwelling species do fine under a relatively dim incandescent bulb.

You are trying to replicate sunshine. It is supposed to be very bright.

You need somewhere between one and four light fixtures depending on your situation. In a very brightly lit room, you might not need additional ambient light. If your tortoise get to bask in direct sunshine most of every year in a warm climate, then you might not need indoor UV. If your room temp is already correct for your species of tortoise, then you would not need ambient heat.

So in a brightly lit, warm room, with a tortoise that also has an outdoor enclosure for sunning, all you would need is a single incandescent flood bulb set on a timer with the height set to get the correct basking temperature under it.

In a dimly lit, cold room with a tortoise in a cold climate and no outdoor enclosure, you will need all four.
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
I dont want a strong brightness flood bulb that will disturb me with my sensitive eyes. And make the room unbearable. I will get him what he needs though. No problem. Im also working on building a bigger tortoise table for my guy. He also gets out of the cage in a playpen outdoors and bathes in the sunlight
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
Is the LED bulb you are tALKING ABOUT a flood bulb from home depot? What exactly does it look like please help!
 

TaylorTortoise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
Abington
You have a species that basks in full sunlight. Why are you worried about brightness? Even forest dwelling species do fine under a relatively dim incandescent bulb.

You are trying to replicate sunshine. It is supposed to be very bright.

You need somewhere between one and four light fixtures depending on your situation. In a very brightly lit room, you might not need additional ambient light. If your tortoise get to bask in direct sunshine most of every year in a warm climate, then you might not need indoor UV. If your room temp is already correct for your species of tortoise, then you would not need ambient heat.

So in a brightly lit, warm room, with a tortoise that also has an outdoor enclosure for sunning, all you would need is a single incandescent flood bulb set on a timer with the height set to get the correct basking temperature under it.

In a dimly lit, cold room with a tortoise in a cold climate and no outdoor enclosure, you will need all four.
The room temp from the temperature gauge I have in his tank reads 80 without heat provided. I took those pictures at night the room is pretty bright and he is next to the window.
 

New Posts

Top