I'm confused about lighting and could use some advice!!!

[threeboxerlover]

We are new to torts (getting our first on Monday). I've done sooooo much reading that I've confused myself!!! The new baby is little, so he's going in a smaller enclosure to start out then we'll move him to larger and larger as he grows. I purchased an Exo Terra SOlarglo UV/Heat Mercury Vapor bulb (160 W), thinking that it would handle daytime heat/uv and then I was going to pick up a bulb for his basking spot and a ceramic heat emitter (for nightime) this weekend. But I've read conflicting info - don't heat at night/do heat at night; use a long tube UV not a bulb/use a mercury bulb, etc. I just want to make sure that we have everything the baby needs and that the indoor environment is as perfect as I can get it!! He is a Hermann's Tort, he will be in a heated/air conditioned room inside. We will take him outside regularly (already got a small outdoor enclosure for him), but until he's grown he will live indoors. I got a thermometer and humidity gauge as well. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Bobbi:

The light you've bought is ok, however, it may be a bit big for a baby tortoise. All these years I've been caring for turtles and tortoises, I've never had to use anything larger than a 100 watt bulb. The CHE is fine for night time. Many, many tortoise keepers use them with no ill effects. When you're caring for baby tortoises, you don't want his container to get too cool. Once he gets some size/age on him, you can allow more of a drop in temperature at night, but while he's a baby, keep him warm, day and night.

Please read the care sheet that one of our members put together. You'll find it pinned at the top of our Hermanni section.

 

[johnandjade]

hello and welcome from Scotland! if you post up some pics it'll help people advise you. sounds like your going to be a great human to your tort

the care sheet as mentioned is a fantastic resource as well as; www.hermannihaven.com

its good your doing your homework before hand, lots of us have fell into the trap of going on misinformation from pet stores.

best of luck and look forward to reading future post and seeing pics of your new family member! happy tortin

 

[tortdad]

Your MVB is an all in one bulb. It is your basking bulb, your light and your UVB if you keep this bulb do not buy a separate basking bulb as it will be too much heat and too much light.

Here's what I'm worried about if you use that high of wattage bulb. I think that high of a wattage bulb will heat up your enclosure too much which will cause you to raise the bulb higher and higher to regulate the temperature. There's nothing wrong with that if it was a regular basking bulb. The higher you raise that bulb the less amount of UVB reaches your tort. That's makes your very helpful all in one bulb not very helpful. If you still have the receipt I would swap it for the 100watt bulb that Yvonne was talking about.

You will want the Che AND a reptile thermostat (not a rheostat) to control it. You set the temperature to 80 degrees for a baby (or whatever the care sheet says the min temp is) and walk away. The thermostat will turn it on and off as needed day or night.


If you decide to abandon that MVB all together then you need a basking bulb and a separate UVB bulb. Just be sure you get the long tube type UVB bulb. When I say long I mean the old school bulbs like you see in hospitals and grocery stores... There 24" long and like 1" in diameter. Avoid any UVB bulb that say "compact fluorescent" it will be advertised for reptiles but it can cause your tort to go blind, if it's not at least 12" long it's the wrong kind. Either set up will still require a Che with a thermostat. So in summary...

Option #1. MVB with a Che on a tstat

Option #2. Basking bulb, Tube UVB bulb and a Che on a tstat.

You just need to see which set up works best for you.

Also, we didn't talk about timers. It's not mandatory but helps give your tort some consistency which seems to help them since they don't like changes. If you use a timer just get a $5 one from a hardware store and only hook your lights (not the Che and thermostat) and set it to run for 12ish hours a day. That way the lights come on at say 7am and off at 7pm. The other option is to just turn the lights on and off yourself but what if you sleep in or stay out late with friends? A cheap timer for the lights offers piece of mind for you and consistency for your tort. Just be sure not to hook the thermostat to the timer. The whole point of the Che is for night heat and it won't work at night if the timer is turned off from 7pm to 7am.

Hope I didn't confuse you even more.

 

[tortdad]

Also your post keeps saying Uv bulb so take a quick note on the difference from UVA and UVB. There are dozens of bulbs on the market that say UV when in fact they are UVA only. Your tort needs UVB too. The MVB bulb you have is a UVB bulb. If you switch to the long run type it needs to be UVB as well. I like the HO (high output) ones.

 

[Tom]

Everyone's enclosure, home and tortoise is different. We can give some general guidelines, but each one is a bit of a custom job. There will always be some "fine tuning" with any set up and equipment strategy. First figure out what conditions you wish to provide, then use your chosen equipment to create those conditions. Make adjustments as needed to get the temperature and humidity where you want it. If you are having troube we can help offer tips to get you where you want to be. Everyone has different opinions and experiences to draw from, so you will have to decide whose advice will best suit YOUR needs.

Please read these for a good over view of baby tortoise care:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[threeboxerlover]

Thank you all for the info! I got rid of the 160 watt MVB and changed it for a 125 (I couldn't find 100, but I'm going to keep looking). I also got a CHE and I will get a thermostat for that one today at the hardware store. I figure I can return anything I don't need, but I don't want to get him home and NOT have something necessary. Since he is a baby, the enclosure is smallish (a 54 gallon rubbermaid container) and I couldn't figure out how to rig up a tube light over it... I got a lamp stand so the MVB will not be tilted, but will be hanging so it is flat down over his habitat. Since it is a long enclosure for such a little guy, I got the basking bulb too in case the MVB isn't enough to to light/heat the whole area and provide a basking spot. I have read the care sheet and the beginner info and will re-read it today before I head out. Thanks so much, this forum and your answers have been so incredibly healthy. I am so excited!! I can't wait to pick him up tomorrow (or her....)!!!

 

[johnandjade]

looking forward to seeing some pics

 

[spud's_mum]

Thank you all for the info! I got rid of the 160 watt MVB and changed it for a 125 (I couldn't find 100, but I'm going to keep looking). I also got a CHE and I will get a thermostat for that one today at the hardware store. I figure I can return anything I don't need, but I don't want to get him home and NOT have something necessary. Since he is a baby, the enclosure is smallish (a 54 gallon rubbermaid container) and I couldn't figure out how to rig up a tube light over it... I got a lamp stand so the MVB will not be tilted, but will be hanging so it is flat down over his habitat. Since it is a long enclosure for such a little guy, I got the basking bulb too in case the MVB isn't enough to to light/heat the whole area and provide a basking spot. I have read the care sheet and the beginner info and will re-read it today before I head out. Thanks so much, this forum and your answers have been so incredibly healthy. I am so excited!! I can't wait to pick him up tomorrow (or her....)!!!

Make sure to post lots of pics!
I also have a hermanns and the same bulb. Mine works fine, I don't think you need to go to 100w if you can't find one

 

[tortdad]

A hardware store won't carry the reptile thermostat you need. Look online or some pet stores have them. I use the 1000watt Zilla brand but there are several on the market.

 

[jaizei]

Thank you all for the info! I got rid of the 160 watt MVB and changed it for a 125 (I couldn't find 100, but I'm going to keep looking). I also got a CHE and I will get a thermostat for that one today at the hardware store. I figure I can return anything I don't need, but I don't want to get him home and NOT have something necessary. Since he is a baby, the enclosure is smallish (a 54 gallon rubbermaid container) and I couldn't figure out how to rig up a tube light over it... I got a lamp stand so the MVB will not be tilted, but will be hanging so it is flat down over his habitat. Since it is a long enclosure for such a little guy, I got the basking bulb too in case the MVB isn't enough to to light/heat the whole area and provide a basking spot. I have read the care sheet and the beginner info and will re-read it today before I head out. Thanks so much, this forum and your answers have been so incredibly healthy. I am so excited!! I can't wait to pick him up tomorrow (or her....)!!!

For fluorescent tubes, I think the pvc stands are the easiest to make. If you buy a pvc cutter, you wouldn't even have to use a saw. Something like this:

Megaray has a 70W MVB if you need something smaller.

http://www.reptileuv.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_67&products_id=216

 

[threeboxerlover]

thank you all again! We got our new baby yesterday and I've asked my ex husband to make the PVC lighting stand (he has all the tools) and he will do that this week or next. In the meantime, we are using the lighting stand and swapping out the MVB and the ceramic heat lamp morning and night. I took some pics and will upload them today of the new tort!! He's so social and active - we're so happy with him!!!