Is Indoor Sunlight Adequate

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PATBOC

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First post here to this great informative forum. My Sulcata is about 4 inches or so and kept indoors. I have him in a tank for now until I can build a proper table. The tank is placed in a nook with three large windows that allow plenty of sunshine in. I have been monitoring the temp and it is between 60 at night and 80 in the day time. This is the lowest the temps will get, being I live in southern ca. Do I still need to provide additional lighting? How about in the summer, when temps will get much warmer?
 

Shelly

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Almost all UV rays will be filtered out by the window glass. He MUST get natural sunshine or rays from a UV light, or he will get very very sick. Temps are too low as well.
 

Laura

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He needs to be warmer.. and the temps do get colder in good ole southern calif.. but not for long. Ive slept outside and woke up with ice on the sleeping bag.. :)
Yep.. he need REAL Outdoor sunshine.. thru a window wont work..
What is the diet he is eating? calcium?
Welcome!!!
 

jagsrule100

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How high does the temp get? 60 at night seems kind of low for a 4 inch sully to me, i would keep it at the lowest 70.

My setup is right next to some windows but i don't open them, i have the MVB light and a regular basking light during the day and a red light for night time. I also live in florida and the temps don't get low that much.
 

PATBOC

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Yes, I go by Patrick. Thanks!

I have read that thread. The reason I was asking is because of this comment in that thread, "You do not need Mercury Vapor Bulbs or any other UV bulbs if your tortoise gets regular sunshine. 20-30 minutes twice a week is adequate, more is better". Just wanted to get some clarification.


emysemys said:
Hi Patboc:

Is your name "Pat?"

Welcome to the forum!!

Have you read this thread:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies



I have been feeding him romaine lettuce the last few days. I am going to pick up some spring mix and calcium this weekend. Also, I plan on putting him outside to graze on the grass when I have the opportunity. I will work on getting him warmer. Thanks!

Laura said:
He needs to be warmer.. and the temps do get colder in good ole southern calif.. but not for long. Ive slept outside and woke up with ice on the sleeping bag.. :)
Yep.. he need REAL Outdoor sunshine.. thru a window wont work..
What is the diet he is eating? calcium?
Welcome!!!
 

Laura

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Patrick,
Sounds like you found us in the nick of time!
Pick up a Cuttle bone too. Its a great calcium source. It can be found in Feed stores or the pet section for Birds.
Since you are down south.. take a look around your neighborhood and look for people who have cactus in thier yards.
That is a great food soruce and calcium as well.
To get your little one real sun.. be sure to have a safe place outside to put him. Dont put him outside inthe glass tank..he can cook..
get a storage tub or a kiddie pool. be sure to put some sort of screen/wire top over it to keep out dogs, cats, and birds.
 

Yvonne G

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PATBOC said:
I have read that thread. The reason I was asking is because of this comment in that thread, "You do not need Mercury Vapor Bulbs or any other UV bulbs if your tortoise gets regular sunshine. 20-30 minutes twice a week is adequate, more is better". Just wanted to get some clarification.

By regular sunshine, we mean outdoors with no glass or screen between the sun and the tortoise.
 

PATBOC

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Ok, thanks for the clarification. So if I take the tort outside for more than an hour a week to get some sunshine then I do not need to use a MVB or any other UV bulbs. I will just provide a lamp anyways so it can have the option to go under it if it wants. Other sites have said that 60 degrees at night is ok, but not anything below that. So do most of the people here use a heating pad at night if the temp is below 60 degrees in the enclosure?

emysemys said:
PATBOC said:
I have read that thread. The reason I was asking is because of this comment in that thread, "You do not need Mercury Vapor Bulbs or any other UV bulbs if your tortoise gets regular sunshine. 20-30 minutes twice a week is adequate, more is better". Just wanted to get some clarification.

By regular sunshine, we mean outdoors with no glass or screen between the sun and the tortoise.
 

Yvonne G

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As long as you provide the tortoise with the correct temperatures inside the habitat, then with sunshine, it doesn't matter what kind of light you use. Most people use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) at night. If you're talking about a baby tortoise, the night time temp should be around 80 degrees.
 

jagsrule100

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One hour a week in my opinion is not enough for the tortoise to get the UVB needed. They need to be exposed to UVB for like 12 hours a day i believe. I would get the MVB light because it provides the UVB and heat all in one bulb.

60 degrees is alright for bigger and older tortoises, for smaller tortoises 70-80 degrees is best. I keep mine at 80 at night cause mine is only 5 months old.
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome PATBOC.

The idea is to just get them out for sunshine as much as you can. THere are a million variables that would determine EXACTLY what the minimum is, but why shoot for the minimum required? The best thing is to build a proper, safe, outdoor enclosure and put him in there whenever the weather and your time safely permits. There are lots of ideas in the enclosure section for how to do this.

60 at night is fine for adults, IF they can warm up during the day. 60 is too cold for a young one, especially if you have any sort of humidity in there. He might SURVIVE it for a while, but he will likely end up with a respiratory infection. For night heat, I prefer to use Ceramic Heating Elements. Some people like colored light bulbs and others like infrared bulbs. I like it dark in my house at night.

During the day they need to be able to warm up to around 100. This allows all their systems to function at full capacity. This is usually accomplished with a basking light. The Mercury Vapor Bulbs give you heat AND proper UV rays all in one convenient package. Get a temp gun or a remote probed thermometer to verify that you have the temps right and adjust the height of your fixtures accordingly.
 
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