Let's talk lighting and airflow

[Gdbyrd]

I just got out of reef keeping, a hobby that consumed me to varying degrees for the past 8 to 10 years. One of my focuses with that hobby was adequate lighting. I was wondering if anyone here uses T5HO or metal halides (6500k) for their indoor enclosures.

I am also wondering how you guys keep the humidity up in your tank with lighting. I am under the impression that UV rays are blocked by glass and most plastics. I haven't researched it enough but would like some advice. I'm in the process of setting up a 40g breeder and I plan on keeping it mostly covered to increase the humidity.

When I owned dart frogs I also had small 12v fans setup in the tank to circulate air. Has anyone messed with this yet? I'm concerned about stagnant air issues.

Thank you for the information.

 

[Tom]

I use T5HO bulbs for UV. Arcadia 12% bulbs. Never used metal halides and don't know if they are safe for tortoise eyes.

If the lighting is all inside and the top is closed, humidity maintenance is easy.

Air circulation and stagnant air has never been an issue for me.

What species are you getting and what size? A 40 is really only suitable for a hatchling.

 

[Gdbyrd]

Hey Tom, it is intended for a hatchling and later for nighttime stays or during bad weather (we get a lot of tropical storms/depressions here). I am still brainstorming the best way to build an outdoor enclosure.

Intended species is a leopard tortoise. I was pretty well set on a sulcata but my wife talked me into a leopard. Similar care at least.

 

[von345]

I have a leopard and I love him. He is just a hatchling and I'm using 40 gal feeder. It has worked pretty well for the time being. I put construction paper up about 1/2 way on the outside so he can't see out. And I noticed a huge difference in his stress level. Now that he can't see out he is happy in his own little world. Definatly do that. As far as keeping the humidity up I use a power sun100W and a night time heat source. I have found that misting the enclosure a few times a day and just putting a shower curtain over the lights and top has kept his humidity at a perfect 80%

 

[Gdbyrd]

Hey vin345, excellent information, thank you. I should have questioned it before buying but I assumed high temps went with high wattage, may have gone a bit high. 160w mvb and a 150 ceramic heater for night. Doing 10.0 uvb on a 78w t5h0 light.

How dI'd you keep the shower curtain up without it melting? I haven't used an mvb before but it felt plenty warm during a test run yesterday.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I use a 100 watt Powersun MVB and a black light bulb for heat. I do use a CHE for my 2 month old Sulcata. I do not care much for CHE's I think they are dangerous and too damn hot. In the last 3 months I have lost 2 animals, one was an adult Russian who had a nerve problem. Well, it's totally my fault, but she got stuck in the corner under the CHE at night, and fried. Same recently with a yearling. Mandy could only walk in circles, and she simply couldn't get out of the corner.I I feel real bad for that. A good keeper would have realized she would get stuck. Guess I'm not a very good keeper.
Pour warm water over the substrate, The temp stays about 90 degrees with 85% humdidty. I personally use aluminum foil, it won't melt like a shower curtain might. The foil keeps the warm air and humidity in. I have 11 tort tables in my house, it rains here 7 months out of the year. So I keep large tort tables so they can have enough exercise. I also put up a play area, so they can do something different besides be in the tort table. Put toys in there, and you'd be surprised how much tortoises play with each other and chase toys....I raise my babies differently than most keepers. So what I do is not necessarily what is recommended.
Look at the smooth carapace and the growth lines on Daisy Mae. She's gained 2.5 pounds since Feb 5th. The other is 2 month old Pansy, cute butt huh????
And Happy Birthday!!!

 

[Tom]

Hey vin345, excellent information, thank you. I should have questioned it before buying but I assumed high temps went with high wattage, may have gone a bit high. 160w mvb and a 150 ceramic heater for night. Doing 10.0 uvb on a 78w t5h0 light.

How dI'd you keep the shower curtain up without it melting? I haven't used an mvb before but it felt plenty warm during a test run yesterday.

The 150 watt CHE will work just fine for you if you run it on a thermostat.

I think the 160 is going to be too big for your small tank. I use a couple of 65 watt bulbs on my 4x8' closed cambers and even those run temps into the low 90s sometimes.

I have never needed the paper around the outside of the tank, but it won't hurt anything if you decide to do it.

Also, I would look into getting a South African leopard. They cost more, but their personality is much more like a sulcata than a regular leopard. Be careful though. Lots of people out there selling mixes as "pure". We argue about it here regularly.