light bulb users?

[Shelli]

How long is it before you find the temp is steady mine has been on now for 3 hours and still hasnt' stopped rising, I can move it though but in theory will it continue to rise?
Right now i'm at 89 degrees 74% humidity in the hot spot... away from that obviously the temp drops off and the humity goes up by about 6% I have the unheated part covered over with a rubbermaid lid so that is helping keep the humidity higher in that area i'm guessing..?

(I am using a black 'A' light bulb)

p.s I dont' have tort in there, i'm just practising tort keeping..

 

[Shelli]

Ok in the cooler spot it is now 90% humidity and 75 degrees

 

[Seiryu]

Ok in the cooler spot it is now 90% humidity and 75 degrees

It shouldn't still be going up, unless the wattage you got is too strong for it. If the enclosure is almost fully closed, heat builds up inside, making the basking area much warmer. If it gets to a temp that is not good, I'd try a lower wattage or raise the height at which the bulb is emitting from.

I however use heat bulbs like ReptiGlo and such, not a black bulb or house bulb. And mine generally *top out* in 30-45minutes max.

 

[Shelli]

It's not enclosed at all just one end, I might drop to a 40 watt and go back to the 60 in the winter if it keeps rising
,, I'm going to go check it now... that last temp was actually 89.8 as I have written it down and the time..
For the last hour and a half it has been at 90 degrees exactly and 76% humidity.. I have plenty of time to watch it and make sure it doesn't change much more than that...
I am hoping it has now peaked! It has been on for 4 hours... I have the thermostat directly under the bulb too sooo it is the very hottest spot..

 

[tortoisenerd]

It could be either the bulb or thermometer; glad to hear it's stable now. With a probe thermometer it takes quite a while to get a reading. I use an accurate laser thermometer (the PE1, $25 on Ebay). It takes an instant reading. Some bulbs like MVBs take a few hours to heat up; I have not heard of this with a black light bulb but am not familiar with them. A solution to this it to take high temperatures at midday. You also want midday temperatures (hottest part of the day) to make sure you know the hottest temp in the enclosure for a given ambient room temperature. 90is a bit hot for a Redfoot (I hear mid 80s) but as long as there are cooler spots down into the 80s (probably at least one spot offered in the low 80s) then that should be fine.

Is the humidity at the substrate level or just hung on the side of the enclosure? You want substrate readings (for example you can put the gauge down for awhile on the substrate and then put it away). Once you get an idea of what it is, and what affects it, you probably don't have to measure it all the time. Air humidity isn't the whole story.

 

[Shelli]

Thankyou so much for the advice Kate, yes it was lying on the substrate and it is a digital thermometer. It does cool off away from the light it feels colder because the moss is not warmed up to touch too so I may be moving everything around putting heat in the middle.. yadda yadda I will get this sorted out,, I hired the bulb so that I dropped it to 89 in the very hotspot but if tortoise moves away it wont be in that spot at all...
I'm calling tonight about pick up times for my torti on Friday morning... sooo excited..

 

[Chewbecca]

90 degrees is NOT too hot for a redfoot.

Your tortoise will move if it's uncomfortable. If you notice that it's NOT hanging out in the hot spot, then perhaps the temps are uncomfortable.

But there are spots in my RFTs enclosure that are 90 degrees (even 92), and he's fine.
In fact, he likes hanging out for a bit in the 90 degrees spot.

I use a temp gun. I think it's one of the best inventions EVER.
If I notice I'm getting uneven temps (and by uneven, I'm talking only off by a degree or two), then I stick the temp gun right up to his carapace.
He's generally never over 86 degrees from his carapace, so he's good.
If he's good, I'm good.

 

[Madkins007]

My nickel's worth...

- Blacklight bulbs mostly give off UVA light, which is not real safe for tortoises (eye damage, etc.), and a lot of heat- which is good, but not good enough to make up for the risk.

- I VASTLY prefer ceramic heat emitters- they are more stable, longer-lasting, and safer in general. They do need to be in a ceramic or other heat-proof mount, but they can also be left on at night. Once you find the right height and size, it should hold pretty stable.

- I strongly recommend thermostatic controllers. These are devices you plug the heater into and it will turn the heater on and off to keep it at a pre-set temp. The top-end ones can also offer a lower night temp.

- A big 'ditto' to IR thermometer guns. Harbor Freight usually has some for under $20, and often some around $10. it is great to know what the actual soil temp is anywhere in the habitat!

 

[Crazy1]

I whole heartedly agree with Madkins on all counts above. I Love my temp gun. Best invention. (I still point it at everything. torts substrate, dogs, car engine, etc.. Madkins thanks for the info about Harbor freight didn't think about getting another there.

I don't know what I would do without my thermostatic controllers, another great invention. They keep all my torts warm and toasty all winter and I have the ones that lower the night temps as well as timers to turn on the UVBs and MVB. Boy not having to manually do it is so great. Gives me more time with the shelled kids. I have been using them for several years now and they keep the temps constant.

Ceramic heat emitters Love them. I have tried Infrared and black-light and use in a pinch or if money is tight, but I like it dark at night so my ceramic heat emitters are well worth the money plus they last longer than other bulbs.

 

[Shelli]

Ok well I am going to see what else is available most of what I read said party lights (just colored bulbs red, blue, black) are safe for their eyes but I don't think it was 100% tortoises it could have been reptiles, black lights obviously are not safe the ones that make white stuff glow but I am using a party black bulb which I think is blue not a UV light.. I will have to keep reading obviously.
I read UVC damages eyes UVA is not high enough in party light bulbs (the regular incandescent colored bulb) to do much of anything.. I wish I had kept the page but I didn't so I'm probably waaaay off...
I think both products use the same names,, party and black so it is hard to get proper info on them...

---

" I am using a party black bulb which I think is blue " :/ I meant to say the 40 watt one I picked up is blue..
If I use a CHE I will probably keep the room light on it wont bother him i'm sure..

 

[Madkins007]

Ah! A black-COLORED light rather than a blacklight. Gotcha!

It is generally not a great idea to use colored bulbs in small enclosures- imagine what would happen to your sight if you only saw a colored light for hours at a time. (I'm reminded of that Seinfeld episode with the giant red sign!) To make it worse, tortoises can see a slightly different color spectrum than humans can, so even with normal human lights, they are not getting quite the lighting they want.

I know a lot of people are fans of blue or dim 'moonlight' bulbs for light and/or heat, but I'm not a big fan unless you need to display the animal in low-light conditions. Again, I prefer my ceramic heater. Besides, they last longer and are more rugged in use.

Will a dark-colored light mess up your tortoise? I dunno. What bothers me about stuff like this is my concern that the damage will be small and cumulative- it might not show up for years, if ever. I have no idea how to identify a partially blind tortoise.