LIGHT DISTANCE (NEED HELP ASAP)

[captain]

Hi everyone, I am building my indoor tortoise enclosure and need some serious help. My frame and wall measurements got mixed up and all wrong so i am trying to make it work with the wood I have...

But how far do my uv and heat have to be away from the bottom/tortoise?

Is 13 inches away from the ground (Up) ok or will this harm him?


I have a baby red footed.

 

[mike taylor]

Most uvb lights say right on the box how high to mount them . The one I have say to mount it twelve inches. As far as heat I would use two fifty watt che's on thermostats . Because the uvb light is all red foots need as they do not like bright lights as babies . My smaller ones love to hang out in well shaded areas . The temperature to hit is 85 down to 80 . Humidity can be 80 to as high as a 100 percent . Keep my enclosure at 80 percent . With high humidity you must keep the temperatures no lower than 80 . You want it humid but not wet . We do this by pouring water in a corner to keep the top dry but the under side wet . Just remember reds will get shell rot if you let them set in wet substrate.

 

[captain]

Thanks, I am going to get a che in a couple weeks, but for now just a regular heat lamp, I am going to mount it to my "Roof" and its on a dimmer so i should be able to control temps but just wanted to make that that 13inches wasn't too close

 

[mike taylor]

Thats up to your temperature under the lamp . Put a rock the size of your tortoise measure the temperature . If its to hot then get a lower wattage lamp and try it again . You should be fine .

 

[AnnV]

Are you talking a regular (red glowing) heat lamp bulb?
13" might be too close for a heat lamp. Even on a dimmer. You might want to use a 100w light bulb or a small flood.
How big of an area are you heating?

 

[Tom]

You need to measure the temperatures under the bulb. No one can answer this for you without that info.

What sort of UV are you using? If its a long florescent tube 12" is the farthest I would put it. If its a coil type, I wouldn't use it.

What are you going to do for night heat? Its not good to leave the light on 24/7, but it can't get cold at night either.

 

[DobbyRed]

Hi Captain. I have a 5" RF in my indoor inclosure and I have a CHE lamp for heat during the night and I put it near Dobby when she decide to where wants to sleep (came out from a very bad RI do to temp change) And I have an natural daylight 100watt lamp on a stand and have it in the center of the enclosure and I reach the exact height of it when I turn it on and let it reach its high temp and then put a thermostat below it and start raising it until it reach 85.9 in the day. I dont have a UVB lamp cause is in front of the balcony window and gets sunlight every day.

 

[Tom]

Hi Captain. I have a 5" RF in my indoor inclosure and I have a CHE lamp for heat during the night and I put it near Dobby when she decide to where wants to sleep (came out from a very bad RI do to temp change) And I have an natural daylight 100watt lamp on a stand and have it in the center of the enclosure and I reach the exact height of it when I turn it on and let it reach its high temp and then put a thermostat below it and start raising it until it reach 85.9 in the day. I dont have a UVB lamp cause is in front of the balcony window and gets sunlight every day.

Is the balcony window open with no screen? If not then your tortoise is not getting UV and could be on its way to metabolic bone disease. Glass filters out all the UV and window screen stops a large percentage of it. This practice can also over heat them very quickly. Anyone with an enclosure in front of a window should be VERY careful. This practice is usually recommended against.

 

[DobbyRed]

It does not have a screen and the windows is always open during the day and the sun light only reach the habitat during the morning from 6:00am to like 11:00am after that is in shade and in the evening I take her to the backyard so she can walk and have more sunlight.

 

[captain]

Thanks for your help everyone heres the info:

My enclosure will be 36 inches long 25 inches side (think coffee table)and 20 inches high.. i do have a heat bulb 100w which isnt the red its a normal daytime bulb.. at night all lights are off and temp doesnt go below 65... i am planning on getting a che in march. my uvb is 20 inches long in a hood at the store they said no higher than 18" so because of all this i assume it will be fine 13" above i will test how hot it gets before putting him in

 

[mike taylor]

I would not! ! Let the temperature drop to 65 . With the humidity he will get sick . No lower than 80 with humidity .