light guidance

Jodipg82

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Joined
May 10, 2020
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97
Location (City and/or State)
Oviedo
Hello! I'd like to get some guidance on my situation please :) Im in Central Florida and have my Leopard Tort hatchling in our Florida Glass screened patio in an enclosure. Because the screen is not permeable, its pretty humid all on its own, but I also have a humidity box my little Tort can go into under a hanging light which is where he prefers to be and burrowed in the damp substrate. I have the 80watt Mercury Vapor UVB Zoomed Power Sun lamp that has heat, UVA, UVB and light. Is this sufficient? I put him in sunlight when possible but we do have cloudy/rainy days. How long should I leave it on each day? Is this meeting his needs along with time in the sun? At night I turn off the light and use a CHE over his sleeping hide as I worry he will get cold in our house which AC is on 76 at night.Thank you!
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Please give this a read. It explains all of this and more:

A little more info:
  • There are four elements to heating and lighting:
    1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs because these bulbs are overly desiccating and cause pyramiding even in good living conditions.
    2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species like sulcatas or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
    3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Some LEDs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
    4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. I like the ZooMed 10.0 HO, and the Arcadia 12% HO. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb. Make sure there are lots of shady hiding areas for the tortoise to escape the UV when it wants to.
 

Jodipg82

Member
Joined
May 10, 2020
Messages
97
Location (City and/or State)
Oviedo
Please give this a read. It explains all of this and more:

A little more info:
  • There are four elements to heating and lighting:
    1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs because these bulbs are overly desiccating and cause pyramiding even in good living conditions.
    2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species like sulcatas or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
    3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Some LEDs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
    4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. I like the ZooMed 10.0 HO, and the Arcadia 12% HO. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb. Make sure there are lots of shady hiding areas for the tortoise to escape the UV when it wants to.
I live in Central Florida so I am able to provide natural sunlight as you recommend above, so my lighting need is a basking bulb and it may be a stupid question but I dont want to mess up and there are so many types of lights. Are incandescent bulbs ok? I know not to get the halogen, mercury vapor or spot bulbs...of course everything these days is LED so not sure if that is OK or not. Thank you!
 

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Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I live in Central Florida so I am able to provide natural sunlight as you recommend above, so my lighting need is a basking bulb and it may be a stupid question but I dont want to mess up and there are so many types of lights. Are incandescent bulbs ok? I know not to get the halogen, mercury vapor or spot bulbs...of course everything these days is LED so not sure if that is OK or not. Thank you!
Yes. That is the one. Regular incandescent flood bulbs. I usually get the 6 or 12 packs so I have extras on hand.
 

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