Light issues

[Tortimum]

Please help! I’m new here had my little Eric (Horsefield Tortoise) for 2 nights. The reptile shop said that he is one year old.
I’ve bought a pre done viv from the pet shop and currently I have a basking light which they have advised 31 degrees in the day with the uv light strip on and 27 degrees at night with the uv light off, from a lot of places I’ve read that they are meant to have a dark viv at night time so they can sleep but despite this light being on a dimmable thermostat it is staying very bright at night. I’ve spoke to the pet shop and he said the bulb needs to adjust and it will lower light over time, I think that sounds a little silly. What do you all advise I just want something easy? Will I have to change between a day bulb and a night bulb? Thanks in advance! Here’s some pictures of the set up. First picture is night and second picture is day.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!

Unfortunately, the pet shop gave you wrong advice on care.

1. Yes, tortoises sleep in the dark. And if your room temperatures stay in 21-23C no additional heating is needed. For adult tortoises nighttime temperatures can dip to 17-18C (could be even lower, but this is the safe range).
2. Basking lamp, ideally, should not be on a thermostat - you need to use lower wattage bulb and adjust height to get 35-37C at the basking area with the rest of the vivarium in 24-25C.
3. To maintain ambient temperature a combination of ceramic heat emitter (heater which gives no light, CHE) and simple on/off thermostat is usually used. You install the socket and CHE in the middle of the vivarium, place thermostat probe closer to the "cold end", set temperature on thermostat to 22C and forget about it.
4. The substrates offered are bad choice for baby Horsfields. Orchid bark or coco coir are better options. They also retain moisture and this helps tortoise to thermoregulate and get into a humid microclimate while burrowing.

You can check this detailed care guide (and temperate species care sheet linked at the bottom of that post):

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

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Also, search in that post for a word "breakdown" for the recommended heating/lightning setup, lightning timings and such.

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