Lighting and UVB

[C.Sheldon]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I currently have x3 Western Herman tortoises, I’ve had them for a few weeks but they were hatched in June 2023.
I have all 3 in a 5ft by 2ft enclosure at the moment. They all get on really well. Where the weather allows, they do go outside as much as possible.
As you can see from the images attached, I currently have 1 combined bulb, heat and uv light, mercury vapour branded. After a lot of research I think that I maybe better off changing the lighting to an Arcadia Pro t5 strip. I’m looking at the 24” 12% UVB strip image attached. Then I’m looking at using 2 flood bulbs, as I have 3 tortoises, and I’ve been looking at the Arcadia solar basking 100w flood light.
Please could I have some advice / feedback as to whether this is the best thing to do or is the combined lighting I currently have ok. I have attached images so you can see.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, there is so much advice out there I’m just looking for a definitive answer before I change the lighting system. Thank you

 

[Tom]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I currently have x3 Western Herman tortoises, I’ve had them for a few weeks but they were hatched in June 2023.
I have all 3 in a 5ft by 2ft enclosure at the moment. They all get on really well. Where the weather allows, they do go outside as much as possible.
As you can see from the images attached, I currently have 1 combined bulb, heat and uv light, mercury vapour branded. After a lot of research I think that I maybe better off changing the lighting to an Arcadia Pro t5 strip. I’m looking at the 24” 12% UVB strip image attached. Then I’m looking at using 2 flood bulbs, as I have 3 tortoises, and I’ve been looking at the Arcadia solar basking 100w flood light.
Please could I have some advice / feedback as to whether this is the best thing to do or is the combined lighting I currently have ok. I have attached images so you can see. View attachment 373588
Any help would be greatly appreciated, there is so much advice out there I’m just looking for a definitive answer before I change the lighting system. Thank you View attachment 373584View attachment 373585View attachment 373586View attachment 373587

Hello and welcome!

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
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. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

More info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

And here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome!🥰

I hate to be the barer of bad news, but these guys are going to need separating asap, they shouldn’t be living in a group like this, whilst you may think they’re all getting along, behaviours that appear nice to us really aren’t, following one another, eating side by side, sleeping snuggled up, all bullying behaviours in the tortoise world😔they’ll be a constant fight for resources causing an unnecessary amount of stress.

Being so young they shouldn’t be outside for more than a few hours and with close supervision. They're still small and growing, meaning they need a higher humidity around 80%, which you’ll find impossible maintaining in an open top like this.

The combined bulb definitely needs changing, never go for all in ones. Also don’t go with anything labelled mercury Vapor. The uv you’re looking at is right though👍

I’m going to include some information below on starter enclosures for each of these guys and the correct types of equipment to use. Hope it helps!🙂

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f. The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.

Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. Set the thermostat for a night temperature place the probe in their cooler end, plug the che into it and the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be plugged in 24/7 but will only turn on when the temperature drops. If your house stays in the 60’s at night, don’t worry about this.

Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached examples of the two brands to go for and some examples of how to mount them.

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then, which also helps boosting humidity or give the top a spray. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed. I don’t recommend misters or foggers, they get the air too wet and cause respiratory problems.

Humidity for young growing tortoises needs to be maintained around 80%, you’ll find that very difficult to achieve with an open top. Once the tortoise is older a cover won’t be needed. You’ll probably only need for a year or so at this stage.

To maintain humidity you need a closed chamber set up, for your kind of set up this can be provided with a greenhouse topper, If you can’t find an exact fit for your base then place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d put lining down under the base and cover though to stop condensate getting on your floor. And I’d consider lining inside the base.
When making bases for the other two, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds or just make their own, for both these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect them, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough.

Something like a 4x2 or 4x3 foot size will last you for a year or so, once fully grown they’ll each need roughly separate 8x4 enclosures.

Some people even hang their lighting from the greenhouse frame! Simply wrap the wire round so it’s at the height you need(check with temp gun/put thermostat in, 18-21 for uv) and secure with cable ties. I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy.

For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.

Do daily soaks for a hatchling, even with them self soaking. Just make sure you’re there with them when you’re soaking them🙂

Ignore whatever else is in these enclosures in the photos, they’re just to give you an idea👍

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

 

[C.Sheldon]

Hello and welcome!

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
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. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

More info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

And here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Hi and thank you so much for the info. I defiantly get them outside as much as possible esp now it’s summer and defiantly more than 2-3 times a week. I’ll leave it as it is for now then esp as they are getting the uv from being outside as well.
In the winter this year, I won’t hibernate them so I’ll change the lighting then to a T5 tube as you’ve said above. Will the lights still be on as much during the winter months and also the uv strip of will I still only need to put that on for 2-3 hours around mid day?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi and thank you so much for the info. I defiantly get them outside as much as possible esp now it’s summer and defiantly more than 2-3 times a week. I’ll leave it as it is for now then esp as they are getting the uv from being outside as well.
In the winter this year, I won’t hibernate them so I’ll change the lighting then to a T5 tube as you’ve said above. Will the lights still be on as much during the winter months and also the uv strip of will I still only need to put that on for 2-3 hours around mid day?

In the late autumn and winter you may need to keep ambient and basking lights for 14 hours (even longer than in spring or summer) to trick them that there is a long summer day. UVB lamp stays the same - 4 hours a day (2-3 hours may be not enough, but depends on their basking behaviour - if they bask full 2-3 hours, no need to run it for 4 hours).

You've made a good selection of UVB and basking bulbs. Not sure if you need two 100W bulbs - it depends on basking zone temperatures. Generally, you want 95-105F in the basking zone and have it large enough to match the UVB exposure zone. For the flood type lamps heated area is roughly equal to mounting height. If you get required basking area temperature with lamp mounted at 12 inches - you may need two of them. With 18 inches, you can use only one (as 50% of lamps output will be in 18-20 inches area and other 50% will be dissipated outside this area, but still reach the ground).

 

[C.Sheldon]

Hello and welcome!🥰

I hate to be the barer of bad news, but these guys are going to need separating asap, they shouldn’t be living in a group like this, whilst you may think they’re all getting along, behaviours that appear nice to us really aren’t, following one another, eating side by side, sleeping snuggled up, all bullying behaviours in the tortoise world😔they’ll be a constant fight for resources causing an unnecessary amount of stress.

Being so young they shouldn’t be outside for more than a few hours and with close supervision. They're still small and growing, meaning they need a higher humidity around 80%, which you’ll find impossible maintaining in an open top like this.

The combined bulb definitely needs changing, never go for all in ones. Also don’t go with anything labelled mercury Vapor. The uv you’re looking at is right though👍

I’m going to include some information below on starter enclosures for each of these guys and the correct types of equipment to use. Hope it helps!🙂

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f. The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.

Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. Set the thermostat for a night temperature place the probe in their cooler end, plug the che into it and the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be plugged in 24/7 but will only turn on when the temperature drops. If your house stays in the 60’s at night, don’t worry about this.

Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached examples of the two brands to go for and some examples of how to mount them.

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then, which also helps boosting humidity or give the top a spray. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed. I don’t recommend misters or foggers, they get the air too wet and cause respiratory problems.

Humidity for young growing tortoises needs to be maintained around 80%, you’ll find that very difficult to achieve with an open top. Once the tortoise is older a cover won’t be needed. You’ll probably only need for a year or so at this stage.

To maintain humidity you need a closed chamber set up, for your kind of set up this can be provided with a greenhouse topper, If you can’t find an exact fit for your base then place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d put lining down under the base and cover though to stop condensate getting on your floor. And I’d consider lining inside the base.
When making bases for the other two, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds or just make their own, for both these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect them, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough.

Something like a 4x2 or 4x3 foot size will last you for a year or so, once fully grown they’ll each need roughly separate 8x4 enclosures.

Some people even hang their lighting from the greenhouse frame! Simply wrap the wire round so it’s at the height you need(check with temp gun/put thermostat in, 18-21 for uv) and secure with cable ties. I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy.

For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.

Do daily soaks for a hatchling, even with them self soaking. Just make sure you’re there with them when you’re soaking them🙂

Ignore whatever else is in these enclosures in the photos, they’re just to give you an idea👍

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

Hi and thank you so much for the information, I will arrange for them to be separated asap. They are normally separated outside I’m just limited for space inside - the breader told me that because they’ve been incubated to be females that they’d be ok together. But I’m going to 100% take your advice on board and work out a way to move them around. Thank you.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi and thank you so much for the information, I will arrange for them to be separated asap. They are normally separated outside I’m just limited for space inside - the breader told me that because they’ve been incubated to be females that they’d be ok together. But I’m going to 100% take your advice on board and work out a way to move them around. Thank you.

No problem at all, wishing you all the best with them🥰

 

[C.Sheldon]

In the late autumn and winter you may need to keep ambient and basking lights for 14 hours (even longer than in spring or summer) to trick them that there is a long summer day. UVB lamp stays the same - 4 hours a day (2-3 hours may be not enough, but depends on their basking behaviour - if they bask full 2-3 hours, no need to run it for 4 hours).

You've made a good selection of UVB and basking bulbs. Not sure if you need two 100W bulbs - it depends on basking zone temperatures. Generally, you want 95-105F in the basking zone and have it large enough to match the UVB exposure zone. For the flood type lamps heated area is roughly equal to mounting height. If you get required basking area temperature with lamp mounted at 12 inches - you may need two of them. With 18 inches, you can use only one (as 50% of lamps output will be in 18-20 inches area and other 50% will be dissipated outside this area, but still reach the ground).

That’s great thank you so much for the advice I really appreciate your help

 

[Tom]

I hate to be the barer of bad news, but these guys are going to need separating asap, they shouldn’t be living in a group like this, whilst you may think they’re all getting along, behaviours that appear nice to us really aren’t, following one another, eating side by side, sleeping snuggled up, all bullying behaviours in the tortoise world😔they’ll be a constant fight for resources causing an unnecessary amount of stress.

The OP has a trio. Pairs are the problem. Generally groups of juveniles get along fine. If they all turn out to be female, they will probably get along long term too. If one or more are male, there might be issues that would require separating.

@C.Sheldon Do you know if they are all related? Or are they from different parents. You might end up with a wonderful breeding group one way or another. If yours are unrelated and you end up with one male, you are all set. If yours are all related, even better, Then you could simply add one unrelated male and have an ideal ratio of 1.3.

You do not have to brumate your tortoises, but you might change your mind, and they might have other ideas one way or the other. You have months to consider this, but here is the info you need to think about:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

The OP has a trio. Pairs are the problem. Generally groups of juveniles get along fine. If they all turn out to be female, they will probably get along long term too. If one or more are male, there might be issues that would require separating.

@C.Sheldon Do you know if they are all related? Or are they from different parents. You might end up with a wonderful breeding group one way or another. If yours are unrelated and you end up with one male, you are all set. If yours are all related, even better, Then you could simply add one unrelated male and have an ideal ratio of 1.3.

You do not have to brumate your tortoises, but you might change your mind, and they might have other ideas one way or the other. You have months to consider this, but here is the info you need to think about:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

Fair enough, I think I’d still personally be worried about potential stress/future aggression, I wouldn’t want to take for granted they’re all definitely female despite what the breeder says, just in case.

 

[Tom]

Fair enough, I think I’d still personally be worried about potential stress/future aggression, I wouldn’t want to take for granted they’re all definitely female despite what the breeder says, just in case.

Before those hormones start raging, the sexes really don't matter in regards to them getting along or not. That usually doesn't become a problem until they start nearing maturity. I've not had problem with trios of juveniles. I've had problems and seen many problems with pairs at any age, sex or size.

Going a bit off topic now, but I'm of the opinion that our captive tortoises are very precious and we should all have an eye toward reproducing them. I would like to see a day where we don't need to take any from the wild, and our pet trade needs can all be met with captive bred stock. I'm not saying that everyone should have some sort of full scale breeding operation, but like the OP, if you are going to have a tortoise, especially a small easy-to-manage species like a Western Hermanni, why not just have a small group? I find the interactions and behavioral differences interesting and it enriches my tortoise keeping experience when I have a group vs. a single tortoise in a pen. I prefer to have 4-6 in a group, and when they grow up in a small group like this, they tend to have better "social skills" for breeding later on when compared to tortoises that grew up all alone. I'm speaking in generalities here. There are exceptions both ways. There is certainly nothing wrong with anybody that just wants to keep a single tortoise and have a wonderful interactive pet, but I've come to prefer groups over the years. Many of the species we keep do interact in groups in a given territory in the wild too, and Western Herrmanni are one of these. Just throwing these thoughts out there for conversation...

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Before those hormones start raging, the sexes really don't matter in regards to them getting along or not. That usually doesn't become a problem until they start nearing maturity. I've not had problem with trios of juveniles. I've had problems and seen many problems with pairs at any age, sex or size.

Going a bit off topic now, but I'm of the opinion that our captive tortoises are very precious and we should all have an eye toward reproducing them. I would like to see a day where we don't need to take any from the wild, and our pet trade needs can all be met with captive bred stock. I'm not saying that everyone should have some sort of full scale breeding operation, but like the OP, if you are going to have a tortoise, especially a small easy-to-manage species like a Western Hermanni, why not just have a small group? I find the interactions and behavioral differences interesting and it enriches my tortoise keeping experience when I have a group vs. a single tortoise in a pen. I prefer to have 4-6 in a group, and when they grow up in a small group like this, they tend to have better "social skills" for breeding later on when compared to tortoises that grew up all alone. I'm speaking in generalities here. There are exceptions both ways. There is certainly nothing wrong with anybody that just wants to keep a single tortoise and have a wonderful interactive pet, but I've come to prefer groups over the years. Many of the species we keep do interact in groups in a given territory in the wild too, and Western Herrmanni are one of these. Just throwing these thoughts out there for conversation...

I have read that until maturity young groups aren’t as much of an issue if there’s plenty of room and resources, so these guys can probably stay together for a bit😊I guess I’m saying having the back up plan to separate all three isn’t a bad idea.
I’m not sure if OP was wanting to have a breeding group, I usually assume not but who knows.

Sorry to this op for the long off topic chat that follows, don’t worry about reading it😂 but I like open discussions so don’t mind me adding my two cents lol😅

I absolutely appreciate that point of view @Tom and I would be inclined to agree if we were in a better world for these captive bred tortoises, I definitely appreciate there being plenty of ethical breeders and I don’t agree with wild caught personally, so would love to see that phased out.

It goes without saying there’s endless amazing homes and owners out there! Yourself obviously included🙂

I think the problem is, when generally speaking right now, care for tortoise is still needing so much more work on getting the correct care information out there😣

This forum is a goldmine of incredible people who have either spent years learning the best ways or are new and willing to learn the best ways.
But broadly speaking when looking at the entire picture, the whole pet trade of these guys is still miles behind where is should be.
Don’t get me wrong, things have improved greatly over the years! Thanks to communities like this. But I think whilst things are still pretty behind, again broadly speaking. Breeding, for the most part, should be left to people like yourself, who have a lot of hands on experience and are well educated on all aspects of care for whatever species they breed.
You and people like you, know exactly what kind of homes to look for and how to direct people to all the information needed.
I guess that’s why for the most part, I don’t want to encourage breeding groups to new members, they may not have the best resource of information yet, which ultimately adds to the all too common problems that are out there.
I wish that care on the whole wasn’t so behind still, if it was leaps and bounds ahead, and we could see that common husbandry mistakes were phasing out, I’d be all for encouraging more breeding projects no matter the size, as long as ethically done of course🙂

Ultimately there’s still no end of bad husbandry on a worryingly large scale, leading to countless tortoises suffering life long consequences😕
With so many unethical breeders out there adding to the problem already, I can’t in good conscience encourage bringing more of them into the world of captivity until things are where they should be.
That is just my opinion but I completely respect yours! And love a good discussion😁

 

[C.Sheldon]

The OP has a trio. Pairs are the problem. Generally groups of juveniles get along fine. If they all turn out to be female, they will probably get along long term too. If one or more are male, there might be issues that would require separating.

@C.Sheldon Do you know if they are all related? Or are they from different parents. You might end up with a wonderful breeding group one way or another. If yours are unrelated and you end up with one male, you are all set. If yours are all related, even better, Then you could simply add one unrelated male and have an ideal ratio of 1.3.

You do not have to brumate your tortoises, but you might change your mind, and they might have other ideas one way or the other. You have months to consider this, but here is the info you need to think about:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

That’s great thank you for the info and advice Tom. They are all from the same parents

 

[C.Sheldon]

That’s great thank you so much for the advice I really appreciate your help

Hi, just one last question, I’ll save up to buy a closed chamber / change the one I’ve got. But until I can change it over, what is the best way to keep the humidity as it needs to be in the table top? Shall I spray the substrate every day?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi, just one last question, I’ll save up to buy a closed chamber / change the one I’ve got. But until I can change it over, what is the best way to keep the humidity as it needs to be in the table top? Shall I spray the substrate every day?

You don't need to replace the whole enclosure - look for the portable greenhouse top (aka polytunnel) to place on top of the table. To keep high humidity pour water in the substrate (a bit more around basking zone, a bit less on the cold part) - this usually needs to be done once in a week or two with a "closed type" enclosure.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi, just one last question, I’ll save up to buy a closed chamber / change the one I’ve got. But until I can change it over, what is the best way to keep the humidity as it needs to be in the table top? Shall I spray the substrate every day?

As Alex mentioned, a greenhouse topper will work good for you😊and I’d start doing the pours as soon as you’ve got some lining underneath to protect your base, spraying won’t last very long, hope this helps🙂

 

[C.Sheldon]

Hello and welcome!

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
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. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

More info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

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And here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

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Hi Tom, just looking at LED strips for the ambient lighting, will these be suitable, or would a bulb be better suited? Pic attached…

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi Tom, just looking at LED strips for the ambient lighting, will these be suitable, or would a bulb be better suited? Pic attached…

Tbh when it comes to the leds it’s down to personal preference, I can’t speak for those strips in particular because I’ve not used them, but they look fine to me, as do the bulbs🙂if going with a bulb just make sure it’s hung high enough to light the entire enclosure, you can make shady spots with hides and plants for tortoise to retreat to if they wish😊
Also if going with the strip, I wouldn't rely on just the adhesive it comes with, they can fall down, I’d find a way to screw in something to hold them up if you can

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi Tom, just looking at LED strips for the ambient lighting, will these be suitable, or would a bulb be better suited? Pic attached…

I would look for LED bars - undercabinet lights and ceiling panels. Flexible LED strips are usually for decorative lightning - they are often less bright, need some tricks to mount them without glue, have less dispersed light because lack the reflector and front panel. Also, different colors mean that LED density is shared between colored and white diodes.

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom, just looking at LED strips for the ambient lighting, will these be suitable, or would a bulb be better suited? Pic attached…

Yeah... what they said...

I use the under cabinet mount ones or the screw in type bulb ones. Both of these types have served me well.