Lighting for new enclosure.

[Turbotort]

Hey everyone!

A friend and I have been working oney new enclosure. I will be finishing it up in a week or so and am not really sure what to do for lighting. I currently have a small uv bulb from lowes and it gives off a purple glow. Its not very big either. Everyone says redfoots dont like bright light so what would be a good idea for something to use? I dont want to give off heat because its already in the 80's just from ambient temps in Florida.

I dont feel i 100% need a uv bulb because i can put Littlefoot outside 3-5 days a week for sun down here and probably doesn't need a mvb or anything like that. Here are a couple pics. He/she is currently 135g's!

 

[Rue]

That is quite the enclosure! I am getting Mad Max vibes...lol...

 

[JHat]

That box looks explosion proof!

I wouldn't put a colored bulb, maybe just a low wattage tube florescent, so its not dark? and have the hides block the light if he/she doesn't care for the light.

What is your plan for humidity?

 

[Turbotort]

I'm not sure how it will hold humidity yet. It has a two part lid. And i ran caulking along the edges and weather stripping for the top.

 

[lisa127]

The enclosure is not open top correct? If it's enclosed you should have no problem with humidity.

 

[Turbotort]

Yes it is closed. I'm just trying to figure out how I should light it. I'm wondering how dim LEDs would do. They dont give off heat.

 

[Markw84]

The bluish uv bulb it really just a grow light for plants. Doesn't put out any UVB which is what tortoises require. However, you are correct that as long as your a giving it 1-2 hours of sunshine at least twice a week, you don't need a UVB light in the enclosure.

I am a believer though in providing as natural a light for torts as possible. Their vision is very different than ours. They even have four cones in their eyes as opposed to the three cones humans have. They see a much broader spectrum of light and see UV that is invisible to us. That helps them select the plants they eat and basking sites. I therefore like the fluorescent tubes. You could use a double t5 or t8 fixture and put in a 6500k bulb from Lowes on one side and perhaps a 10.0 UVB tube on the other. That would give the closest to natural sunlight you could provide. I also use that as it does not produce the heat of a MVB in an enclosed chamber I then use a standard incandescent flood bulb for a basking location on a rheostat ( dimmer) so I can adjust the level. As you say your type tortoise isn't as much of a basket as other type and you can adjust to whatever seems to produce the best results for you.

I have stayed away from LEDs. I like them but we don't know yet what the spectrum of light produced really will do for a tortoise. Their doing wonders in aquariums with them now and doing great for growing corals even. So wouldn't be surprised if there could be a great application for them. Just haven't seen any good compelling data for this application yet

 

[jockma]

@Rue GREAT, now I'm gonna forever erroneously think Littlefoot's name is Furiosa.

With some weekly natural sunlight you may not need a UVB bulb. I've always needed heat lamps because I'm a spoiled city slicker that requires air conditioning so I can't speak for whether or not humidity will be okay with ambient temps alone. However I believe in going the extra mile to prevent any possible problems so I would go with fluorescent UVB and lots of greenery/hides so they can be in total darkness if they please, just in case the weekly sunshine isn't enough.

 

[Turbotort]

Yeah my friend has a ton of fluorescent fixtures so he is giving me some. I plan to have a bunch of branches to mimic trees with fake plants out of reach to start. I will make some rock caves and things with moss or coco in them to hide. Also plans of a waterfall into the water dish. Should come out really nice.

 

[Gillian M]

A gorgeous tort deserves such an enclosure!