Lighting options for new (upcoming) enclosures?

[Turningstar]

Looking for ideas on lighting for the 2 2x8x18" tall closed chamber enclosures for my sulcata hatchlings.
Im thinking of a che on each side for night heat, a basking bulb and also tube lights for general lighting.
There are so many different bulbs, fixtures out there that Im confusing myself.
I live in Florida, so we have plenty of sunlight. My only concern with uvb is in winter if it is too cold for an extended period for them to go outside.

Should I go with uvb tube lights, or regular flourescent and a uvb basking? Do I need special fixtures for the tubes(uvb) or would any cheapie work?

Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[Wolfpackin]

Since you live in a warm climate with lots of sun, providing UVB indoors is probably less important. As long as the tortoise gets frequent outside time.
Keep in mind hatchlings require less intense, and shorter exposure, to UVB from what I understand.

In general an indoor enclosure needs to provide heat, light and UVB.
I personally like to use a combination of fluorescent UVB tube bulbs and halogen flood bulbs.
The halogens provide heat and light, over a basking area, and the UV tubes provide the needed UVB.

You can also use mercury vapor bulbs (MVB's) that provide heat, light and UVB. But those are usually high wattage and are very hot and drying to the animal underneath it. Also, IMO, MVB's can be less consistent in their UVB output and there is no way to know that unless you have a UV meter.

I would recommend using fixtures made for the bulbs you are using. MVB's require high wattage rated fixtures that can withstand high heat.
Fixtures designed for reptile use are usually built for high heat, high wattage and incorporate useful reflectors. Reflectors are especially important on UV tubes.

So, I use ZooMed Reptisun hoods with reflectors for my UV tubes and deep dome fixtures for the halogens.
You can use hardware store light fixtures but make sure they can handle the wattage and heat of the bulbs you are using. Keep in mind many fluorescent fixtures from the hardware store do not have reflectors.

If you choose tube UVB's there are two types, T8 and T5. T5's are stronger and can be used at greater distances from the animal and through screen, T8's are better at close distances (6"-10") with nothing like screen between the bulb and animal.

I'm not knowledgeable on the needs of Sulcata tortoises so you need to determine your needs and match that with the bulbs that provide those needs.

I do not use CHE's because my house never gets much below 70°F at night and that's fine for my species. Yours might be different.

Lighting and heat for reptiles can be overwhelming, I have done years of research, starting with keeping bearded dragons, and it's still mind bending at times for me.
Good luck.

 

[Turningstar]

Since you live in a warm climate with lots of sun, providing UVB indoors is probably less important. As long as the tortoise gets frequent outside time.
Keep in mind hatchlings require less intense, and shorter exposure, to UVB from what I understand.

In general an indoor enclosure needs to provide heat, light and UVB.
I personally like to use a combination of fluorescent UVB tube bulbs and halogen flood bulbs.
The halogens provide heat and light, over a basking area, and the UV tubes provide the needed UVB.

You can also use mercury vapor bulbs (MVB's) that provide heat, light and UVB. But those are usually high wattage and are very hot and drying to the animal underneath it. Also, IMO, MVB's can be less consistent in their UVB output and there is no way to know that unless you have a UV meter.

I would recommend using fixtures made for the bulbs you are using. MVB's require high wattage rated fixtures that can withstand high heat.
Fixtures designed for reptile use are usually built for high heat, high wattage and incorporate useful reflectors. Reflectors are especially important on UV tubes.

So, I use ZooMed Reptisun hoods with reflectors for my UV tubes and deep dome fixtures for the halogens.
You can use hardware store light fixtures but make sure they can handle the wattage and heat of the bulbs you are using. Keep in mind many fluorescent fixtures from the hardware store do not have reflectors.

If you choose tube UVB's there are two types, T8 and T5. T5's are stronger and can be used at greater distances from the animal and through screen, T8's are better at close distances (6"-10") with nothing like screen between the bulb and animal.

I'm not knowledgeable on the needs of Sulcata tortoises so you need to determine your needs and match that with the bulbs that provide those needs.

I do not use CHE's because my house never gets much below 70°F at night and that's fine for my species. Yours might be different.

Lighting and heat for reptiles can be overwhelming, I have done years of research, starting with keeping bearded dragons, and it's still mind bending at times for me.
Good luck.

Thanks for all the info![emoji1]

 

[Wolfpackin]

Thanks for all the info![emoji1]

My pleasure.

There's a few posts of how I did my lighting in my build thread if you're interested:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-tortoise-table-build.167537/