Lighting suggestions

[NationMostWanted]

What is ideal lights to use for UVB in a 14 inch high enclosure for a Baby Russian?

 

[wellington]

14 inch? Is that height? 14 inch is a bit too small whether length, height or width.
A baby should be in a 2x4 feet at least if a new hatchling closed chamber enclosure.
Straight tube fluorescent for uvb
Incandescent FLOOD bulb for basking and a day temp range that goes from 75-80 and night temps can be 65-70

 

[NationMostWanted]

14 inch? Is that height? 14 inch is a bit too small whether length, height or width.
A baby should be in a 2x4 feet at least if a new hatchling closed chamber enclosure.
Straight tube fluorescent for uvb
Incandescent FLOOD bulb for basking and a day temp range that goes from 75-80 and night temps can be 65-70

Oh sorry enclosure is like around 36Lx22.5Dx13.5 height. Wasn't sure if I should use a T8 or T5 fluorescent tube for it

 

[Tom]

Oh sorry enclosure is like around 36Lx22.5Dx13.5 height. Wasn't sure if I should use a T8 or T5 fluorescent tube for it

That is too low for a T5 but T8 bulbs make very little UV. This enclosure is really too small. The best solution would be to get a taller, larger enclosure so you can use a T5 HO bulb for UV.

Where in CA are you? If you can get the tortoise outside in a safe enclosure a couple few times per week for an hour or so, you won't need indoor UV at all. Your tortoise will outgrow this little enclosure in a few months, and you could get the T5HO tube when its time to get a larger enclosure.

Here is more helpful info:

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

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

 

[NationMostWanted]

That is too low for a T5 but T8 bulbs make very little UV. This enclosure is really too small. The best solution would be to get a taller, larger enclosure so you can use a T5 HO bulb for UV.

Where in CA are you? If you can get the tortoise outside in a safe enclosure a couple few times per week for an hour or so, you won't need indoor UV at all. Your tortoise will outgrow this little enclosure in a few months, and you could get the T5HO tube when its time to get a larger enclosure.

Here is more helpful info:

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

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

I'm in central California with plenty of heat. I read few posts here of you mentioning I don't need a light if i give him time outside. The one I have currently is the reptisun T5 HO 24inch which included a "free" 5.0 bulb. I was researching and saw some groups were giving positive feedback on the reptisun T5 fixture with the 10.0 bulb but I wasn't sure if it was worth using something else if height is an issue currently I haven't sorted out yet, but some places I read using the 5.0 I'll be OK at about 9 or 10 inches.

I love to not have to run one and only run my basking light.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! As the others have pointed out, the enclosure in question does sound too small, perhaps you’ll find this link below useful, it covers set up, care, maintaining humidity etc, hope it helps🙂

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

I'm in central California with plenty of heat. I read few posts here of you mentioning I don't need a light if i give him time outside. The one I have currently is the reptisun T5 HO 24inch which included a "free" 5.0 bulb. I was researching and saw some groups were giving positive feedback on the reptisun T5 fixture with the 10.0 bulb but I wasn't sure if it was worth using something else if height is an issue currently I haven't sorted out yet, but some places I read using the 5.0 I'll be OK at about 9 or 10 inches.

I love to not have to run one and only run my basking light.

A 5.0 HO should work at your distance, but I would want to run a meter under it to check it. Solarmeter 6.5.

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.

 

[NationMostWanted]

A 5.0 HO should work at your distance, but I would want to run a meter under it to check it. Solarmeter 6.5.

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.

1. I grabbed some 90 watt flood light bulb and a dome fixture

2. My temp in the house I don't think ever goes under 78-80 range in summer or winter.

3. I didn't know there was something called ambient light I needed. Is that usually included off the basking bulb?

4. So there's no reason to even leave the lights on for 12 hours if I do some outside time?

Your guide is super informative 👌. I was from a fb group and alot of the info just was different compared to stuff I found here in a good way.

 

[Tom]

1. I grabbed some 90 watt flood light bulb and a dome fixture

2. My temp in the house I don't think ever goes under 78-80 range in summer or winter.

3. I didn't know there was something called ambient light I needed. Is that usually included off the basking bulb?

4. So there's no reason to even leave the lights on for 12 hours if I do some outside time?

Your guide is super informative 👌. I was from a fb group and alot of the info just was different compared to stuff I found here in a good way.

1. 90 watts might be too much in such a small enclosure. Your thermometer will tell you. You can run it on a rheostat (aka:dimmer switch) to reduce the wattage and temperature.
2. You keep your house 80 degrees in winter? Russians do well with a night time cool down. 70 ish is good for babies, Adults can handle it much lower.
3. The basking bulbs are nowhere near bright enough, and they are too low on the color spectrum. It should be bright and "sunny" in the enclosure during the day. This is best and most efficiently accomplished with LEDs.
4. There is no reason to leave the UV tube on for 12 hours a day. The rest of the lighting does need to be on for at least 12 hours a day, unless you are going longer for summer, or shorter to prepare for brumation going in to winter. You can turn all the lights off when the tortoise is outside sunning in its outdoor enclosure.

FB has proven to be a terrible source of info. I'm always glad when people find their way here, but it can be a bit of a jolt for some people. All your questions are welcome.

 

[NationMostWanted]

1. 90 watts might be too much in such a small enclosure. Your thermometer will tell you. You can run it on a rheostat (aka:dimmer switch) to reduce the wattage and temperature.
2. You keep your house 80 degrees in winter? Russians do well with a night time cool down. 70 ish is good for babies, Adults can handle it much lower.
3. The basking bulbs are nowhere near bright enough, and they are too low on the color spectrum. It should be bright and "sunny" in the enclosure during the day. This is best and most efficiently accomplished with LEDs.
4. There is no reason to leave the UV tube on for 12 hours a day. The rest of the lighting does need to be on for at least 12 hours a day, unless you are going longer for summer, or shorter to prepare for brumation going in to winter. You can turn all the lights off when the tortoise is outside sunning in its outdoor enclosure.

FB has proven to be a terrible source of info. I'm always glad when people find their way here, but it can be a bit of a jolt for some people. All your questions are welcome.

Bulb I'm using it an zoo med reptituff 90 watt
So do I test the heat temp with heat gun where the light hits or directly off where lights out? Fb people some saying off the light, on the ground or off the shell. So I wasn't sure. I think my enclosure thing has a hanger for a single dome light so I can prob adjust it higher to get less heat if needed.

Winter with no heater house can reach 60s? But with heater we stay around low 80s high 70s. Summer we set ac at 78.

 

[Tom]

Bulb I'm using it an zoo med reptituff 90 watt
So do I test the heat temp with heat gun where the light hits or directly off where lights out? Fb people some saying off the light, on the ground or off the shell. So I wasn't sure. I think my enclosure thing has a hanger for a single dome light so I can prob adjust it higher to get less heat if needed.

Winter with no heater house can reach 60s? But with heater we stay around low 80s high 70s. Summer we set ac at 78.

Test your basking temperature by laying a digital thermometer on its back directly under the lamp and let it cook there for an hour or more. Adjust the height or the wattage to get the correct temp. With such a high wattage bulb in such a small enclosure, you will also need to watch ambient temperature in the rest of the enclosure and make sure the whole thing isn't heating up too much.

 

[NationMostWanted]

Test your basking temperature by laying a digital thermometer on its back directly under the lamp and let it cook there for an hour or more. Adjust the height or the wattage to get the correct temp. With such a high wattage bulb in such a small enclosure, you will also need to watch ambient temperature in the rest of the enclosure and make sure the whole thing isn't heating up too much.

I could always switch it to a lower one. Is there a temp that's considered danger in the rest of enclosure If there ever is a situation of heating up too much

 

[Tom]

I could always switch it to a lower one. Is there a temp that's considered danger in the rest of enclosure If there ever is a situation of heating up too much

Its not really a "danger" until it starts going over 100, but it would not be ideal for ambient in a Russian enclosure to rise to 95 very day either.

From the care sheet linked above in post number 4:

Heating And Lighting:
I use a 45-65 watt incandescent flood bulb on a 12 hour timer and adjust the height of the fixture to get a basking area of around 95-100 directly under the bulb. In some closed chambers I go with lower wattage bulbs. This depends on many factors and no one can tell you exactly what wattage you will need in your enclosure. Let your thermometer be your guide. I use a ceramic heating element or a radiant heat panel set on a reptile thermostat to maintain my ambient temperature in the enclosure if the room temperature is too low at any time of the year. The basking lamp should raise the day time ambient temperature into the high 70's or 80s during the day. The thermostat will keep your CHE or RHP off during these times, but ready to click on after the basking lamp clicks off and the ambient temperature starts to drop too low at night. For babies, I like the night temp to drop to the high 60s or low 70s. They can certainly tolerate it colder than that at night as long as they can warm up each day, but 70ish works well for most situations. Adults can handle high 50s and low 60s if daytime temps are warm enough. If your room temp stays between 65-75 at night in your temperature controlled home, then you can skip the night and ambient heat altogether. I use LED bulbs when I want to brighten up the whole enclosure and I run these on the same timer as the basking bulb. There are other ways to do some of this, but trial and error have shown time and time again, that the above is what works the best. Don't use "spot" bulbs, reptile specialty bulbs, halogen bulbs, any cfl, or mercury vapor bulbs. You want a plain old, regular incandescent flood bulb from the hardware store. I buy them in six or twelve packs, so I always have extras on hand. They always go out at the most inopportune times. For some enclosures in the right conditions, all you need is this one basking bulb set on a timer.

 

[NationMostWanted]

Its not really a "danger" until it starts going over 100, but it would not be ideal for ambient in a Russian enclosure to rise to 95 very day either.

From the care sheet linked above in post number 4:

Heating And Lighting:
I use a 45-65 watt incandescent flood bulb on a 12 hour timer and adjust the height of the fixture to get a basking area of around 95-100 directly under the bulb. In some closed chambers I go with lower wattage bulbs. This depends on many factors and no one can tell you exactly what wattage you will need in your enclosure. Let your thermometer be your guide. I use a ceramic heating element or a radiant heat panel set on a reptile thermostat to maintain my ambient temperature in the enclosure if the room temperature is too low at any time of the year. The basking lamp should raise the day time ambient temperature into the high 70's or 80s during the day. The thermostat will keep your CHE or RHP off during these times, but ready to click on after the basking lamp clicks off and the ambient temperature starts to drop too low at night. For babies, I like the night temp to drop to the high 60s or low 70s. They can certainly tolerate it colder than that at night as long as they can warm up each day, but 70ish works well for most situations. Adults can handle high 50s and low 60s if daytime temps are warm enough. If your room temp stays between 65-75 at night in your temperature controlled home, then you can skip the night and ambient heat altogether. I use LED bulbs when I want to brighten up the whole enclosure and I run these on the same timer as the basking bulb. There are other ways to do some of this, but trial and error have shown time and time again, that the above is what works the best. Don't use "spot" bulbs, reptile specialty bulbs, halogen bulbs, any cfl, or mercury vapor bulbs. You want a plain old, regular incandescent flood bulb from the hardware store. I buy them in six or twelve packs, so I always have extras on hand. They always go out at the most inopportune times. For some enclosures in the right conditions, all you need is this one basking bulb set on a timer.

I noticed Target Walmart app doesn't really have any reg incandescent flood bulbs, mostly everything is led ones?

 

[Tom]

I noticed Target Walmart app doesn't really have any reg incandescent flood bulbs, mostly everything is led ones?

Incandescent bulbs were banned here in CA years ago, and now hey are based from sale all over the rest of the country. We are now having to buy the same bulbs in reptile packaging for 10 times the price. That's our government at work...

 

[NationMostWanted]

Incandescent bulbs were banned here in CA years ago, and now hey are based from sale all over the rest of the country. We are now having to buy the same bulbs in reptile packaging for 10 times the price. That's our government at work...

Lol I found two of these in the house. So worst case I'll just get something like this then https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/en...6qSP8HIA6Q94jgkBII-He6dz7lsxDcZxoCFTYQAvD_BwE

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Lol I found two of these in the house. So worst case I'll just get something like this then https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/en...6qSP8HIA6Q94jgkBII-He6dz7lsxDcZxoCFTYQAvD_BwE

No I wouldn’t use a halogen bulb! They’re far too dessicating on the tortoises shell and can contribute towards pyramiding due to the high levels of IR-A

 

[NationMostWanted]

No I wouldn’t use a halogen bulb! They’re far too dessicating on the tortoises shell and can contribute towards pyramiding due to the high levels of IR-A

Isn't all the bulbs that's not spot ones, halogens? I noticed even reptile branded ones are

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Isn't all the bulbs that's not spot ones, halogens? I noticed even reptile branded ones are

No, regular incandescent lamps can be flood, spot and 'omni-directional' (pear-shaped aka A-type). Halogen lamps can be flood or spot lights yet due to the nature of light source often have very "tight" beam. In theory, you can place a halogen lamp high enough to get sane amount of IR-A and large enough basking area however some lamps need to be placed 3-4 feet high for that. The general advice is to avoid halogens with larger animals or use a "pack" of several low-wattage bulbs - resorting to flood or pear-shape incandescent lamps is less complicated.

 

[NationMostWanted]

For example these wouldn't be good then since halogen?