More lighting needed?

[Amie.M]

Hi everyone.
I rescued my adult male Russian 9 months ago. I live in the UK and it was summer when I had him. Once he had settled in he was very active and using all of his enclosure. During the winter months he has been less active, but is still coming out of his hide each morning, basking and eating. He is not venturing out of the middle part a great deal. I’m wondering if this is due to it being too dark. As you can see from the pics it’s quite a bit darker than the middle part. The light levels vary depending on how much sunlight we get. The basking lamp is a MVB (100w Arcadia) basking spot temp 32-33C and the temp in the cooler parts varies between 20-25C.
Any suggestions as to whether additional lighting is needed and if so which type, would be appreciated. Thanks Amie

 

[wellington]

Russians normally brumate/hibernate during the winter months. So if keeping then up, they need lots of light and longer days with it. A regular bulb, not cool type will work and leave lights on 12-14 hours a day

 

[Tom]

More warmth and more light will both help. Does he have access to the lower level? What substrate is that?

 

[Amie.M]

Russians normally brumate/hibernate during the winter months. So if keeping then up, they need lots of light and longer days with it. A regular bulb, not cool type will work and leave lights on 12-14 hours a day

Thanks for the reply. I was reluctant to let him brumate as he’s my first tortoise.
I have the basking light on 12 hours. When you say regular bulb is there any specific type you could recommend, and what type of fitting is best?

 

[wellington]

An adult Russian needs a minimum of 4x8 feet enclosure. If you tort can get into the outer area it might be big enough. If not then more room is needed too.

 

[wellington]

Any regular incandescent bulb. Like you would use in a table lamp. It will add light and heat. I would use a 60 watt. You can use the kind of fixture you are using now or any that fits a regular bulb and that you can safely hang over enclosure.
It was smart too not hibernate. We don't recommend it the first year of owning the tort.

 

[Amie.M]

More warmth and more light will both help. Does he have access to the lower level? What substrate is that?

Thanks for the reply,
He has a ramp leading up to the top of the table which has his hide underneath. There is a door cut out of the ply board that he goes through to access the outer part. It’s probably difficult to see from the picture. The substrate is cococoir.
Do you know how I could increase the heat/light levels effectively in this kind of set up?

 

[Amie.M]

Any regular incandescent bulb. Like you would use in a table lamp. It will add light and heat. I would use a 60 watt. You can use the kind of fixture you are using now or any that fits a regular bulb and that you can safely hang over enclosure.
It was smart too not hibernate. We don't recommend it the first year of owning the tort.

Thank you for the information, that sounds quite easy to achieve. He can get into the other part there is a door it out of the board, it’s not clear from my picture, sorry.
Hopefully it is big enough, the only other option would be to add another upper level, which I have considered. But he will be having an outdoor enclosure for summer too (weather permitting)