New enclosure- lighting questions

[Shilah]

I have a 48 " Ecolux Plant and Aquarium F40 grow light for my plants. I would like to incorporate this into my set up for my new tort. I want to make sure this wont hurt him/her. Also I was wondering aprox. how far to suspend the light, heat lamps from the substrate:shy:

 

[6speedtitaniumr/t]

I have a 48 " Ecolux Plant and Aquarium F40 grow light for my plants. I would like to incorporate this into my set up for my new tort. I want to make sure this wont hurt him/her. Also I was wondering aprox. how far to suspend the light, heat lamps from the substrate:shy:

Hello, I'm new like you but and don't know alot, but i believe the minimum safe distance is 12 inches from shell of the tortoise.

I'm sure someone more experienced will soon chime in to answer your other questions or correct me if i'm wrong.

Good luck, Ryan

 

[Akronic]

the lights you are using now wont hurt the tortoise, but they wont help him either. you are going to have to get some UVB tube lights. Reptisun, Reptiglo, Zilla all make some. those lights are mainly just for plants and corals. they only put out UVA not UVB which your tort needs. those UVB florescent lights have a burn-in period (150hrs) 10-12hrs/day for 2weeks. before the burn-in they should be kept 13-17" after 9-13" and this is with a screen and only the rating for 12-18" tubes. im sure the 48" arent much more. 12" is enough, do you have a screen or plastic in between the bulb and the animal, screens and plastic reflect/block UV transmission

 

[Shilah]

the lights you are using now wont hurt the tortoise, but they wont help him either. you are going to have to get some UVB tube lights. Reptisun, Reptiglo, Zilla all make some. those lights are mainly just for plants and corals. they only put out UVA not UVB which your tort needs. those UVB florescent lights have a burn-in period (150hrs) 10-12hrs/day for 2weeks. before the burn-in they should be kept 13-17" after 9-13" and this is with a screen and only the rating for 12-18" tubes. im sure the 48" arent much more. 12" is enough, do you have a screen or plastic in between the bulb and the animal, screens and plastic reflect/block UV transmission

Thanks for the info. He will also have a UVB. just wanted to make sure my other light wont hurt him

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I have a 48 " Ecolux Plant and Aquarium F40 grow light for my plants. I would like to incorporate this into my set up for my new tort. I want to make sure this wont hurt him/her. Also I was wondering aprox. how far to suspend the light, heat lamps from the substrate:shy:

Hello, I'm new like you but and don't know alot, but i believe the minimum safe distance is 12 inches from shell of the tortoise.

I'm sure someone more experienced will soon chime in to answer your other questions or correct me if i'm wrong.

Good luck, Ryan

Thanks

 

[Madkins007]

Well... it won't 'hurt' him, but it is not a good idea to raise most animals with color vision with lighting that is not close to a white balance. Grow lights are heavily into the reds, blues, and green colors, and light in the yellows, oranges, etc. A poor white balance can affect the eyes over time.

Not a life or death situation, but not something I would use.

 

[Skymall007]

You def. want to get lights specially for reptiles. That being said, I personally use a florescent light because my vet said that they can be closer without causing burns. I gives me peace of mind to know my tort. won't get burned. The other types of lights you have to be much more careful.