night heating

moorealanna1

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Hi i just got a russian tortoise and I know to turn her basking lamp off at night but do i also turn off her uvb light and during the day should i keep just the basking lamp on or both lamps on, i think basically i’m having trouble knowing when to turn on the uvb light
 

Tom

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Hi i just got a russian tortoise and I know to turn her basking lamp off at night but do i also turn off her uvb light and during the day should i keep just the basking lamp on or both lamps on, i think basically i’m having trouble knowing when to turn on the uvb light
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  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.
Here is the correct care info:


It needs to be dark at night. What type of UV bulb are you using?
 

moorealanna1

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Joined
Sep 29, 2022
Messages
43
Location (City and/or State)
PA
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  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.
Here is the correct care info:


It needs to be dark at night. What type of UV bulb are you using?
Arcadia 100-Watt Essential Basking Spot Bulb 23-Watt Desert 10.0 UVB Bulb
Sorry that was a lot of info and i just gave two lamps but from what i can gather just keep both on for 12hrs a day and i’m good to turn them off at night?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Arcadia 100-Watt Essential Basking Spot Bulb 23-Watt Desert 10.0 UVB Bulb
Sorry that was a lot of info and i just gave two lamps but from what i can gather just keep both on for 12hrs a day and i’m good to turn them off at night?
Spot bulbs should not be used over tortoises. You need a flood type bulb.

What type of bulb is the 23 watt 10.0? Is it a tube, or a CFL?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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That is good. The regular 10.0 tubes do not produce much UV, but they are also never harmful. The tube will need to be no more than 10 inches from the tortoise to get any UV benefit at all. Farther than that and it is just a nice light for your enclosure. I would set the 10.0 and your basking lamp on the same timer for 12-13 hours a day, if you don't plan on allowing brumation. Then get a better UV tube and run that one for a few hours mid day only on a separate timer.

Either the ZooMed 10.0 HO, or the Arcadia T5 HO kit will work and be a good UV source for a tortoise that is indoors for months of every year. These can be mounted much higher and still be effective. A Solarmeter 6.5 is a necessary tool for checking UV levels. Without one we are just guessing.

You don't need night heat for a Russian if all is good and the house stays above 55-60 in winter. Keep the lights off and use a CHE set on a thermostat if you need night heat for some reason.

Any regular incandescent flood bulb from the hard ware store works for basking. Just don't get an LED "replacement" bulb. The packaging is confusing. Here is one I found on an internet search: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RKVQK4/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Be prepared to move the light fixture up or down to get the correct temperature under it, or go with higher or lower wattage bulbs. Check basking temperature by laying a digital thermometer under the basking lamp and letting it bake for an hour or more. Adjust the height of the bulb until you get that basking area around 95-100.
 

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