recommended basking light?

[tortoiseepic123]

i am new to looking after a tortoise and i want to know the best basking light there is
the tortoise is roughly 7-9months old and is a marginated tortoise
i have seen lots of them on and i cant tell what one is the best so i thought why not ask the experts

 

[Tom]

i am new to looking after a tortoise and i want to know the best basking light there is
the tortoise is roughly 7-9months old and is a marginated tortoise
i have seen lots of them on and i cant tell what one is the best so i thought why not ask the experts

Hello and welcome to the forum!

For basking, you want a regular incandescent flood bulb. No mercury vapor bulb, no spot bulbs, no halogen bulbs. Arcadia makes the flood type bulbs that you need in a variety of wattages to help you get the correct basking temperature under it.

All of that and much more is here:

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

Questions are welcome!

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

i am new to looking after a tortoise and i want to know the best basking light there is
the tortoise is roughly 7-9months old and is a marginated tortoise
i have seen lots of them on and i cant tell what one is the best so i thought why not ask the experts

Taking into account you are new to all this, consider that artificial light has a few purposes. Heat from the Infrared (IR), not visible, range of the spectrum, Ultra Violet (UV) also not visible, and finally visible light. Tortoises need all of this. There are ever finer gradations of light in terms of wave length and there are people dedicated to both the study and application for captive animal keeping.

The 'basking 'light Tom suggested covers the need for visible light an much of the IR, which the tortoises experiences as heat. Bulbs and tubes that produce visible light should be cycled on and off, a photo period, so the tortoise experiences night and day. There are a few products that can heat without light.

The UV spectrum can also be supplied by Arcadia products, best applied to your enclosure with a T5HO linear tube. So far LED fail rigorous testing by animal lighting techs, and the compact flousecent light (CFL) have their own suit of problems. Stick with linear tubes.

You can wing it by placing the tube as recommended by Arcadia, they have a one or two page guide indicating what size tube and wattage and fixture. A bit more invested in the lighting would require getting your own light evaluation tool to make sure the tube is placed well and has not diminished in output to the point of no UV value, even though it still produced visible light.

 

[tortoiseepic123]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

For basking, you want a regular incandescent flood bulb. No mercury vapor bulb, no spot bulbs, no halogen bulbs. Arcadia makes the flood type bulbs that you need in a variety of wattages to help you get the correct basking temperature under it.

All of that and much more is here:

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

Questions are welcome!

thanks! i wil try to get one for him

 

[tortoiseepic123]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

For basking, you want a regular incandescent flood bulb. No mercury vapor bulb, no spot bulbs, no halogen bulbs. Arcadia makes the flood type bulbs that you need in a variety of wattages to help you get the correct basking temperature under it.

All of that and much more is here:

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

Questions are welcome!

may i ask what type of wattage should be good? i did some research but i feel like i went wrong somewhere

 

[Tom]

may i ask what type of wattage should be good? i did some research but i feel like i went wrong somewhere

It depends on several factors. How large is the enclosure? What type of enclosure? Open topped or closed chamber? What size tortoise? How cold is the room? What species of tortoise?

I use 65 watt bulbs for most of my applications, but in a large enclosure with an open top in a cold room, you might need a 150 watt bulb, or a couple of them.

Your thermometer will best answer this question for you. Try one. Check the temp under it. Adjust as needed.

 

[tortoiseepic123]

It depends on several factors. How large is the enclosure? What type of enclosure? Open topped or closed chamber? What size tortoise? How cold is the room? What species of tortoise?

I use 65 watt bulbs for most of my applications, but in a large enclosure with an open top in a cold room, you might need a 150 watt bulb, or a couple of them.

Your thermometer will best answer this question for you. Try one. Check the temp under it. Adjust as needed.

i hate to be a bother but can i ask if you could send me a link to a bulb you would use? i know you are a verry busy person but i keep stressing over this every day
if you need the size of his enclosure/details of him i would be happy to give them to you (if you need/want them)

 

[Tom]

i hate to be a bother but can i ask if you could send me a link to a bulb you would use? i know you are a verry busy person but i keep stressing over this every day
if you need the size of his enclosure/details of him i would be happy to give them to you (if you need/want them)

Sorry I don't have a link. I stocked up on cases of these bulbs when they were banning them, so I haven't had to buy one in years.

Also, only your thermometer can tell you what wattage is going to work in your enclosure. I use 65 watt for many applications, but 100 or 150 is needed for some enclosures. Even in my enclosures that use 65 watt bulbs, I often switch to 45 or 25 watts in summer, and depending on the temperatures. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every enclosure is a custom job. If you locate a source for Arcadia flood bulbs, I'd get at least a couple of them of different wattages, and then try them out over your enclosure.

 

[tortoiseepic123]

Sorry I don't have a link. I stocked up on cases of these bulbs when they were banning them, so I haven't had to buy one in years.

Also, only your thermometer can tell you what wattage is going to work in your enclosure. I use 65 watt for many applications, but 100 or 150 is needed for some enclosures. Even in my enclosures that use 65 watt bulbs, I often switch to 45 or 25 watts in summer, and depending on the temperatures. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every enclosure is a custom job. If you locate a source for Arcadia flood bulbs, I'd get at least a couple of them of different wattages, and then try them out over your enclosure.

i see thanks for the help ill test many bulbs

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello I’m late to this thread but as a fellow uk member thought I’d pass some links on to help you and your little one!

This thread covers covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need)appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better, but I’ll add more ideas for closed chambers below

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

This covers a bunch of closed chamber options

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they come in helpful!

 

[GardiendeKoopa]

Sorry I don't have a link. I stocked up on cases of these bulbs when they were banning them, so I haven't had to buy one in years.

Also, only your thermometer can tell you what wattage is going to work in your enclosure. I use 65 watt for many applications, but 100 or 150 is needed for some enclosures. Even in my enclosures that use 65 watt bulbs, I often switch to 45 or 25 watts in summer, and depending on the temperatures. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every enclosure is a custom job. If you locate a source for Arcadia flood bulbs, I'd get at least a couple of them of different wattages, and then try them out over your enclosure.

My understanding is we want flood lamps so the whole tortoise can be in the light and not just part of the tortoise. The BR30 65W has a wider beam and is firmly in the flood category, therefore larger lit spot than the R20 45W which is borderline between the flood and spot category. Nothing is available in between for power and angle for incandescent directional bulbs in Canada. If we have a small tortoise, is the smaller basking spot fine since it can still more than fully cover the adult tortoise? I think you are a Sulcata breeder so your go-to setup is for a huge tortoise. I’m testing bulbs for 2’ tall PVC enclosure and find that the basking spot for the BR30 lamp is huge like 2 ft wide, and it gets to 32C Celsius in like 5 minutes in a 22C room, so seems too powerful. The R20 45W has a smaller hot spot but it should still cover a full adult Egyptian tortoise with plenty of extra, so I was wondering if it’s better to use that.

 

[Tom]

My understanding is we want flood lamps so the whole tortoise can be in the light and not just part of the tortoise. The BR30 65W has a wider beam and is firmly in the flood category, therefore larger lit spot than the R20 45W which is borderline between the flood and spot category. Nothing is available in between for power and angle for incandescent directional bulbs in Canada. If we have a small tortoise, is the smaller basking spot fine since it can still more than fully cover the adult tortoise? I think you are a Sulcata breeder so your go-to setup is for a huge tortoise. I’m testing bulbs for 2’ tall PVC enclosure and find that the basking spot for the BR30 lamp is huge like 2 ft wide, and it gets to 32C Celsius in like 5 minutes in a 22C room, so seems too powerful. The R20 45W has a smaller hot spot but it should still cover a full adult Egyptian tortoise with plenty of extra, so I was wondering if it’s better to use that.

My best answer is probably. Your 45 watt bulb for a smaller tortoise is probably fine. Personally I'd rather use the 65 watt and dial it down a little bit with a rheostat.

Check the temperature under it by laying a digital thermometer on its back and letting it cook for a while. That will give you a better idea what is happening to the shell of your tortoise.

P.S. I'm not a sulcata breeder. I bred them for a while, but now its just Burmese stars and Radiata.

 

[Tortellini0000]

My understanding is we want flood lamps so the whole tortoise can be in the light and not just part of the tortoise. The BR30 65W has a wider beam and is firmly in the flood category, therefore larger lit spot than the R20 45W which is borderline between the flood and spot category. Nothing is available in between for power and angle for incandescent directional bulbs in Canada. If we have a small tortoise, is the smaller basking spot fine since it can still more than fully cover the adult tortoise? I think you are a Sulcata breeder so your go-to setup is for a huge tortoise. I’m testing bulbs for 2’ tall PVC enclosure and find that the basking spot for the BR30 lamp is huge like 2 ft wide, and it gets to 32C Celsius in like 5 minutes in a 22C room, so seems too powerful. The R20 45W has a smaller hot spot but it should still cover a full adult Egyptian tortoise with plenty of extra, so I was wondering if it’s better to use that.

I’m dealing with this right now as I set up my new enclosure for a hatchling. I’m from Canada and I got the Arcadia solar basking flood lamp in a 50watt with their ceramic reflector dome 8.5 hood and have it roughly 14cm above basking rock and my readings are between 96-90. I did try and find a smaller watt but could not so I think only other option would be putting it on a rheostat