Red foot lighting ?

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eudora09

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So I've been doing more research on my red foot after I rescued him and I'm a little confussed. Should I have the MVB over his enclosure? Some sites say not to and some say to use it. I have noticed he doesn't come out much though til the bulb turns out at night. So should I move it so it's only over my greek enclosure and just use the heat lamp (red light) on my red foot enclosure?
 

Madkins007

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Red-foots need a balanced light source as much as any other animal. We all need some infra-red, red through violet, and different kinds of ultraviolet (UVA and UVB). Unfiltered sunlight is THE BEST source of light, but we can't always do that.

A UVB- MVB is useful, when properly positioned at the right height- usually about 12" over the tortoise. It offers a lot of red, orange, yellow, and UVA and UVB light, but you should offer either cool-white fluorescent, a plant light, or a plain old incandescent bulb to help offer a more balanced color spectrum.

I really don't like night heat bulbs in color- black, blue, or red. I do not have proof, but I suspect tortoises see them differently than we do and worry about long-term effects. I prefer ceramic heaters or undertank heating at night.

Now, having said all that, I will say that many Red-foots, especially younger ones, prefer shade so you need shade and hides. Even so, they will bask when they feel they need to. Don't worry- the UV bounces around and they get a little anyway!

Check out Balboa's article on lighting as well.
 
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