Should I worry about my Russian?

Chyllin

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If you feel you need night heat (I don't keep Russians myself) you can use a black bulb which really cannot be seen. That is what I use for box turtles.
Is there a benefit for the tortoise for having a black bulb over a red one? (Cause I really don't mind. I don't sleep facing his way :p)
 

Zeko

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Is there a benefit for the tortoise for having a black bulb over a red one? (Cause I really don't mind. I don't sleep facing his way :p)

I'd recommend neither. We don't know exactly how tortoise see light. What may seem fine to us, may bother or stress them.

Grab a CHE and put it on a temp monitor. This way you can maintain the proper heat when required and it emits no visible light.

Hope it helps!
 

lisa127

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Is there a benefit for the tortoise for having a black bulb over a red one? (Cause I really don't mind. I don't sleep facing his way :p)
Red light is very visible. Black not so much. Despite the fact that lots of others seem to prefer CHE's over the black bulbs, I feel the opposite. I've used both and much prefer the black bulbs for heat.
 

Tom

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Is there a benefit for the tortoise for having a black bulb over a red one? (Cause I really don't mind. I don't sleep facing his way :p)

Those cheap bulbs burn out quickly and at the most inconvenient times. And it the light is visible to you, it is visible to your tortoise too. I like to keep it dark at night.

Besides all of that, unless you live inside a refrigerator, you don't need night heat for a russian. Is your house dropping below 60 at night?
 

Chyllin

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Those cheap bulbs burn out quickly and at the most inconvenient times. And it the light is visible to you, it is visible to your tortoise too. I like to keep it dark at night.

Besides all of that, unless you live inside a refrigerator, you don't need night heat for a russian. Is your house dropping below 60 at night?
It gets pretty low. It's about 30 degree at night here. The heat is on, but my room gets little to none of it, and I have to sleep with the fan on at least low.
 

lisa127

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The black moonglo bulbs that I use last quite a while. The one over my boxie enclosure right now has been there at least six months I'd say. Yes, I do always keep an extra 2 or 3 on hand just in case and I probably wouldn't have to do that with a CHE. But it's no big deal really.
 

Tom

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It gets pretty low. It's about 30 degree at night here. The heat is on, but my room gets little to none of it, and I have to sleep with the fan on at least low.

Your house where the tortoise enclosure is gets down to 30 degrees Fahrenheit? Or it gets down to 30F outside?

If the overnight low in your tortoises enclosure is 60 F or higher, you don't need night heat.
 

Chyllin

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Happy to report that Beasle is much more active! :) he's walking around and digging a lot. He's eating in front of me now, and he even let me stroke his head yesterday. Introducing him to my cats and dog was a breeze and I was really worried (I wasn't going to introduce them this early, but my cats found the enclosure and wanted in. [I don't let them]). When I pick him up (not often) he no longer stays in his shell. :) i'm so happy. He needs some decorations in his enclosure, but otherwise, all seems good.
 

Chyllin

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Already introduced them. My dog has always been terrified of turtles/tortoises, so that's not a problem. He's an outside dog, so they won't run into each other, and I only introduced them because it dropped crazy low below freezing and I brought him in for the night to sleep with me. I am not, nor was I ever going to leave them alone together.
 

Tom

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Already introduced them. My dog has always been terrified of turtles/tortoises, so that's not a problem. He's an outside dog, so they won't run into each other, and I only introduced them because it dropped crazy low below freezing and I brought him in for the night to sleep with me. I am not, nor was I ever going to leave them alone together.

That is good news. We never know if people really understand the danger to their tortoise. Some people really don't get it and the damage is just horrific. I'm glad you already knew this.
 

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