Skinny Russian tortoise 8 month's

[Tom]

Hi no the cold part is 25° and hot part where basking lamp is at a temp of 33° and I have one over the whole enclosure.. only 4 hours? I was told they need it on for 12 hrs a day and basking light also it turns off at set temp off 33° sorry I didn't explain right 😅 and it's a flood light the basking one 75w

This is exactly what I mean. Most people get the wrong care info from the internet and pet shops and do not have the proper lighting.

Your CHE should be set on a thermostat and able to control the ambient temp 24/7. If the basking bulb is warming things up enough, the CHE will remain off. If the enclosure cools at night when the basking bulb is off, the CHE will kick on and keep it from getting too cold. The basking area directly under your bulb needs to be around 36-37C.

Here is the correct heating and lighting info:

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.

Review this for all the correct care info:

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