sulcata indoor lighting

Craig young

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hello first time posting here. i have a approx 4 year old sulcata which i just picked up and im trying to learn as much about lighting as possible. what im using now is a 4ft hood lighting from my old coral fish tank which has 3 T5 10k 56 watt bulbs. is this suitable lighting for him?,also have basking lamp and a ceramic heat emitter. or do i need to change to another bulb.
 

wellington

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How old are the bulbs and do they have uvb? Most of those bulbs last at best 6 months producing any uvb if they produce it at all. A four year old needs a very large enclosure, a basking spot of 95-100 and at least a warm humid hide if the whole enclosure is not humid.
 

Tom

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hello first time posting here. i have a approx 4 year old sulcata which i just picked up and im trying to learn as much about lighting as possible. what im using now is a 4ft hood lighting from my old coral fish tank which has 3 T5 10k 56 watt bulbs. is this suitable lighting for him?,also have basking lamp and a ceramic heat emitter. or do i need to change to another bulb.
Hello and welcome Craig. Here is the sulcata info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Lots of stuff is explained in those threads, but to answer your question: There are four element to lighting and heating a sulcata:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt bulbs set on a timer for 12-13 hours. I adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. Depending on how big your tortoise is, you might want to consider alternative heating sources.
  2. Additional "daylight". Your bulbs should be good for that. Set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
  3. UV in the correct spectrum. This would be in the form of an additional bulb and fixture, or maybe you could get a T5 HO UV bulb that would fit your current fixture?
  4. Night heat. CHEs or radiant heat panels set on thermostats are good for this.
 

Craig young

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How old are the bulbs and do they have uvb? Most of those bulbs last at best 6 months producing any uvb if they produce it at all. A four year old needs a very large enclosure, a basking spot of 95-100 and at least a warm humid hide if the whole enclosure is not humid.
the bulbs probably need to be replaced. i figured i could use now and replace with the correct bulbs needed. what lighting would you recomend ?. i can put up to 3 bulbs in fixture. it actually takes 5 but im sure not needed. i have him in a 6x4 enclosure with a house 4x2 on one end. i would post pics but my phone is in need of repair.
 

wellington

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I would replace with whatever uvb bulbs will fit your fixture. One to two would be enough. You could leave a few old ones in just for added light.
 

FavoriteTortoise

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Hello and welcome Craig. Here is the sulcata info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Lots of stuff is explained in those threads, but to answer your question: There are four element to lighting and heating a sulcata:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt bulbs set on a timer for 12-13 hours. I adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. Depending on how big your tortoise is, you might want to consider alternative heating sources.
  2. Additional "daylight". Your bulbs should be good for that. Set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
  3. UV in the correct spectrum. This would be in the form of an additional bulb and fixture, or maybe you could get a T5 HO UV bulb that would fit your current fixture?
  4. Night heat. CHEs or radiant heat panels set on thermostats are good for this.
Would you say this info is still accurate? if not what would you change?
 

Tom

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Would you say this info is still accurate? if not what would you change?
Most of it is still accurate, but some of it isn't, as you pointed out. It would take an hour or more for me to go through all of that and point out every detail. I spent that hour, and several more, re-doing the current care sheet to reflect all the changes. Here is the most current info:
 
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