Troubled by lighting and need some good advice

[ashlee]

Hello everyone,

Well this past Saturday morning I decided not to wait for Sunday night to buy my 7 year old daughter her first tortoise!

We went as soon as they opened and purchased a male russian tortoise. I did not buy the glass cell they tried to sell me which i find funny now cause the lady was just starting to say 20-40 gallon tank when i interupted and said nope I am making a tortoise table!

She says that is 1,000 times better.. I then thought why offer one of the glass aquariums then? lol

I then ask what else do i need now to start this up tonight. she tells me just the substrate and then the lights...

I ask what lights, she states you need a UV bulb and heat lamp.

She gives me this, Zoo Med PowerSun UV 100W Bulb and a Exo Terra Repti Glo 5.0 Compact Tropical Terrarium Lamp

she gives me this two which i provided links to each bulb below.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752555&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

and this one below

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752615&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

Except i did some reading because i got alittle bit alarmed that our russian tort is hiding like 24/7. I read that it may be a bit cold for him because i need to buy a hygrometer and a good thermometer as the one i had was broke when i thought it still worked.

So then i read that the Exo Terra Repti Glo 5.0 Compact Tropical Terrarium Lamp may not be good cause it is a coil which causes blindness so i think he may be hiding cause the light hurts him.

Then posting this post i noticed that both the lights Petsmart sold me are both for UV but one is lamp/uv bulb...

What should i do guys? I really am mad at the store and will demand my money back as well as a discount on the new light or lighting i need now due to damages those lights may have caused our little guy.

Can someone give me advice on the correct light bulbs or lighting i need? I have bought two of those clamp lights from homedepot that have the cylinder metal reflector on it. One is 75 watt and the other is 100 watt. Let me know if i should just return the bulbs and the fixtures. thank you very much! TORT ON!

 

[Rogue]

How big is your enclosure, how far off the substrate are the current lights, and what are your temperatures on the warm and cool sides?

Your tortoise may just be acclimating to the new environment and stressed out, but I'd definitely exchange that compact UVB bulb for a UVB tube, length depending on your enclosure length. As for the Powersun MVB, it doesn't hurt to have extra UVB with your basking light, but not necessary. You need to have a vertically hanging ceramic fixture for the MVB, they are designed to be that way otherwise it will shorten their life. You can get a 11" brooding lamp fixture from Home Depot (don't use the clamp part) and hang it from a Zoo Med lamp stand.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147204
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Designer...-Clamp-Light-DISCONTINUED-E-240-4PK/100664505

If you choose to just go with a long UVB tube for your sole UVB source, you can use a regular basking bulb with no UV. Either way, you should try to get your tortoise outside (supervised) as much as possible for natural sunlight.

 

[theelectraco]

Just return the coil bulb, and the Powersun is all you need.


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[ashlee]

well thank you both for your replies. I am a little relieved now! wheww.

My tortoise table is 43.5 inches long and is 29.5 inches wide. It was an old bookcase, i turned it on its back and removed the shelves. Lined the inside with black trash bags and placed in a whole big bag of CYPRESS MULCH from menards for $1.76. I have the light fixtures from homedepot that are on the clamp as well. I have those on the side of the book case which i believe is about a foot high and then add for the light whi8ch i will check the height when i get home. I also will have to check the temps as well as i just bought the battery today for the hygrometer wheather station i have.

So i can return the the coil bulb and keep the powersun? the power sun is a baking plus uv bulb in one correct? will just that light be enough for my tort table?

 

[Yvonne G]

The Powersun has UVB and heat all in one fixture. See if they'll take the spiral bulb back. You don't need that one, and really shouldn't use it at all.

 

[Rogue]

44 x 30 is fairly small, so I agree the single MVB will suffice. Just make sure there is enough of a temp gradient so there's a cool side in the low to mid 70s during the day. If you can't regulate a basking spot around 100 deg without making the entire enclosure too warm, you may need to go to a UVB tube and a smaller 50-75W basking bulb.

 

[ashlee]

might have found the problem!!!!!

I placed my weather station in the habitat and it is only like 73 degrees in it!!!

I am taking back the spiral uv bulb and getting another one of the uv/heat bulbs and see if that will work

 

[Rogue]

How warm is it under th basking light? 73 deg is fine on the cool side, they need that temp gradient.

 

[ashlee]

Well, I was wrong about the basking bulb it is not a powersun bulb it is an exa terra bulb that is not a dual bulb. Nor I was able to return the coil uv bulb due to the box being ruined because it was thrown out.

So I kept it anyways and just bought another one of the 100watt exa terra basking bulbs which surprising they do not have on the web but have it in their store., i also grabbed another lamp from homedepot. Once I got home, I setup the new lamp and bulb, the temp went from 77 degrees to 85 degrees. Once it got to 85 the russian tortoise popped his head out, blinked a few times and then went right for the food. He also went into the water dish and went to the washroom :O)

He stayed out for a bit and ate some more then went back to the hide out. I think the temp change was the problem. Before i shut the lights out for the night the temp read 104 in the basking zone and 77 in the cool zone.

 

[JoesMum]

You have sorted the basking problem, but now you have no UVB. UVB is essential for your tort to process calcium in its diet and prevent serious problems with bones and its shell.

If your tort does not get outside frequently, you must get either a tube UVB or an MVB lamp for your enclosure indoors.