UV heat light

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Katie9

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Hi, I'm getting two 1 year old hermann tortoises on Saturday. I bought 2 UV heat bulbs (Power Sun 100W), but when my parents went to a reptile shop (just to get some supplies, I'm getting the tortoises from a breeder), they said that because Hermann tortoises naturally get a lot of UVA, they need a bulb that is 10% UVA until they are about 5, then they can have 5%. I don't know what type they have bought now, but they did buy new ones since the originals didn't have a percentage on.
I'm slightly reluctant to believe anything a pet shop says about tortoises, especially when the same shop has been pushing me to get a vivarium, so could anyone either confirm or dismiss this for me? Thank you :)
 

GBtortoises

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Hermann's do fine with a 5% lamp. A 10% is usually used for true desert species. It can be used for a Hermann's but should be mounted farther away. As far as the MVB lamp (Power Sun 100W) they produce a lot of localized heat (as well as only localized light and UV). Because of those factors MVB lamps are not really ideal for young tortoises.
 

Katie9

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Thank you, so what sort of lighting would you recommend? Everywhere I read seems to suggest different things.
 

GBtortoises

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A standard (not soft white) incandescent bulb for basking and light along with a tube type fluorescent UV for good overall enclosure lighting and UV distribution throughout the enclosure. By using a standard incandescent you can regulate the basking heat temperature. Usually a 40 or 60 watt bulb suffices. You can regulate temperature by moving the bulb closer or farther from the basking surface. In some situations, based mainly on ambient room temperature, the bulb wattage may need to be a bit higher. By using the incandescent/fuorescent tube combination a tortoise can move out from under the basking light once warm enough for activity and still have the benefit of daytime level lighting as well as UV saturation provided by the UV fluorescent tube.

The all purpose Mercury Vapor UV lamps used alone force a tortoise remain under them to all the time to reap any benefit of the UV rays and light. Baby tortoises exposed to constant heat can dehydrate rapidly due to their small body mass. They need to be able to cool off as equally as they need to heat up.
 

Katie9

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Oh ok, that makes complete sense, thank you for putting it so simply - everywhere I've looked seems to beat around the bush! I'll try to find some different bulbs.
 
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