Wattage Question

[ilikecake]

I am planning my 6 month old tort's new enclosure and had a question about lighting. I know that you have to adjust wattage to adjust the heat in the enclosure, but I also want to make sure he's getting the appropriate amount of UVB. My lights will be hung 14-16 inches above the bottom of the enclosure. I saw this chart and am worried that I need to get the 160w light, but am worried that it will get too hot. The enclosure is about 2ft by 3.5ft (I know that this enclosure size is very temporary). Should I increase the amount of substrate to bring him closer to the bulb or stick with the 160w?

https://zoomed.com/wp-content/uploads/Choosing-Correct-UVB-Lamp-2018-07.pdf

 

[Maro2Bear]

Upload a good pix of your enclosure, that always helps.

Heating, can also be accomplished via CHEs or better yet, radiant heat panels.

UVA/UVB via the proper bulb(s).

From Tom’s care guide:

Heating and Lighting:
Use a 65 watt incandescent flood bulb on a 12 hour timer and adjust the height of the fixture to get a hot spot of around 100 directly under the bulb. Then use a ceramic heating element set to 80 degrees on a reptile thermostat to maintain ambient temperature in the enclosure. Sometimes the basking lamp raises the day time ambient into the low 90s. "Ambient should be no lower than 80, but drifting up to 90 during the heat of the day is good…" This is fine and the thermostat will keep your CHE off during these times, but ready to click on after the basking lamp clicks off and the ambient temperature starts to drop at night. I use long florescent tubes when I want to brighten up the whole enclosure and I run these on the same timer as the basking bulb. The above are just what works for me and are suggestions for what might work for you. Every enclosure and home is different, and some customization will usually be necessary to get things "just right".

UV:
Tortoises MUST have regular exposure to the right kind of UV rays. Real sunshine is best, but be careful. Shade should always be available as babies can overheat and die surprisingly quickly. If your tortoise can get some regular sunning time in a safe outdoor enclosure, even just a couple of times a week for most of the year, you don't need any artificial UV. Its okay if you have to skip two or three weeks of sunning time during a cold winter spell. If you live somewhere with long frozen winters, then some artificial UV might be in order for that time of year. I no longer recommend mercury vapor bulbs for several reasons, but florescent UV tubes work very well according to my UV meter. I recommend against any type of coil or cfl UV bulb. I have personally seen these cause eye issues too many times. More research is needed to find out exactly what the problem with the cfl UV bulbs is, but there is no denying that there is a problem at least some of the time.



Good luck and upload some pix of tort and enclosure.

 

[JoesMum]

160W sounds like overkill. 100W should be fine. The way to adjust temperature under a bulb is to raise or lower it so that the temperature directly underneath is 95-100F while it is on.

A baby Leo needs constant heat and high humidity in a closed chamber (the enclosed space is very important) so you’re also going to need a Ceramic Heat Emitter which you must use with a thermostat. This can run 24/7 as the thermostat will ensure that it cuts out when not needed.

Have you read the TFO care guides for Leopard Torts? They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

How to raise a healthy Sulcata or Leopard Tortoise
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

For those who have a young Sulcata or Leopard Tortoise
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/