What is the difference between Heating lamp, basking light & UVB

[Alw1990]

Hi there! I am still learning and wanted to know the difference between these terms:

•Heating lamp
•Basking Light
•UVB Light

and if I am to have all lights going at once? And exactly what brand of bulbs do I need. I know duration 12 hours on and 12 hours off right? Also I have a total of (3) Russian tortoises
Two are in an enclosure these are the measurements: 26.5"L x 36.75"W x 12.5"H; Private Room: 26.5"L x 11.5"W x 12.5"H; Entrance: 8.5"W x 8"H

the newest tortoise he is in a smaller tank just until I get him examined this week and can obtain a larger space for him but I take them out weekly to walk.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

For UVB we mostly reccomend a T5 uvb tube florescent

 

[Tom]

Those enclosures are way too small. They need something at least 48x96", and bigger than that outdoors.

Also, they should never live as a pair. The tiro might work after quarantine, but it might not. Russians can be pretty aggressive with each other sometimes.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. 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.
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. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
3. 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.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html

This might help too:

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