Can heat bulbs be left on all day safely ?

[Hollywood gjp]

Hi everyone , we're getting our tortoise Dexter this weekend . It's 8 mth old and coming from a U.K. , north east breeder who has also built the tortoise table . Are the heat and uv bulbs safe to leave on during the day while I'm at work ? They're not going to burn my house down ? Also do they cost much to run ? Thanks

 

[Tom]

If your bulbs are mounted correctly, then yes, it is safe to leave them on all day. They need to be on all day too, as this simulates that sun that your tortoise would use to warm up in if he/she were outside.

To calculate cost you'll need the wattage of your bulb and the rate you pay for electricity. Then you'll need to do some math.

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Hollywood gjp]

If your bulbs are mounted correctly, then yes, it is safe to leave them on all day. They need to be on all day too, as this simulates that sun that your tortoise would use to warm up in if he/she were outside.

To calculate cost you'll need the wattage of your bulb and the rate you pay for electricity. Then you'll need to do some math.

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Thanks . I've also been thinking of getting a ceramic heat emmiter for winter nights . I'm just concerned about huge electricity bills

 

[Tom]

Thanks . I've also been thinking of getting a ceramic heat emmiter for winter nights . I'm just concerned about huge electricity bills

In that case you should consider using a large closed chamber. They are much more efficient. They offer better conditions for the tortoise and use a fraction of the electricity since your heat is contained and not floating up into the room.

 

[Hollywood gjp]

In that case you should consider using a large closed chamber. They are much more efficient. They offer better conditions for the tortoise and use a fraction of the electricity since your heat is contained and not floating up into the room.

Ah so probably not ideal for our tortoise table .

 

[Tom]

Ah so probably not ideal for our tortoise table .

Not exactly…

The CHE is ideal for adding heat to any type of enclosure.

What is not ideal is an open topped enclosure that lets all your heat out into the room. Unless of course the entire room is heated to the temperature you are trying to achieve inside the enclosure for your tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

It looks like one of your bulbs might be that new compact fluorescent bulb, or what we call the curly-shaped bulb. These have been known to harm baby tortoise's eyes and we recommend not using them. For UVB you have your choice of two types. This one, that provides heat and UVB in one bulb (100 watt is fine):



Or this one, but then you also need some sort of heat to go along with it (a CHE would be fine):



If you can figure out a way to cover your open-topped tortoise table, it would conserve the heat inside the habitat. Then if you have your CHE hooked up to a thermostat, it will go on and off to maintain the temperature, and not cost too much to run.

 

[Hollywood gjp]

It looks like one of your bulbs might be that new compact fluorescent bulb, or what we call the curly-shaped bulb. These have been known to harm baby tortoise's eyes and we recommend not using them. For UVB you have your choice of two types. This one, that provides heat and UVB in one bulb (100 watt is fine):

View attachment 199037

Or this one, but then you also need some sort of heat to go along with it (a CHE would be fine):

View attachment 199038

If you can figure out a way to cover your open-topped tortoise table, it would conserve the heat inside the habitat. Then if you have your CHE hooked up to a thermostat, it will go on and off to maintain the temperature, and not cost too much to run.

Thanks for your advice