red bulbs?

[jcalpacagirl34]

Ooh I have a CHE for my tort and I bought a second one online. It's on it's way. What is your advice on the red heat bulbs they sell at the pet stores? Are they good or bad?

 

[JoesMum]

Red heat bulbs aren't recommended.

At night your tort needs complete darkness.

Red lamps colour tank decor and substrate red. Tortoises are not particularly intelligent and love red food. Colouring things red can lead to them eating things they shouldn't. We've had instances through this forum

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ooh I have one for my tort and I bought a second one online. It's on it's way. What is your advice on the red heat bulbs they sell at the pet stores? Are they good or bad?

I DO use the "black" incandescent bulbs. They only give off a very faint purplish glow.
I find them to be a good and inexpensive bulb when only a little bit of heat is required such as here in the tropics.
It's true that many keepers report tortoises eating all sorts of inappropriate items simply because they looked RED from red lighting. Red means food.

 

[jcalpacagirl34]

Ooh. My old one is a red bulb but my new one is a ceramic bulb that gives off heat but no light. The red one was sold to me by pet supplies plus when I bought my first tortoise and didn't know as much as I know now. They basically sold me either the wrong things or unnecessary things. Talk about having fun with my paycheck! I have been educated about pet stores now. They don't care about the well being of the animals, only the well being of their paychecks I will never buy another animal from the pet store again

 

[Tom]

Ooh. My old one is a red bulb but my new one is a ceramic bulb that gives off heat but no light. The red one was sold to me by pet supplies plus when I bought my first tortoise and didn't know as much as I know now. They basically sold me either the wrong things or unnecessary things. Talk about having fun with my paycheck! I have been educated about pet stores now. They don't care about the well being of the animals, only the well being of their paychecks I will never buy another animal from the pet store again

I don't think its so easy to label pet stores and their employees. Certainly there are individuals who don't care and just want the money, but I think most of them mean well and they just don't know better. If you haven't been keep a particular species of tortoise, or reading posts from multiple people who have, how would people know anything other than what they read or are taught. There is a lot of misinformation circulating around out in the world, and without years of multiple first hand experiences, how does a person know what to believe or not?

I'm always sorry to see people get the wrong info from any source, but I don't think the majority of pet store people are bad people. I think they are just ignorant, as we all once were. I prefer to try to teach them. Many times they don't want to hear it, but somebody has to plant that seed and get the learning process started. I don't take it personally when they get angry, dismissive or just ignore me. After they've heard it from enough customers that are returning merchandise, they will begin to open their minds and learn, or they will go out of business.

Oh… and I also recommend against using red bulbs. Personally, I don't like any of the colored bulbs, but I don't think the "black" ones do any harm. I don't like them because I want it dark at night and because they burn out all the time and at the worst possible times. I prefer CHEs.

 

[Yvonne G]

I use the 250 watt brooder bulbs (red) inside my tortoise sheds. They hang from the ceiling and are about 4' from the floor. The ambient temperature inside the shed is very warm and comfy because of the bulbs. I have never had a problem with tortoises wandering around at night because the bulb is too bright. My tortoises sleep at night. Now, if you use a red bulb during the day, it makes the substrate look edible to some tortoises. I don't recommend using a red bulb during the day.

I also use incandescent black lights in smaller tortoise habitats. I have found that they are cheaper to use than the CHE and they put out a nice heat in smaller habitats. I have some running right now, day and night.