Lamp broken

Loz213

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Hi.
Our tortoise (Greek, hatched June) lives indoors but last night the lamp has stopped working ( will glow a little blue but won’t come on fully). We have ordered ano her to arrive tomorrow - local shops are closed. What can we do for the next 24 hours? Will it be ok? We have our house central hearing on so don’t think it will drop below 20c

TIA
 

Blackdog1714

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Are you using one bulb for all heat and light? A CHE is best for just for heat and a T5 UVB (if daily outside time is not an option). For babies you don't want the heat to get below 26c and 20 is a little cooler. Luckily the Greeks are fairly hardy and even the babies can handle a cooler evening as long as they can warm up during the day. Please read the attached care sheethttps://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/greek-tortoise-care-guide.174622/
 

Loz213

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Thank you. Yes the bulb we use is an all in one (Solar glo all in one). Will read the link now. Thanks
 

JoesMum

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Don’t panic. For such a short time it is unlikely your tortoise will come to any harm especially as your home is warm.

He’ll be less active, so a nice long warm soak first thing today and tomorrow to keep him hydrated is all you need to worry about.
 

Loz213

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Thanks. We have him a bath this morning and he had a run around but has just burrowed under his bedding all day today. Have cranked our heating up further. ?? The bulb arrives early tomorrow!

thanks
 

Tom

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Thanks. We have him a bath this morning and he had a run around but has just burrowed under his bedding all day today. Have cranked our heating up further. ?? The bulb arrives early tomorrow!

thanks
That one bulb is not a good way to go. It needs to be off at night, but you still need night heat. During the day that type of bulb will cause pyramiding.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. 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. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  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, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
  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. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
  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
Also read this for more current and correct care info:
 

Loz213

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Brigg
That one bulb is not a good way to go. It needs to be off at night, but you still need night heat. During the day that type of bulb will cause pyramiding.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. 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. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  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, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
  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. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
  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
Also read this for more current and correct care info:
Thanks for this. I went out and bought a non uv bulb today just to last until tomorrow and the temperature quickly got back to 37c and tortoise became active again walking around it’s enclosure.
have read through the information and at the moment we have a small enclosure 2x4ft and we have a larger one being made so the information will certainly be useful when that arrives. Just a quick question - normally at night our thermometer reads 27c in the bed enclosure as the house is still heated - is this sufficient or should we have night time heating?
many thanks
 

Tom

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Thanks for this. I went out and bought a non uv bulb today just to last until tomorrow and the temperature quickly got back to 37c and tortoise became active again walking around it’s enclosure.
have read through the information and at the moment we have a small enclosure 2x4ft and we have a larger one being made so the information will certainly be useful when that arrives. Just a quick question - normally at night our thermometer reads 27c in the bed enclosure as the house is still heated - is this sufficient or should we have night time heating?
many thanks
Greeks should have a night time cool down. 27C is a bit high. 20-21C would be better.
 

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