Best lighting combo

Oldbro

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set up my tort enclosure with a zoomed 100 watt powersun bulb and a red nite heat bulb. The powersun lasted 10 days. Seems to be hit or miss with these mercury vapor bulbs. What is the healthiest setup to use for desert tortoises that’s
dependable.
 

Yvonne G

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I used to use the Power Sun and never had any trouble with it. You have to hang them so they point straight down. Mounting them at an angle shortens their life. Also, they must be mounted in a porcelain fixture, not a plastic fixture.

I now use the tube type fluorescent UVB bulbs along with a radiant heat panel. I like this combination much better.
 

Oldbro

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It’s hanging straight down in a zoomed porcelain fixture.

I ordered a Zoomed 10.0 UVB reptisun mini subcompact fluorescent bulb. Will this give me the UV I need alongside the red heat bulb?
 

Yvonne G

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No. We don't recommend the compact fluorescent bulbs as they've been known to harm young tortoises' eyes.
 

Oldbro

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So, ditch the porcelain fixture and hang a fluorescent
Fixture over critters? Are there any good screw in bulbs? Seems to be a lot of complaints about the
Zoomed powersun.
If you use a overhead fluorescent fixture, how do you heat a large habitat if not with bulbs?
 

Tom

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What species do you have? The only desert species available are not legal to keep in your state.

None of the bulbs you've mentioned should be used over tortoises.

  • Red bulbs mess with their heads and upset their circadian rhythms. They see color better than we do, so if you can see it at night, so can your tortoise and its making the whole world look red.
  • MVBs are unreliable and they also cause pyramiding.
  • CFL type bulbs are poor UV sources and seem of them burn reptile eyes.
Here is what you need to know.
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 and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
  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 like sulcatas or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. Unless your house gets unusually cold at night, you can skip this step for a Russian or CDT. Night lows above 60 require no night heat for temperate species like a CDT. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
  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. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.
We need to know what species you've got to give you the right care info. Using the word "desert" in reference to whatever you've got is cause for alarm.
 

Oldbro

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I live in Illinois and outdoors doesn’t work consistently. so to get the UV they need which HO bulbs are you using, name/ brand please.
 

Erik Elvis

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I basically run toms recommendations. A 65w flood for basking. Radiant heat panels and Acadia 6% uv forest t5 ho bulbs all day. You can run the 12% bulbs and just run them a few hours a day.
 

Oldbro

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This is Teek, I have him in a 24x36 trough. I heat it now with 65 watt incandescent flood bulbs. There is an 18 in T8 fluorescent fixtures over the rt side back half that also gets the basking heat. I feed them a mix of store bought/wheatgrass/and some yard plants. I pulverize a small amount of Mazuri Tortoise diet and mix it with the wet salad. Couple times a week I add a bit of powdered calcium to the mix. I keep the temp between 85-90
days and 75-80 at nite. Fresh water every day and a soak at least every other day for 20 mins
at about 90 degrees.
He eats well and climbs constantly on top of his log cave. He spends his nites in the cave,
I worry because I find him upside down from tumbling off the log once in a while.
I also have Bob in his own pen but he doesn’t climb at all. Everything equal for each enclosure. What am I doing wrong,if anything, what can be improved. Thanks all.
 

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