Basking spot bulb issues

[springgreen]

Hi there,
I'm having some issues with basking spot lights - I've recently changed the bulbs in two different enclosures and the way the light shines down on to the basking area looks really different to usual. There is a ring of light around the edge rather than a whole spot. I have used spot bulbs for over 20 years with no problem but every bulb I've put in has the same issue. My question is this: does this sound like a problem with the manufacturers of the bulbs or is this just how they are made now? And could this be an issue for the tortoises?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tom]

Hi there,
I'm having some issues with basking spot lights - I've recently changed the bulbs in two different enclosures and the way the light shines down on to the basking area looks really different to usual. There is a ring of light around the edge rather than a whole spot. I have used spot bulbs for over 20 years with no problem but every bulb I've put in has the same issue. My question is this: does this sound like a problem with the manufacturers of the bulbs or is this just how they are made now? And could this be an issue for the tortoises?

Thanks in advance.

Spot bulbs shouldn't be used. They concentrate too much desiccating IR-A into too small an area. Use flood bulbs instead. If you can find the frosted type, it will diffuse the light even more.

Check this out:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[springgreen]

Spot bulbs shouldn't be used. They concentrate too much desiccating IR-A into too small an area. Use flood bulbs instead. If you can find the frosted type, it will diffuse the light even more.

Check this out:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Thanks for your reply - I always understood that the benefit of a spot bulb was so that the whole area wouldn't get too hot and therefore allow the tortoises a cooler area. Wouldn't a flood bulb make it hotter everywhere?

 

[Tom]

Thanks for your reply - I always understood that the benefit of a spot bulb was so that the whole area wouldn't get too hot and therefore allow the tortoises a cooler area. Wouldn't a flood bulb make it hotter everywhere?

A flood bulb does heat a larger area and that is what we want. We don't want a focused beam. We want a broad heated area with more even heat all around. Focused hot spots, like what you are describing in your original question, are what we try to avoid by using the right types of heat lamps. The carapace can be damaged by spot bulbs, and spot bulbs cause pyramiding in young growing tortoises.

A 100 watt flood will not produce more heat than a 100 watt spot, the beams are just focused broader or narrower. Since your heat lamp s over to one side, then the other side should be a cooler area for your tortoise to retreat to.

If your heat lamp is overheating the whole enclosure, then the enclosure is way too small, which is often the case with tortoises in store bought tables, or the wattage is too high for that application.

 

[springgreen]

Okay, thanks - that makes sense. I think probably a lot of advice has changed over the years - it's hard to get everything exactly right and obviously want to do the best for my tortoises! Thank you again for that information and advice, I'll get looking into it.

 

[Tom]

Okay, thanks - that makes sense. I think probably a lot of advice has changed over the years - it's hard to get everything exactly right and obviously want to do the best for my tortoises! Thank you again for that information and advice, I'll get looking into it.

The information has unfortunately changed very little over the years, and that's a shame because the same wrong info has been passed from generation to generation for decades. The care sheet thread I linked for you will probably have lots of info and concepts different that what you and I and everyone else learned years ago, and that same wrong info is still being taught and repeated to this day. This tortoise forum is the one place I have found that is giving out the right info and trying to dispel all the old wrong myths and misinformation.

We are here to talk torts. Feel free to question any of these assertions. Ask for explanation, examples, and proof to back up what is being said, and why the old info is wrong. The more people that know the right info, the better.