N33dh3lp

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I just got the new bulbs are they gonna be to bright or will they work, they are flood bulbs but idk if they are incandescent.
 

Maro2Bear

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I just got the new bulbs are they gonna be to bright or will they work, they are flood bulbs but idk if they are incandescent.

Upload a few pictures of th box of the bulbs, packaging & enclosure, & the type of tortoise u have.
 
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N33dh3lp

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I got him that for uvb since the temperatures are dropping outside and the sun isn’t coming out as much.
 

Tom

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And the it’s a sulcata hatchling I put the uvb in this lamp fixture.
The Phillips bulbs are the right ones for basking, but let your thermometer guide you. 65 watts is a good place to start. Raise or lower the fixture to get the correct basking temp. Some people need higher or lower wattage bulbs depending on their individual enclosure.

I would not use the Solar Glo. Those run too hot in a closed chamber, and they also cause pyramiding even when humidity is kept at 90+% all the time. You live in a warm sunny area. You shouldn't need indoor UV if you can get your tortoise in the warm sunshine for a half hour a couple times per week. And its fine to skip a few weeks over winter. No problem at all. They store D3 and won't run out if its too cold for a few weeks in winter to sun them. D3 in the diet also solves this problem. Repcal with D3 or some Mazuri once in a while will hold them over just fine.
 

N33dh3lp

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Ok awesome thank you and the temps are around 100-110 for basking the overall temp is 80-90, I’m scared of having the Humidity to high so I keep it at 50-60 during the day and at night 70-80.
 

N33dh3lp

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How active should he be too? He seems to sleep a lot but idk if he’s up when I’m asleep, and today he peed usually it’s clear but it came out like this white and chunky.
 

Maro2Bear

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Regarding being “too bright” - make sure you have a nice cozy dark hide in jr enclosure so it can find a warm, dark spot to be warm, humid & dark. You might already have one in there.
 

N33dh3lp

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Yes I’m using Tupperware with a cut whole and some moss
Regarding being “too bright” - make sure you have a nice cozy dark hide in jr enclosure so it can find a warm, dark spot to be warm, humid & dark. You might already have one in there.
 

KarenSoCal

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You don't need to be afraid of high humidity. As long as you keep the temps where you said, humidity is his friend.

That white stuff he peed is urates. They are an indication that he is not hydrated as well as he could be. As long as they are soft and pasty, like toothpaste, it's OK. But you said "chunky"...if they are gritty like sand or feel like tiny pebbles, it's time to take action.

That action is increased soaking, both in frequency and duration, spritzing food with water, feeding something high in water content (opuntia cactus is perfect), and raising humidity.

The humidity should never fall below 80%, day or night.
 

Tom

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They just get to hot right or is there something worse about them?
They cause pyramiding.

You should not use moss. Your tortoise will eventually try to eat it and it can cause impaction.

What are you using for night heat?

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.
  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.
  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

Did you read this:
 

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