I have four tortoise enclosures in my house. One for each of the tortoises living with me. Each of the tortoise are from a different region of the Earth:
- Redfoot, from South America, near the Equator, so I do a 12/12 light/dark cycle... people often say that they don't like much light, but mine often starts his day with some basking when the light comes on at 6, and I usually see him revisit the underlamp side to work on his tan at some point in his day.
- Russian, from one of the -stans, a bit further north, so I do a more northern light/dark cycle that shifts as the cool weather comes (to help ready him for brumation... he likes to bake himself, but also manages to deal with cooler temps that would likely sicken my redfoot.
- Black Mountain Tortoise, from mountain forests in Asia, nearer the Equator than the Russian, but not so near as the Redfoot, so I went back to a 12/12 light/dark cycle, but I use a less intense light source... even so, I sometimes see Aretha wander out under the lamp to get some rays for a bit before wandering back into the undergrowth of her enclosure.
- Hingeback (Homeana), from Central Africa, near the Equator, so I do a 12/12 light/dark cycle, but because people talk about the dense forests they move through, I use a dimmer bulb and have it go on and off periodically throughout the day to simulate dappling... unlike the redfoot or the MEP, I have yet to see Nelson seek out the light and heat of the space under the bulb, so hope he's getting the D he needs from animal protein.
Thanks,
Jamie