As I slowly prepare to purchase a juvenile tortoise in the spring, I've thought up a question that some of you experienced tortoise/turtle owners might be able to help me answer. I just recently purchased a Zoo-Med Mini Deep Dome Lamp Fixture and one of those cute half logs from Petco with a Christmas giftcard (yay!). I've heard before that you can use the normal dome fixtures sold in hardwares stores, but I couldn't find any ceramic-based ones, plus I like the smooth black outside of the Zoo-Med fixture.
Anyway, I intend to use household bulbs in the fixture, instead of the overpriced basking bulbs sold in pet stores. I of course will be providing a seperate tube fixture to shine out those healthy UVBs, but I haven't purchased that yet. First off, is this okay? And secondly, if I were to buy household bulbs, should I buy those labeled under spotlight or floodlight? It didn't occur to me that there might be some considerable difference until I got home. I certainly don't want to hurt my tortoise with anything too harsh. Thanks for your time!
Anyway, I intend to use household bulbs in the fixture, instead of the overpriced basking bulbs sold in pet stores. I of course will be providing a seperate tube fixture to shine out those healthy UVBs, but I haven't purchased that yet. First off, is this okay? And secondly, if I were to buy household bulbs, should I buy those labeled under spotlight or floodlight? It didn't occur to me that there might be some considerable difference until I got home. I certainly don't want to hurt my tortoise with anything too harsh. Thanks for your time!