Heat lamp use ?

[Nafrtiti&Paroh]

Good morning
I got my new heat lamp for the tortoises
If in my country is winter right now and they see the sun but only for one or two hours a day
How much time i need to set up the timer for the lamp ?
How much hours, and when is the best time to do that ?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Good morning!

1. Heat lamp and UVB lamp are different things. What kind of lamp have you got? Can you post a picture of a label or packaging? And some overview pictures of their enclosures?

2. 1-2 hours of sunlight daily provides them with enough UVB. Peak hours for UV are from 11 to 13 o'clock. If you can keep this schedule for the whole winter - no UVB lamp is needed.

Next depends on what lamp you have:
3. UVB lamp is set for 3-4 hours, from 10-11 to 13-14 o'clock. You can adjust timing to their basking habits (my tortoise do morning warm-up around 9 o'clock so I turn UVB lamp about this time).
4. Lamp for a basking zone should be on for 14 hours a day in winter.

 

[BajatheChickenMan]

Good morning!

1. Heat lamp and UVB lamp are different things. What kind of lamp have you got? Can you post a picture of a label or packaging? And some overview pictures of their enclosures?

2. 1-2 hours of sunlight daily provides them with enough UVB. Peak hours for UV are from 11 to 13 o'clock. If you can keep this schedule for the whole winter - no UVB lamp is needed.

Next depends on what lamp you have:
3. UVB lamp is set for 3-4 hours, from 10-11 to 13-14 o'clock. You can adjust timing to their basking habits (my tortoise do morning warm-up around 9 o'clock so I turn UVB lamp about this time).
4. Lamp for a basking zone should be on for 14 hours a day in winter.

I thought i read on here you want to give similar lighting to what the seasons have so wouldn't 14 hours be too much in winter?

 

[Maggie3fan]

Kinda, we recommend 12 hours of light to keep them up

 

[Tom]

Good morning
I got my new heat lamp for the tortoises
If in my country is winter right now and they see the sun but only for one or two hours a day
How much time i need to set up the timer for the lamp ?
How much hours, and when is the best time to do that ?

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

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. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
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. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient 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 LED 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. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

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[Lucky one]

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

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. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
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. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient 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 LED 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. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Hi Tom,
I am fairly new here and rarely write anything but read the comments. In this case that you have answered I really like but where are those people writing from and don't most tortoises hibernate in the winter?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I thought i read on here you want to give similar lighting to what the seasons have so wouldn't 14 hours be too much in winter?

Tom mentioned somewhere, that 14 hours schedule is to kick tortoise out of "I wanna brumate" state. If they don't fall asleep and slow down then 12 hours is fine.

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom,
I am fairly new here and rarely write anything but read the comments. In this case that you have answered I really like but where are those people writing from and don't most tortoises hibernate in the winter?

This would depend on the species and the person's preference. Only the temperate species brumate. Common tortoises like sulcatas and leopards, do not brumate. Even for the species that do brumate in the wild, many people choose not to brumate them for a variety of reasons.