Heaters

[TortFam13]

Hi all! Good to "meet" some of you yesterday. For others, we have a new adult Russian. He is in a turtle table with fir bark/coco coir. We have a UVB but a UV/heat combo too. That's my question.... We have the heat lamp turned all the way up and it says it heats to 100F. The temp reading is only 85 though. Not sure what to do at night. We live in an older home that is drafty--it's been super cold in Colorado this week. The last few nights we have just kept his heat lamp on (but turned down). Not sure if he should have light 24/7 though and I'm nervous that if we turn the heat lamp all the way off it may get to 65 or lower. (Our thermostat for our home is far away from his table) . He is on an interior wall. What do you all think? Thanks!

 

[Jodie]

I don't keep Russians, but belive cooler is ok. How cool, i don't know. A CHE is a great option on a thermostat. The light should not be on at night.

 

[TortFam13]

Thanks, Jodie! Cooler temp tolerance is one reason we leaned toward Russians---just didn't know it would get this chilly this year! Might need to add a CHE so we can rotate. Thanks!

 

[Gillian M]

A warm welcome to the forum ana a happy new year!

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not sure what you mean by "turned up/turned down". If your heat light is a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB), you need to have it turned on all the way and don't use any kind of dimmer switch with it.

You need to have a UVB light (I prefer the MVB), and if your table is too big for one light to heat, then you'll need some sort of heat light at the other end of the table. If you choose to use a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) then you can put the CHE on a rheostat of some sort to have it go on and off to keep a steady temperature. The CHE will also work at night, because it is heat without light, so you can have it on all the time.

If your UVB light is not a MVB and you have a tube type fluorescent bulb, then you will also need some sort of heat, either a CHE or a regular 100 watt incandescent bulb.

To guard against drafts in your old house, you can cover the tort table.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I do agree! Having a hot heat bulb on a dimmer could wear it out, and bulbs explode when they're tinkered about.
85' is the temp that russians need to have to digest food. A basking spot of 88-90 is great... they don't mind cooler temps, either, so high 60s to 70s at night is great, too.
You need to give him a light cycle. Having the bulb on at night is not good for him. 12-14 hours a day of light is very nice.
If it's very cold, like lower 60s (I'd actually say 65 is perfectly fine, my russain is usually 65-68 at night) you may need an additional heat source that doesn't create light, like a CHE.

 

[Tom]

Hi all! Good to "meet" some of you yesterday. For others, we have a new adult Russian. He is in a turtle table with fir bark/coco coir. We have a UVB but a UV/heat combo too. That's my question.... We have the heat lamp turned all the way up and it says it heats to 100F. The temp reading is only 85 though. Not sure what to do at night. We live in an older home that is drafty--it's been super cold in Colorado this week. The last few nights we have just kept his heat lamp on (but turned down). Not sure if he should have light 24/7 though and I'm nervous that if we turn the heat lamp all the way off it may get to 65 or lower. (Our thermostat for our home is far away from his table) . He is on an interior wall. What do you all think? Thanks!

There are three ways to get your basking area warmer: Lower the bulb, raise the wattage, or heat up the entire room.

What are the two types of lights you are using now?

It needs to be dark at night. Russians can tolerate night temps down to 55-60 degrees as long as they have a warm basking area during the day. What temperature is your house dropping to? What is the over night low temperature in the tortoises enclosure?

I think these might help you:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/