Help on outside enclosure

[Westflorida]

I have a baby star tortoise and live in Tampa Florida. I get a lot of sun in my patio, although there is a screen. Do you know if enough I've will get through for the tortoise?

Thanks, Steve

 

[dannylozano10]

I'm no expert but I've always heard that screens block out a lot of uv and that's what tortoises need

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

It depends how dense the screen is (and also how much of the day the porch is in full sun). Without a uv meter, you likely won't know for sure. Solarmeter makes a few that many of us use to check UVB levels.

 

[Markw84]

Approximately 35% of the UVB is filtered out by a screen top on a tank The screen on a porch is denser, and more importantly the light is coming through at an angle, not perpendicular to the screen. So - short answer - not very much usable UVB will get to the tortoise. I'd guess maybe 10%. As Sarah suggests above, although pricy, a UVB meter would be a good investment to see if you could maximize enough to be useful.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hello fellow Floridian.
Any chance you can make an outside enclosure?
I have several different pens at my disposal. Including one that is inside my screened porch. I have used that pen only for sick tortoises or ones being isolated. I never had an issue, but I must say that come to think of it, the others are correct. Maybe there wouldn't be enough UV, UVB.