Hermann's Tortoise Lighting

[AnimalLover14]

As I said in a previous post I am getting a Hermann's tortoise for my birthday in a month! Yay! What kind of lights should I get? Is there a specific brand that I should get? About how much would these lights cost? How long do I leave them on? Do I need a bulb for night time?

 

[G-stars]

Hello, depends on how much natural light you can give them. If you can take her outside ~30 minutes a day that should be enough for UV requirements. Then all you really need is a 60watt flood bulb with a basking spot of about 100F and a CHE with night heat at around 80 if your raising her with high humidity which I recommend you to do. If you can't get her outside that often then I recommend a power sun.

This care sheet also has lots of good info.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

 

[AnimalLover14]

Hello, depends on how much natural light you can give them. If you can take her outside ~30 minutes a day that should be enough for UV requirements. Then all you really need is a 60watt flood bulb with a basking spot of about 100F and a CHE with night heat at around 80 if your raising her with high humidity which I recommend you to do. If you can't get her outside that often then I recommend a power sun.

This care sheet also has lots of good info.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

Thanks for the info!

 

[Gillian M]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[AnimalLover14]

Hello, depends on how much natural light you can give them. If you can take her outside ~30 minutes a day that should be enough for UV requirements. Then all you really need is a 60watt flood bulb with a basking spot of about 100F and a CHE with night heat at around 80 if your raising her with high humidity which I recommend you to do. If you can't get her outside that often then I recommend a power sun.

This care sheet also has lots of good info.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

So if I take him outside 30 minutes each day I don't need a UVB light in the enclosure?

 

[leigti]

More time outside is always better, I would try for at least an hour a day. But as long as they get real sunshine every day then you don't necessarily need a UVB light.

 

[G-stars]

So if I take him outside 30 minutes each day I don't need a UVB light in the enclosure?

Depends, hatchlings tend to dehydrate a lot quicker than an older tortoise so 30 mins to one hour a day should be enough to meet UV requirements. Also soaking them before and after being outdoors on a hot day would be my recommendation. I also use a powersun during winter since I don't take them outdoors as much.

 

[tglazie]

Keep your tortoise outside for as long as possible. When the tortoise is that young, set up an outdoor enclosure with a screen lid, and allow him/her to have the run of it during the daytime hours. See the enclosure threads for ideas on this. What I do is set up a four by eight enclosure that is partially shaded by a mulberry tree (you can shade part of the enclosure by any number of means, but building it partially in the shade of a tree is absolutely essential to prevent overheating during the hottest summer days). As G-stars says, soak the tortoise in the morning and in the evening. Soaking twice daily in lukewarm water is critical when they're less than six months. When the temps start to drop and the sunshine drops in intensity, keep the tortoise indoors. So long as your winters last less than four months, you don't need UV supplementation of any sort. I never use UV, but my tortoises are outdoors nine months out of the year, which is possible given the South Texas climate.

At night, bring the tortoise indoors into a sleeping chamber. You can achieve this several ways. Mine is a little complicated, so I won't go into that design. The simplest design involves using a rubbermaid tub lined with topsoil at a depth of three or four inches, enough for the baby to burrow down. Wet the soil until you can achieve a humidity of around sixty to eighty percent. This night time humid sleep box is great to ensure proper hydration overnight.

You can read much of this in the caresheet. There is a lot to keeping tortoises. I've been doing it for decades, and I'm still learning new things all the time.

T.G.