How to set up strip uvb light in zoomed tortoise house.

fergusaur

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I have a zoomed tortoise house, and I currently use an 80 mercury vapor bulb for my lighting, any ideas on how I would set one up for my zoomed tortoise house? Can I just put it laying on my railing, or should I try to hang it inside on the walls of the enclosure? The walls are 8.5 inches from the substrate, is that enough height to have a strip wall UVB. If you think that my enclosure can't support a strip light, I'm just gonna get a single deep dome for my mvb instead of the dual heat dome I am currently using for my setup as a dual heat dome combo as it hangs slightly crooked due to the weight of the weight. The single dual deep dome should help with basking on a more concentrated spot compared to the actual deep dome since it will be better to aim for the basking area of my enclosure.
 

Tom

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I have a zoomed tortoise house, and I currently use an 80 mercury vapor bulb for my lighting, any ideas on how I would set one up for my zoomed tortoise house? Can I just put it laying on my railing, or should I try to hang it inside on the walls of the enclosure? The walls are 8.5 inches from the substrate, is that enough height to have a strip wall UVB. If you think that my enclosure can't support a strip light, I'm just gonna get a single deep dome for my mvb instead of the dual heat dome I am currently using for my setup as a dual heat dome combo as it hangs slightly crooked due to the weight of the weight. The single dual deep dome should help with basking on a more concentrated spot compared to the actual deep dome since it will be better to aim for the basking area of my enclosure.
You've got the wrong ideas all around.

MVBs shouldn't be used over tortoise for a wide variety of reasons. They burn out prematurely, they are expensive, they are delicate and finicky, they cause pyramiding, and some of them stop producing any UV prematurely.

MVBs shouldn't be used in deep domes. They overheat in them.

The ZooMed tortoise house isn't suitable for any species of tortoise at any size.

The only flourescent tubes that produce decent amounts of UVB are the HO types. These need to be around 18-20 inches from the tortoise in most cases.

You don't want a concentrated basking spot. Just the opposite. You want a large warm basking area. The basking area is to simulate an area of direct sunlight outside. A larger area accomplishes this better, and it also desiccates the carapace less, which helps reduce the likelihood of pyramiding.

Read these:

Here is a simplified heating and lighting explanation:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  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. 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.
  3. 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 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 the UK, 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
 

fergusaur

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You've got the wrong ideas all around.

MVBs shouldn't be used over tortoise for a wide variety of reasons. They burn out prematurely, they are expensive, they are delicate and finicky, they cause pyramiding, and some of them stop producing any UV prematurely.

MVBs shouldn't be used in deep domes. They overheat in them.

The ZooMed tortoise house isn't suitable for any species of tortoise at any size.

The only flourescent tubes that produce decent amounts of UVB are the HO types. These need to be around 18-20 inches from the tortoise in most cases.

You don't want a concentrated basking spot. Just the opposite. You want a large warm basking area. The basking area is to simulate an area of direct sunlight outside. A larger area accomplishes this better, and it also desiccates the carapace less, which helps reduce the likelihood of pyramiding.

Read these:

Here is a simplified heating and lighting explanation:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  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. 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.
  3. 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 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 the UK, 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
So basically your saying that my house is useless? I’ve seen people use zoomed house before online before, and on YouTube and stuff. What if Lower the wattage from 80-70 or something like that. The ambient temperature for my enclosure during the day is in the 80’s, with the overall humidity being 50’s in my basking spot area, and 60 or above everywhere else. My lamp covers a good portion of my enclosure like u said it should. I also bath my tortoise in the mornings daily, and mist the substrate at least twice a day. Isnt there something I can do with what I have at the moment? Im just trying to do the best I can with the enclosure I have. Since u said my enclosure is too low for strip lighting, couldn’t a lower wattage MVB be an alternative option for me? That way my tortoise can get his uvb and uva in a safer way than before
 

wellington

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The MVB will cause pyramiding even in a proper closed chamber with proper humidity.
The people you see using those houses got fooled into thinking they were good to use because they are marketed that way by people that don't have a clue.
The enclosure being to low for strip lighting means it's way too low for a mvb.
The best you can do with it is build a saw horse type frame over it and hang the proper lights from that.
What species of tortoise and how old? If it's a hatchling then hang plastic over the saw horse frame to try and make a closed chamber where heat and humidity will stay more accurate.
Otherwise build onto the enclosure you have as its'too small anyway or use it as a hide inside a proper enclosure.
 
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Tom

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So basically your saying that my house is useless? I’ve seen people use zoomed house before online before, and on YouTube and stuff. What if Lower the wattage from 80-70 or something like that. The ambient temperature for my enclosure during the day is in the 80’s, with the overall humidity being 50’s in my basking spot area, and 60 or above everywhere else. My lamp covers a good portion of my enclosure like u said it should. I also bath my tortoise in the mornings daily, and mist the substrate at least twice a day. Isnt there something I can do with what I have at the moment? Im just trying to do the best I can with the enclosure I have. Since u said my enclosure is too low for strip lighting, couldn’t a lower wattage MVB be an alternative option for me? That way my tortoise can get his uvb and uva in a safer way than before
I'm not saying its useless. I'm saying its a poor design, and not suitable housing for any tortoise species at any age. Its too small for an adult that can handle drier conditions, and its too open to hold in humidity for growing babies. The way to maintain humidity is to have damp substrate ad a partially closed top to hold in the moist air as it evaporates. The wood of these enclosure cannot stand up to the constant moisture. The hide area is way too big, and the whole thing it too low sided. A good use for these enclosures is as a sunning enclosure for a baby for an hour or two in favorable weather outside, but you have to make sure it doesn't over heat when used that way. The closed top will keep them safe from birds and other predators when outside.

Like almost everyone getting started with tortoises, you got the wrong info from the wrong source. Lucky for you, you found us, and now you are getting the right info. You can go to FB or Youtue and people will tell you what you want to hear, but in time you will see that the results are not what you wanted, and can't be reversed. It is very difficult to put a number to it, but a large percentage of the info found on any subject online is wrong. The internet has been an amazing way to spread information. Whether that information being spread is accurate or not is another matter. When I started, misinformation was spread at a much slower rate in the form of books and magazines. Misinformation can spread MUCH faster now.

I took the time in post number 2 to list several reasons why MVBs shouldn't be used. Did you read that? How does lowering the wattage by 10 watts solve any of those problems?

Nobody wants to be told all their effort and the money they spent was for naught. That's a jagged pill to swallow. The sooner you get over that in your mind, the sooner you can start making the right enclosure and lighting set up for the benefit of your tortoise. Our primary interest here is the health and well being of your tortoise. A secondary motivation is helping you have an enjoyable tortoise experience and enjoy the hobby. If you continue on your current path, the results will not be enjoyable. You will always regret that you didn't make changes sooner. Your tortoise will pyramid and every time you look at it forever, you will be reminded of your beginner mistakes. What I'm telling you sucks right now, but if you make the changes I'm suggesting, you'll see smooth healthy growth over the next few months, and that will put a smile on everyone's face.
 

fergusaur

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Joined
Aug 15, 2021
Messages
67
Location (City and/or State)
Delaware
I'm not saying its useless. I'm saying its a poor design, and not suitable housing for any tortoise species at any age. Its too small for an adult that can handle drier conditions, and its too open to hold in humidity for growing babies. The way to maintain humidity is to have damp substrate ad a partially closed top to hold in the moist air as it evaporates. The wood of these enclosure cannot stand up to the constant moisture. The hide area is way too big, and the whole thing it too low sided. A good use for these enclosures is as a sunning enclosure for a baby for an hour or two in favorable weather outside, but you have to make sure it doesn't over heat when used that way. The closed top will keep them safe from birds and other predators when outside.

Like almost everyone getting started with tortoises, you got the wrong info from the wrong source. Lucky for you, you found us, and now you are getting the right info. You can go to FB or Youtue and people will tell you what you want to hear, but in time you will see that the results are not what you wanted, and can't be reversed. It is very difficult to put a number to it, but a large percentage of the info found on any subject online is wrong. The internet has been an amazing way to spread information. Whether that information being spread is accurate or not is another matter. When I started, misinformation was spread at a much slower rate in the form of books and magazines. Misinformation can spread MUCH faster now.

I took the time in post number 2 to list several reasons why MVBs shouldn't be used. Did you read that? How does lowering the wattage by 10 watts solve any of those problems?

Nobody wants to be told all their effort and the money they spent was for naught. That's a jagged pill to swallow. The sooner you get over that in your mind, the sooner you can start making the right enclosure and lighting set up for the benefit of your tortoise. Our primary interest here is the health and well being of your tortoise. A secondary motivation is helping you have an enjoyable tortoise experience and enjoy the hobby. If you continue on your current path, the results will not be enjoyable. You will always regret that you didn't make changes sooner. Your tortoise will pyramid and every time you look at it forever, you will be reminded of your beginner mistakes. What I'm telling you sucks right now, but if you make the changes I'm suggesting, you'll see smooth healthy growth over the next few months, and that will put a smile on everyone's face.
No you’re right, and I after doing more research and talking to people on other platforms as well, I’ve fully decided to use a uvb strip light for his enclosure. I’m just gonna put it on top of the railing. If the height isn’t where I need it to be, I’ll just add some wooden platform in order to raise the height higher. I literally can’t replace his enclosure rn, so this is the best that I can do. But I’ll keep making adjustments to his enclosure so I can fit his needs to the best of his abilities. Honestly I was thinking about getting like a greens house cover and putting that over the house to hold humidity during the winter, cause rn my humidity levels are fine as how they are. The humidity for his basking area is on the lower side, but literally everywhere else is fine, and when my turtle doesn’t feel like basking anymore, he just goes to his humid hide anyway. Plus I mist his enclosure at least twice a day, and bath him every morning as well so I’m not really worried about him getting dehydrated or anything.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
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Joined
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Messages
63,265
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No you’re right, and I after doing more research and talking to people on other platforms as well, I’ve fully decided to use a uvb strip light for his enclosure. I’m just gonna put it on top of the railing. If the height isn’t where I need it to be, I’ll just add some wooden platform in order to raise the height higher. I literally can’t replace his enclosure rn, so this is the best that I can do. But I’ll keep making adjustments to his enclosure so I can fit his needs to the best of his abilities. Honestly I was thinking about getting like a greens house cover and putting that over the house to hold humidity during the winter, cause rn my humidity levels are fine as how they are. The humidity for his basking area is on the lower side, but literally everywhere else is fine, and when my turtle doesn’t feel like basking anymore, he just goes to his humid hide anyway. Plus I mist his enclosure at least twice a day, and bath him every morning as well so I’m not really worried about him getting dehydrated or anything.
The greenhouse tent would be a good idea. Misting the surface really doesn't do much.

You can get a large plastic tub from Walmart or a hardware store, or you can get a large stock tank from a feed store. The taller sides will help hold some humidity and warmth, and both are waterproof so your damp substrate won't rot them or leak onto the floor.

Questions and conversation are welcome. :) And we'd all love to see tortoise pics!
 
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