I don’t understand the uvb lighting to well

[ChinoCochino33]

I’ve been reading on the uvb lights and still am not to sure what to use.. I have a young Greek tortoise about 3-4 inches and I don’t really know what kind of UVB light to be using or how high up it should be in the enclosure.. i made the mistake of buying one without doing a lot of research so any other information or tips to help me make sure my little buddy lives a happy long life

 

[Tom]

I’ve been reading on the uvb lights and still am not to sure what to use.. I have a young Greek tortoise about 3-4 inches and I don’t really know what kind of UVB light to be using or how high up it should be in the enclosure.. i made the mistake of buying one without doing a lot of research so any other information or tips to help me make sure my little buddy lives a happy long life

We are happy to help. Here is some info:

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. 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.
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.

And more info here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

Those ramped water bowls are a flipping and drowning hazard and should not be used with tortoises. A terra cotta plant saucer sunk into the substrate will work best, and get a second one for food.

The coco coir needs to be kept damp and it needs to be firmly hand packed. Its hard for them to walk on and very messy when it is loose and flulffy like that.

 

[ChinoCochino33]

We are happy to help. Here is some info:

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. 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.
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.

And more info here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

Those ramped water bowls are a flipping and drowning hazard and should not be used with tortoises. A terra cotta plant saucer sunk into the substrate will work best, and get a second one for food.

The coco coir needs to be kept damp and it needs to be firmly hand packed. Its hard for them to walk on and very messy when it is loose and flulffy like that.

Thanks you I didn’t know that about the bowl and will switch it right away..I was going to switch the coco coir to something a bit better I can’t remember the name but this forum gave me some good materials to use.. so would it be better for me to buy a uvb light on a baby Greek or is it fine for me to bring him outdoors for an hour.. also is ambient lighting absolutely necessary?

 

[Tom]

Thanks you I didn’t know that about the bowl and will switch it right away..I was going to switch the coco coir to something a bit better I can’t remember the name but this forum gave me some good materials to use.. so would it be better for me to buy a uvb light on a baby Greek or is it fine for me to bring him outdoors for an hour.. also is ambient lighting absolutely necessary?

Coco coir is a great substrate for any baby Testudo, just don't let it dry out, and keep it packed down.

If you have enough warm weather enough of the time, you can use real sunshine to meet your tortoise's UV needs. Up in Ontario Canada? Doesn't seem like you will be able to do that most of every year, so I would recommend an HO UV tube for you.

Yes, ambient light is absolutely necessary. Tortoises are diurnal animals. This being the case, it needs to look bright like daytime wherever we are housing them. This is also why it should be dark at night for them. If the room is very brightly lit with a lot of large windows, and you have an open topped enclosure, then it might be bright enough without additional electric ambient light, but in most cases, it is best to just add more light.