Infrared Basking lamp
- Thread starter Qwertyuiopgsggs
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The red light doesnt have uvb and can cause tortoises to eat things they shouldn't because it appears red to them. I wouldn't use it.
Qwertyuiopgsggs
Active Member
Really? I was not aware of that, what is the point of the infrared then? Is it strictly for UV light?
A lot of people use it for heat usually at night. It should not be used at night, it should be dark at night. We don't recommend them for tortoises.
I never known them to have uvb.
I never known them to have uvb.
Please refrain from double posting! I had type this whole reply in your other duplicate post only to have it unable to be posted as "thread unavailable" as one of the moderators had removed it! SO here we go again...
Neither of those bulbs are good for basking for a tortoise.
A spot bulb focuses too much of the IR it produces into a smaller spot and will contribute to pyramiding if a tortoise basks beneath it.
A heat lamp is almost totally IR-A and is never a good idea over a tortoise at all. A ceramic heat emmitter can be used to provide overall ambient heat to the enclosure, but should also not be used for a basking heat source.
A basking area needs 3 basic elements;
A bright light source
A light source producing heat
UV - UVA and UVB
The total light of the basking area should mimic the color of natural sunlight. So a total kelvin in the 5500k-6500k is what I shoot for. It should be bright as the bright light will stimulate a lot of the basking response. I use a good quality LED light for the overall lighting in an enclosure with a 5500k color balance and a CRI of 90+
I then add a flood style (R or BR) or an old round style (A) incandescent to provide the more controllable, and gentler heat needed to raise body temps to the high 80°s.
UV is then added. UVA for overall health, and help to create the daily and yearly rhythms for a tortoise. UVA is also a key trigger in stimulating the basking response. UVB is needed for the production of Vitamin D which is essential to bone growth and calcium absorption. WIthout UVB or some vit D supplement, metabolic bone disease is a big threat. I use either a T5 HO UVB flourescent long tube for this, or one of the newer LED UVB bulbs by VivTech or ZooMed.
Qwertyuiopgsggs
Active Member
Thanks. Im unsure what you mean by the double posting. I purchased both these lamps from Petco and they told me that they work great together for tortoises. I took a search on amazon for the lamps you mentioned but I could not find anything similar, is it possible for you to send a link to where I can purchase these?
Qwertyuiopgsggs
Active Member
So they are used for what exactly? Honestly I think that if I cant use it with my tortoise I will use it as a heat lamp for my baby chicks, it does produce a good amount of heat
Mark explained all of this beautifully.
Most pet stores have no clue about correct tortoise care and will dispense the wrong info while selling you the wrong products. On-line sources parrot the same wrong stuff that the pet stores say. You have now found the correct care info on this forum.
What species and size tortoise are we talking about here?
Here is my version of the lighting explanation:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
- 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).
- 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. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
- 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.
- 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.
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Don't go back to Petco.
They, like any other pet store want to sell the products that they have. And almost always, they're the wrong things.
For day or night heat most of us use a CHE (Ceramic heat emitter)
And for UVB you want a T5 strip florescent UVB tube. Not any that "screw in". Such as a mini UVB or coiled. Spiral or Mercury vapor types.
Both the CHE and T5 florescent UVB are available on Amazon or through places like CHEWY.COM or BIG AL'S PETS.
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- Joined
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- Location (City and/or State)
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Although it does have other uses, Infrared isn't reccomended for tortoises.
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