Lighting 101

[TortitudeLove]

I am very new to the tortoise world. I read a lot about the different lighting fixture/bulbs around. It is all very confusing since there are many different opinions. I am a pet store victim it appears. I have a zoo med double dome fixture 100watt basking bulb and red bulb for night time heat. I also have a 5.0 mini uv light. I have glanced at a few comments that are against the swirly bulbs for health reasons. MVB seem to be the heavy favorite here, 3-in-one bulb. Can I work with what I have? They were a gift. Invest in different fixture/bulbs? Product and brand recommendations are greatly appreciated. Forgive any ignorance.

 

[Markw84]

I would really suggest taking the fixtures and bulbs back to the pet shop and let them know it will not work. To properly suggest your best option it would be helpful to know the type of tortoise and perhaps a picture of the enclosure your are going to have the lights in

Two basic options. But that depends upon size and type of ebclosure

1 - get a larger " brooder" fixture at Home Depot for $11 and put in the MVB you already discovered as a good option. That will take care of
UV and basking heat and normal lighting. You will then need another brooder fixture with a ceramic heat bulb on a thermostat for maintaining min temps even when the lights are out

2 - get a tube style fluorescent for UV and add a regular FLOOD bulb for basking heat normally 65-100 watts will do it. You will then need the ceramic heat bulb and thermostat for temp maintenance

Again. The size of you enclosure and whether enclosed or not will often dictate choice as the MVB gets too hot often for a smaller and/or enclosed setup

Also look into humidity requirements. First step show us what you have and the type and size of tortoise

 

[Crzt4torts]

Looks like a Russian on TortitudeLove's avatar.

 

[Tom]

To keep this as simple as possible: Where are you and what size/age russian have you got?

 

[TortitudeLove]

Yep, Clyde is Russian. I love the two options you gave me. #2 seems the best bet for his current accommodations. He has glass walls (I know I need to get a border up to prevent his attempts to walk through walls.) Are there any brands to avoid or must buys?
The store didn't specify age, but's definitely an adult. He's about5-6 inches.

 

[Tom]

Here is a post I did for another member who was housing a young sulcata. You probably don't need the night heat for a russian.

"14. Let me break down the heating and lighting thing. You need three or four elements:
1. Heat. During the day this is best accomplished with 65 watt flood bulbs from the hardware store set on digital timers. These also give some light. Move them higher or lower to get the basking temp under them correct. I buy them in 6 packs, so if they burn out I always have a spare on hand.
2. Light. Sometimes the basking bulb and ambient room light are enough. If not, use a tube style florescent strip light form the hardware store. Run it on the same timer as the heat lamps. Try to get a bulb in the 5000-6500K color range. The more common 2500K color range bulbs look yellowish.
3. Ambient temp maintenance and night heat. Tortoises need it dark at night, but still warm. This is best accomplished with the use of a CHE in a ceramic based fixture. Get the 11" ceramic based domes from Home Depot for all your heat lamps.
4. UV. Best to sun them for an hour two or more times a week. Its okay to skip a few weeks over winter and this will do no harm. Since you live in the frozen North (Okay, Midwest, but its a figure of speech…), you will need to provide some artificial UV. Several options for this:
a. Use a mercury vapor bulb, like the power sun for your basking bulb. Use this in the Home Depot fixture I mentioned, not in a small pet store dome or deep dome. Replace it every fall.
b. Use a long tube type 10.0 florescent bulb. These MUST be mounted no more than 10-12" from the tortoise to be effective.
c. Get an Arcadia 12% HO bulb from lightyourreptiles.com. These are great, but they make a lot of UV. Mount it at least 18" and as much as 26" away from the tortoise and put it on its own timer for only about 4 hours a day."

Hope that helps.

 

[Tom]

Yep, Clyde is Russian. I love the two options you gave me. #2 seems the best bet for his current accommodations. He has glass walls (I know I need to get a border up to prevent his attempts to walk through walls.) Are there any brands to avoid or must buys?
The store didn't specify age, but's definitely an adult. He's about5-6 inches.

Many tortoises don't care about the glass. I've been housing tortoises in glass tanks for decades and never needed any sight barriers.