Lighting for a sulcata.

[Thomas tortoise]

Just wondering what kind of light I should use for my one year old sulcata tortoise. I have gotten a 10.0 uvb bulb that is 13 watts will this do with another ordinary 50 watt heat bulb? Or will this work to keep on 12 hours of the day?

 

[Beasty_Artemis]

Could someone please provide a link for a replacement light? I was looking for the link for a replacement for my redfoot Beasty_Artemis

 

[Markw84]

Just wondering what kind of light I should use for my one year old sulcata tortoise. I have gotten a 10.0 uvb bulb that is 13 watts will this do with another ordinary 50 watt heat bulb? Or will this work to keep on 12 hours of the day? View attachment 340619View attachment 340621

These lights are nowhere near bright enough for lighting a tortoise enclosure properly. I do not know what brand of UVB LED light you have in your picture, so cannot comment on whether it is a good choice for the UVB part of the total lighting. Read these responses I did just a bit earlier today to another poster asking questions about lighting:

Lighting question

Hi, I am hoping to get a tortoise in the next few weeks and have been trying to wrap my head round the lighting and heating requirements. I have ordered a 6ft tortoise table and I think I will go for a UV light strip in the middle of the table and separate heat lamp at one end. I have read the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

Just wondering what kind of light I should use for my one year old sulcata tortoise. I have gotten a 10.0 uvb bulb that is 13 watts will this do with another ordinary 50 watt heat bulb? Or will this work to keep on 12 hours of the day? View attachment 340619View attachment 340621

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.

The 13 watt is probably a CFL? Those are ineffective and sometimes burn their eyes. Best to use something safer and better. I'd turn it off ASAP, and return it when you can. They shouldn't be sold.

 

[Thomas tortoise]

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.

The 13 watt is probably a CFL? Those are ineffective and sometimes burn their eyes. Best to use something safer and better. I'd turn it off ASAP, and return it when you can. They shouldn't be sold.

with
Thank you so much tom! This was really helpful.