lighting inside winter house

[johnnysd]

hello all, i just want wish everyone a happy thanksgiving tommorrow. if you're in southern california and you're on the freeway good luck! i was stuck on the 91 freeway yesterday for 4 hours for a trip that usually takes 1.5 hours. it was nasty, i'm talking bumper to bumper the whole way. i hate so cal freeways!
anyways...i have a question about lighting. i have my sullie outside with a winter house thats nicely insulated and heated. but i noticed that its kind of dark inside. should i provide some type of lighting or does he just go outside the tortoise house if he wants some sunlight?

 

[DSaenz]

I know what you mean about that darn 91 fwy!!! I have quite a few friends and family that work in OC and commute to the IE everyday! I don't know how they do it especially on Fridays and holiday weekends!

 

[Tom]

How about the 405, 101? Fun stuff....

I have never put a light in my tortoise houses here in SoCal. I figure their heated house is kind of like their "burrow". In the wild they would use their dark, unlit burrow to escape cold or hot temps, so I let mine do the same.

I don't think there would be anything wrong with using a bulb during the daylight hours, I just never have seen the need for it.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have two fixtures in my tortoises' winter houses. One holds the night heat (in my case, it's a black light bulb) and the other holds a regular incandescent bulb, usually a 60 watt. Way I figure it is on grey, dreary days when there's no sun for basking, they can "bask" under the light in their house. If its a sunny day, I don't turn it on, but if its rainy or foggy, I do.