Lighting question

Lena Renee Vernon

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Joined
May 22, 2016
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I like to run my CHE on a thermostat and use that to maintain ambient temps. You won't have to worry about it overheating the enclosure because the thermostat will cut it off if the temps climb too high.

I prefer to have my heat source associated with light. Usually I use an incandescent flood bulb. I once used a florescent bulb over a Kane heat mat. They were both on the same timer. This worked well for me.

You can use your tube for light and UV, a flood bulb for basking and heating the warm side, and a CHE on a thermostat to make sure that your temps are always warm enough, but never too hot.


-- Hello, I am wondering how many lights I need for my enclosure. So you stated to have a tube which would be the T5 HO (I think) and then the flood bulb and a CHE? Would that not be too hot? I'm in the building process of building a closed chamber for my sulcata. It is going to be corner shaped (to fit in a corner) with the sides being 40 inches in length and the height being 28 inches ( I wanted 30 but in order to fit it in the door I have to do 28). I'm struggling to figure out how many lights I need because her current enclosure I only use one light Solar Glow. So I am clueless as to what all of these lights (T5 HO, CHE, and flood bulb) do. Help please!! Also this is my very first post so if I do not respond it's because I have no idea as to how to work this website.
 

Tom

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-- Hello, I am wondering how many lights I need for my enclosure. So you stated to have a tube which would be the T5 HO (I think) and then the flood bulb and a CHE? Would that not be too hot? I'm in the building process of building a closed chamber for my sulcata. It is going to be corner shaped (to fit in a corner) with the sides being 40 inches in length and the height being 28 inches ( I wanted 30 but in order to fit it in the door I have to do 28). I'm struggling to figure out how many lights I need because her current enclosure I only use one light Solar Glow. So I am clueless as to what all of these lights (T5 HO, CHE, and flood bulb) do. Help please!! Also this is my very first post so if I do not respond it's because I have no idea as to how to work this website.

You'll need 3 or 4 elements.
1. A basking bulb on a timer for 12 hours. Usually a 65 watt flood bulb from the hardware store will do the trick. Adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under it.
2. UV tube: This would be the HO tube. Set it on a timer. Distance and time depend on which one you get and how strong it is. If your tortoise gets real sunshine a couple of times a week, you can skip this step.
3. Let there be light: I like to use a regular florescent tube in the 4000-6500 K color range. Regular 10.0 bulbs work for this too. If they are more then12" from the tortoise, they won't offer any UV benefit, but they still light up the enclosure nicely. This one can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
4. Use a CHE set on a thermostat to keep ambient temp at 80 day and night. This one will work 24/7 for you.

Come back and ask more questions until its all more clear to you. I'm happy to help. Welcome to the forum.
 
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