Lighting Question

[TRVEESO]

Hello,

I recently built a tortoise table in my living room out of 2X4s and 1/2 inch plywood.. 8 X 4 ft with 18 inch walls. The substrate is a mixture of organic top soil and play sand. For heating I bought a radiant heat panel that stretches across half the top of the enclosure, and the temp is regulated by thermostat. Now, what I need is a good UVB solution.

What would you all recommend, considering the size of the enclosure and the fact that he gets outside for a total of about 6 hrs per week?

 

[coreyc]

100 watt power sun for when you can not get out side I use a heat panel to how big is yours ? can you post some pic's of your setup?

 

[TRVEESO]

100 watt power sun for when you can not get out side I use a heat panel to how big is yours ? can you post some pic's of your setup?

It's "the big one". I think 160 Watt, about 3.5 feet long by 1 foot wide..
Here is how the table looks. I'm not putting the "lid" on it until I have the lighting question buttoned down. I dont want to have to double all my efforts, which have been substantial by the way.. putting this thing together. All told I'm into it like 500 dollars..

 

[Yvonne G]

Nice. I would hang a regular old 100 watt incandescent bulb at one end, a T-Rex or Zoo Med MVB at the other end and a CHE in the middle.

(MVB = Mercury Vapor Bulb - UVB and heat all in one)
(CHE = Ceramic heat emitter - heat without light)

 

[coreyc]

Nice. I would hang a regular old 100 watt incandescent bulb at one end, a T-Rex or Zoo Med MVB at the other end and a CHE in the middle.

(MVB = Mercury Vapor Bulb - UVB and heat all in one)
(CHE = Ceramic heat emitter - heat without light)

I dont think he need's a CHE he has a 160 watt heat panel very nice

 

[Yvonne G]

Once again, Yvonne is not paying attention! Thanks.

 

[coreyc]

Once again, Yvonne is not paying attention! Thanks.

I dont pay attention myself it is over rated

 

[TRVEESO]

Yeah, I dont think I want to add any more heat to the cage. It's already going to be plenty warm in there. Maybe i'll just install like an 18" fluorescant UVA toward the middle for light.. my living room gets quite light as well..

 

[Tom]

If he's getting lots of that desert sun, you should be fine with no indoor UV. You can just use a low wattage regular incandescent flood bulb. You can still use a MVB. More UV more of the time won't hurt anything and it will make a nice place to bask. Hang it over a nice flat rock or piece of slate and raise or lower the fixture to get a basking spot around 100.

Keep an eye out for problems with that sand. Anytime I've ever tried to use it, it causes problems. Watch for eye irritation, irritation in the skin folds, and make sure he doesn't eat any of it as it pretty regularly causes impaction.