Lighting

[Emy104]

So I am buying stuff to set up an enclosure for a Russian tortoise i am buying soon but am still clueless as to what i use for lighting. Can anyone help me

 

[JoesMum]

I have shamelessly borrowed @Tom ’s words

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. It needs to be 95-100F directly under a vertically hanging lamp.

2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo.

3. Light. I use florescent tubes or LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.

4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. The Arcadia HO tubes are the best I've found.

 

[Emy104]

I have shamelessly borrowed @Tom ’s words

how long should each light be on for

 

[TortoiseRacket]

how long should each light be on for

12-14 hours a day

 

[Emy104]

12-14 hours a day

Do you know what I should use to measure heat and humidity on both sides of the enclosure that is affordable