Lighting.....

[Shorty]

So I bought this bulb for my Petie for his enclosure.... I am noticing at times he is burying himself... I do NOT notice his eyes to be swollen goopy or agitated visibly... But I'm wondering what y'all think of this type bulb and if it is what is causing him to bury...

 

[Yvonne G]

How old is the tortoise? Could be the enclosure is too open and the light too bright. It helps to have a very large enclosure with lots of plants so there's shade interspersed all over the enclosure. I can't comment on the bulb because I'm not familiar with it.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

What kind of tortoise?
Some types (like Redfoot) try to avoid bright lights.
Otherwise that MERCURY VAPOR lamp might be too close to the animal or something else.
A few photos would help with our guessing.

 

[Tom]

So I bought this bulb for my Petie for his enclosure.... I am noticing at times he is burying himself... I do NOT notice his eyes to be swollen goopy or agitated visibly... But I'm wondering what y'all think of this type bulb and if it is what is causing him to bury...

Spot lamps should never be used over tortoises. They concentrate too much carapace desiccating IR-A into to small an area and they cause pyramiding. I believe those are also halogens, which makes it even worse. Fine for a Uromastyx. Not so good for a tortoise of any species.

 

[Shorty]

What kind of tortoise?
Some types (like Redfoot) try to avoid bright lights.
Otherwise that MERCURY VAPOR lamp might be too close to the animal or something else.
A few photos would help with our guessing.

He is a Russian... I'm guessing about 6-8 years old...

 

[Shorty]

Spot lamps should never be used over tortoises. They concentrate too much carapace desiccating IR-A into to small an area and they cause pyramiding. I believe those are also halogens, which makes it even worse. Fine for a Uromastyx. Not so good for a tortoise of any species.

Oh yikes gotta do more research on lighting

 

[Tom]

Oh yikes gotta do more research on lighting

I'm going to leave two links here. They should appear green on your screen. Click on these links and all your questions are answered, plus more important info that you haven't asked about yet. There is a lot of wrong info out in the world on tortoise care. Read these threads and then come back and ask any questions that weren't answered.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

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 for 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. Unless your house gets unusually cold at night, you can skip this step for a Russian. Night lows above 60 require no night heat for Testudo species.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes 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. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb. If your tortoises room is already adequately lit, you don't need this one either.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside in a safe secure enclosure 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. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.

 

[Shorty]

I'm going to leave two links here. They should appear green on your screen. Click on these links and all your questions are answered, plus more important info that you haven't asked about yet. There is a lot of wrong info out in the world on tortoise care. Read these threads and then come back and ask any questions that weren't answered.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

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 for 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. Unless your house gets unusually cold at night, you can skip this step for a Russian. Night lows above 60 require no night heat for Testudo species.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes 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. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb. If your tortoises room is already adequately lit, you don't need this one either.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside in a safe secure enclosure 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. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.

Thank you so much for your help!!! Here is what I have in his indoor enclosure... I'll post a few different pics.. his enclosure is a 2.5"×4" (size 55/60 repitle tank)... Under his hide I have a small warming pad (on the bottom of the glass).... I use a florescent tube light (totally might now be the best one so I'm looking to replace)- it puts out 7% uvb... and then his basking light (as pictured before)... I also add calcium with bit D3 to his food 2× weekly...

 

[Tom]

Thank you so much for your help!!! Here is what I have in his indoor enclosure... I'll post a few different pics.. his enclosure is a 2.5"×4" (size 55/60 repitle tank)... Under his hide I have a small warming pad (on the bottom of the glass).... I use a florescent tube light (totally might now be the best one so I'm looking to replace)- it puts out 7% uvb... and then his basking light (as pictured before)... I also add calcium with bit D3 to his food 2× weekly...

That tank is much too small for an adult Russian. That would be a good size to start a baby in. Tortoises need a lot of room to roam around.

Undertank heating pads should not be used for tortoises. IN the wild when they are too warm, they dig down into the cooler earth relief. Heat shouldn't come from below. Many tortoises and other retiles have been burned by those. Looks like you have a basking lamp. The heat should come from that. It would help to have a flat rock under the basking lamp.

Looks like you still need a large shallow water bowl. Terra cotta plant saucers sunk into the substrate work best.

The screen top is filtering out a large percentage of the UV from your bulb. The distance from your tortoise is also much too great for that bulb to give any benefit.

All of this and more is explained in those two threads I linked for you.

 

[Shorty]

That tank is much too small for an adult Russian. That would be a good size to start a baby in. Tortoises need a lot of room to roam around.

Undertank heating pads should not be used for tortoises. IN the wild when they are too warm, they dig down into the cooler earth relief. Heat shouldn't come from below. Many tortoises and other retiles have been burned by those. Looks like you have a basking lamp. The heat should come from that. It would help to have a flat rock under the basking lamp.

Looks like you still need a large shallow water bowl. Terra cotta plant saucers sunk into the substrate work best.

The screen top is filtering out a large percentage of the UV from your bulb. The distance from your tortoise is also much too great for that bulb to give any benefit.

All of this and more is explained in those two threads I linked for you.

Thank you for the help.... Definitely will be doing my homework!!