My humidity levels are 86%

[Laura1412]

Bulbs

 

[Markw84]

@Laura1412 The enclosure is looking great, but @cmac3 is correct in that no UVB can pass through plastic or glass. So your MVB bulb is not providing ANY UVB for your tortoise with is hanging above the cover. With enclosed chambers, we make them about 24" high to accommodate lights inside the chamber for that reason. If you simply cut a hole in the cover for the light, it will work for the UVB, but it will also create a "chimney effect" where the heat of the bulb will create a draft and suck the warm air and humidity up and out of the enclosure. So you need to seal around the fixture, while still allowing enough air around the fixture so it will not overheat. And MVB bulbs tend to overheat an enclosure if inside an enclosed chamber.

An option might be to get a fluorescent tube UVB light you could install just inside the cover. You will want to check the height you have and probably have to go with one of the less powerful tubes. One of the 18" T8 5.0 tubes do well mounted at about 12" above the tortoise.

 

[Laura1412]

Thanks markw84 I'll look into sorting that out thank you for your help

 

[Markw84]

You can also build a frame for your cover that acts to raise the cover and make the enclosure higher. Adding 4", or 6" or even 12" to the height of the enclosure will give you more options for lighting and heat.

Just saw your arcadia mini UVB and that looks great. Just cannot be above the cover.

 

[Laura1412]

Thanks mark with the Arcadia mini s only being low out put of uv what distance should they be hung above my tort

 

[Markw84]

Thanks mark with the Arcadia mini s only being low out put of uv what distance should they be hung above my tort

I have never seen the Arcadia mini. Must be Europe only. Arcadia is my favorite UVB bulb manufacturer, but has limited supply in the US. From your picture it is labeled as 2.4% - so it is really quite low in UVB output. Unfortunately hardly anyone like the answer that only a UV meter can give you the correct answer to your question, as placement effects the UVB the tortoise will be able to get. Most UVB bulbs now come with a chart on the packaging with suggested distances. Is there such a chart on the box or literature that came with the bulb?

 

[Laura1412]

That is the only chart with it mark nothing else my main bulb in the dome is a Arcadia also which iv sent below

 

[Markw84]

None of that shows. I can't find this bulb on their website either, and their website has little distance info as well. The simply suggest getting a UV meter!

I would be concerned that the mini 2.4 light is giving off anywhere near enough UVB to suffice for your tortoise. IF you could replace the bulb, or return for one with another bulb, I would go with the 5.0 or 10.0 bulb. The MVB is definitely enough UVB, but you will then have to deal with finding a way to get it where it is not blocked by the cover. And it typically would need to be mounted about 16" above tortoise height. But that is an approximate! No way to know for sure without a meter.

 

[Laura1412]

Well mark the 100 watt uvb I use will meet Clydes needs for uvb won't it iv just got to sort out building a frame to higher the enclosure up then I'll get a 5.0 tube like u said to use as well as the mvb at the moment those mini tubes are just to add light to the darker end n not for any purpose really other than that but because they a new release thing from Arcadia they was on off at half price so I got them

 

[Laura1412]

Which of these florescent tubes would be best for me to use along with my mvb just to ensure my tortoise is getting enough uvb as my enclosure as got a Perspex top on markw84

 

[Laura1412]

Are these meters any good

 

[Markw84]

Which of these florescent tubes would be best for me to use along with my mvb just to ensure my tortoise is getting enough uvb as my enclosure as got a Perspex top on markw84

Laura

Those are both good lamps. I would go for the first one "desert" as it gives 1 1/2 time more UVB. BUT... you cannot have the light on top of the cover. The Perspex with filter out all the UVB and your tortoise will not get any. There cannot be anything between the UVB bulb and the tortoise. It must be mounted inside the cover. So depending upon how much height you have, you may need to go with the forest type bulb. If you only have about 12" the desert type will probably be too close to get the right UV exposure.

The meter you are showing are the correct brand, but it is in the next row you are not showing that you will find the meter you want. It is the solarmeter 6.5. That one is specifically designed to weight the reading toward the specific wavelength of light that is needed to stimulate proper D3 production in reptiles. Other meters will show the intensity of overall UV, but not necessarily if any, or how much, is in the 290-300nm range.

 

[Laura1412]

Ok mark thanks I'm goin to cut a lot bigger square out of the Perspex which is under my bulb which I'm hoping will let some uv in there until I can build a frame to make my enclosure sides higher I will have a look for that meter u said thanks

 

[Laura1412]

Is this the right one

 

[Laura1412]

Uv coverage

 

[naturalman91]

I'm not fully versed in Russians but I believe 86% humidity is to high for a adult Russian they are one of the more naturally rugged shell tortoises they'll never be 100% smooth

 

[Laura1412]

Thanks for your reply naturalman91 this is a old thread iv managed to sort out my humidity now it's just I upload images on here so I can thenadd them into my conversations coz I don't no how to upload a image strate into a conversation thanks

 

[Markw84]

Is this the right one

Laura, Yes that is the uv meter I use. solarmeter 6.5

I don't see your reply unless I happen to go back to your thread here. You need to alert me if you are asking me a question. Either click on the "reply" on the post I made you are answering, or you can just alert me like this @Laura1412 I just did for you. That way when I log onto tortoiseforum, I see that I have an alert in my alert box and can click to go straight to your question.

I see you also posted a distance chart, but that is for Mercury Vapor Bulb. Your last questions were on two choices of fluorescent tubes would work best. Are you going MVB now? That would work fine for you and your Russian. Probably easier for your table type enclosure. If you use that MVB bulb, according to the chart you will want it about 30cm above tortoise height. But you will now be able to check that with your meter to ensure you are getting about a 3-4 UVI directly at your basking spot. You will also be able to check and see when it starts to drop in UVB output so you know you need to replace the bulb.

 

[Laura1412]

No that is the bulb @Markw84 i am already using I was tryin to work out how much wider to cut the hole in my Perspex under my bulb but I can't understand the chart for the width/area of uv my bulb covers and also I have got a lamp dome around my bulb which completely covers the hole of my bulb so is the width at the base of the dome fixture uv coverage area or does it span out from the bottom of the dome fixture

 

[teresaf]

DID you sort out the humidity issue? My concern is none of your picture showed any sweating on the glass which tells me it wasn't at 86%. Them I saw the those button humidity gauges which in my opinion, are crap. In order fix the humidity issue they need replaced with digital. $12 on Amazon with probes so mechanical part is NOT exposed to humidity.