Need some lighting advice

[Grady1968]

Do I need a light for a baby African sculpt or what ever and if so what is a good bulb here's a pick of my enclosure
Is it a good enclosure

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, Grady - your baby needs a light. The light isn't for illumination, but rather to heat him up so he can digest his food. Think of it...YOUR body temperature is 98.6F degrees. A cold blooded animal like your little sulcata baby, needs an outside heat source so he can get his inner core temperature up to the high 80's or low 90's. Without that heat, he won't eat and he will eventually die.

Another reason for the light is to provide UVB. Without UVB from either a good light or fr0m the sum, the calcium he eats just gets pooped out. Calcium needs the UVB/vitamin d3 in order to make strong bones and shell.

It's a beautiful enclosure. I would figure out a way to cover or partially cover it to keep the warm, moist air inside.

 

[Tom]

Do I need a light for a baby African sculpt or what ever and if so what is a good bulb here's a pick of my enclosure
Is it a good enclosure

Short, smart alec answers:
Yes you do.

No it is not.


The more helpful answers: Baby sulcatas hatch during the hot, humid, rainy season over there. We need to simulate this here in our enclosures. Room temperatures and humidity are much too low. You baby needs to stay 80 or above all the time, day and night, and it needs high humidity to grow properly. An open topped, shallow enclosure like yours is worse case scenario. It allows the air inside your enclosure to equalize with the room air which is not suitable. Your baby also needs a basking area to warm up to near 100 degrees. 80 or higher is a good ambient, but they still need a warmer spot to simulate the warming rays of the sun. They move in an out of this warm area to keep their internal temperature where they need it throughout the day.

Please read these. Babies have a small margin of error and you need to learn a lot and make some changes very quickly:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Come back with any questions you might have.

 

[Grady1968]

Ok thx so much for all the feed back

 

[Grady1968]

How many lights do I need