New hatchling

[Biggiesmom]

Hello fellow Tortoise lovers. I’m Danielle aka Biggiesmom. I have a question being a newbie and all. I was hoping to use this aquatic 20 gallon tank with blacked out walls for the next couple of months while he/she grows. My question is. Would it be plausible to use only the basking light during the day time hours and the UVB light at night? Biggie isn’t to fond of the hide just yet. So I wonder if the UV might be beneficial not only for Vit D but for extra warmth and humidity.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Danielle, and welcome to the Forum!

Biggie needs it to be dark at night, just like we do. It would be stressful for him to always be in daylight.

The 20 gallon tank probably would be ok for a couple months, but they grow pretty darned fast and he will soon outgrow that tank. There's really no need to black out the walls. If you find 'see through' walls bother him you can just tape some paper along the outside of the tank on the lower part of the sides.

What kind of bulbs are your basking and UVB bulbs? We need to know that before we can give good lighting advice. Most of us use Ceramic Heat Emitter for night time. It looks like this:

. . . and provides heat without light. You can also use a Radiant Heat Panel at night.

Please read our care sheets for raising baby sulcata tortoises. You can find them pinned towards the top of our Sulcata section.