Tort - plant grow light?

[coledoug1]

Can I use a growth light that i use for my plants. Can I use the same light for the tortoises?

 

[JoesMum]

RE: Tort

What wattage is it and what UV output does it have? If you can't answer that... get a proper reptile lamp!

 

[Madkins007]

The only real problem with plant lights is that they are color-balanced to help plants grow, not for human or tortoise eyes. A bulb that put out a more balanced white is healthier.

Also, is the bulb supposed to offer heat as well? Plant bulbs really don't do this much.

 

[coledoug1]

Well I am going to have heat lights too.

 

[Madkins007]

Plant lights are heavy in the reds and blues, heat lights are heavy in the reds. You want to aim for balanced color, so you'll want some that produce the yellows, greens, etc. Plain incandescents will do it for you the easiest. The plant light is just not bringing anything really useful to the party.

 

[coledoug1]

What my son an i are doing is taking in four torts in for the winter. We are in the process of building this and I want to make sure our lighting and heat are correct. I have a 48 inch fixture that I would like to have for just the replacement of sunlight. I have incandescent bulbs that will run on a thermostat for heat. I was going to use a dark bulbs for this for the reason that they might be at night time or daytime depending on what the thermostat calls for. My 48 " strip light will be 12 inches from my dirt floor. I would like to grow edible plants here as well so that they can all eat when they want. I'm trying to make this as comfortable as possible for them. The plant/aquarium flouresent growth light is the only thing that is throwing me through a loop because it has no uv rating. I have called Sylvannia but they have no answer on rating just a graph of the spectrum. If I choose to go w proper reptile light which will also be 48" at 12 " distance from dirt should I stick w the 5.0 or 10.0 rating. I thank all of you for your knowledge. Please reply. This is an awesome experience for my son and I. We will send pictures when complete.

 

[coledoug1]

Tort

Hi I have a place for my tortoises inside and I put tons of vegetables in there for them to eat. I was going to put a growth light in but I was wondering if it would hurt the eyes. Does a growth light hurt the tortoises eyes??

 

[zoogrl]

RE: Tort

I would recommend checking out the russian care thread for what lights are recommended for them. I've never heard of anyone using a growth light, and I'm not real sure what it is. I have a heat lamp & uv lamp for my russian.

 

[ascott]

RE: Tort

Can you provide a resource here for us to look at on the particular bulb you are wanting to use...also, you are not going to stop using your current heat and uva/uvb bulbs when you start to use the other one right?

 

[coledoug1]

RE: Tort

Yes. Thankyou