Tortoise heat and lighting

[Teapot4]

Hi
I'm new to the forum and was wondering if any one could give me some advice.

I have a gorgeous 3 year old Hermanns tortoise called Talmai. She is my first and I've owned her for about 6 months now. She's doing well, growing nicely and is treated like a princess! (We assume she's a she!)

As this is my first tort and she's still quite ickle, I've chosen not to hibernate her.

She is currently in a huge make shift tort table with a mercury uv lamp set at 32 degrees at one end and has been doing fine so far. However now it's getting colder, I have changed her routine so she is awake at night while the heating is on at home and we're in and I'm just worried its not quite warm enough in the sun lounge for her now. I'm thinking, because of the size of her table, of getting a secondary heat lamp, maybe a red one, set mid way down the table which will still leave a cooler corner.

Do you think this will be ok to run the two lamps together?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. I will leave any hermanns ? For the hermanns keepers.

 

[lisa127]

Hi and welcome.

While I don't keep Hermann's, I will say that if the enclosure was not sitting on the floor it would be a bit warmer to begin with.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. We need more info to help you. What is the overnight low in your house? Hermanni are fine with cool nights as long as it isn't dropping below 12-15. If it is then a ceramic heating element on a thermostat would be the best solution for that problem.

I see a few problems with your set up:
1. Lisa is right. The floor is usually cold in most homes. Can you get it up off the floor?
2. Your mercury vapor bulb needs to be mounted from overhead and hang straight down, not at an angle.
3. Your daytime temp is too cool. Should get up to around 37 directly under the bulb. Adjust the height to get this temp.
4. Those clamps always fail, and that could lead to a disaster of serious proportions for the whole building. Mount it from a chain or the cord from over head.
5. Reversing the day night cycle is not something I would advise. Much better to use the proper equipment and bulbs to get your temperatures correct.

Here is a care sheet I made for russians. The care for hermanni is pretty similar. Maybe a little more humid.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-80698.html