UVB and Heat Info Guide

[PerezG94]

Hey all,

I just wanted to post some info for all you to see. I am new here but constantly see posts asking for UVB and Heat recommendations in other groups. I had made this post on Facebook but thought I’d share here as well! Most of this info will be for Sulcata torts of hatchling to juvie size still living in doors in an enclosed chamber or similar. I’m going to build a mini guide here made up of information I have found from vetted sources and compiled from other reptile groups to clear a lot of confusion up for those that need it. A special thanks to members of those groups that have taken the time to test, measure, and produce this information and make it public so that we can care for our animals to the best of our ability. Please see attached charts in links at the end of this thread.

UVB:
Firstly there are so many factors that effect the UVB output in your enclosure just to name a few:
•Distance
•Mesh Type
•Bulb/Brand
•Top or Internal Placement

Without taking ALL of those factors into consideration we cannot guarantee we are meeting the specific needs to our tort friends. As we all know there is such as to little and too much UVB and it is not matter of option but scientific fact that choosing a linear bulb over atraditional bulb is the only way to go. However if you are not utilizing the bulb correctly it may as well not even be there. It also important to note that even when basing your UVB set up on the charts I am going to supply that you should still and ALWAYS be measuring your output with a solar meter 6.5 to ensure your parameters are correct. With out this meter you will never know for certain if your animal is getting what it needs. I will link the meter in the comments, it is expensive but so is life and you should be prepared to spend money on an animal you have chosen to care for simple as that.

Sulcatas land in “Ferguson Zone 3” partial or open sun baskers Zone range UVI 1.0 – 2.6 (Maximum UVI: 2.9 – 7.4 in basking zone) meaning an Arcadia 12% T5HO should be your go to linear bulb choice. Now let’s get into the fine print here. It is also not of opinion but of fact, tested fact at that, that did dent types of mesh and glass alike will filter most and sometimes all of the UVB your bulb is producing if your fixture is at on top of your enclosure. In fact most mesh screen or lids filter 30%+ of all UVB being produced and all glass to include plexi, acrylic, and common glass will filet 100% of your output rendering the fixture useless.

It is important to know A. What type of mesh you have and B. The amount that mesh is filtering. After this distance will fall into place. (Please see attached charts and pictures in the link at the end of this post)

Guide to Mesh Screens with T5-HO

Once you know what % of the UVB and light your mesh blocks, you can consult this chart to find what distance your T5-HO fixture needs to be above your reptile, to get the desired UV Index in the basking Zone.

Find the Group Letter for your mesh (Group A is "no mesh", Group B is 15% block, Group C is 25% block ... and so on)

Find the column that matches your tube brand and fixture (eg: data for an Arcadia 12% UVB T5-HO in a Vivarium Electronics fixture is always the second column along, in each coloured Group)

Find the UV Index range you want (eg. for Ferguson Zone 3, basking reptiles, such as Bearded Dragons, this will be between UVI 3-5. I've coloured the boxes orange so easy to find!) then read across to either "inches" or "cm" to see what distances that gives you.

UVB Internally Mounted: When UVB is internally mounted the output is much much easier to manage and measure. For this only distance, bulb selection and more importantly metered measurement is relative. We know based on the charts below the recommended distance for our linear bulb however we should not rely on this alone I cannot stress enough how important a measurement of intensity through a Solar Meter 6.5r is. Without this you will never know for sure.

Amazon.com

HEAT:

When it comes to heat (basking/ day time heat) we need to remember that wattage is the measurement of power consumption only, and doesn’t correlate well to intensity at a given distance. This means wattage is not a terribly important factor in bulb selection. The more watts, the more total power (heat energy) going into the enclosure, but that’s only the total, not the intensity (concentration). Intensity of IRA is what is beneficial to our animals not just the heat alone there is a difference between warmth and IRA/energy consumption.

For basking, it’s the intensity that really matters, and it’s somewhat hard to get right without specialist tools or guidance. Intensity is almost entirely related to distance from a lamp, but each lamp is different, and over the last few years some fabulous charts have been made (mostly by Thomas Griffiths) to help show various lamps’ intensity profile.

Sulcatas typically bask early in the morning or late in the evening, and so we want to replicate that intensity: 200-250 W/m² (of IR-A) on one of these charts.

The Exo Terra 100W Intense Basking Spot would be a reasonable choice in most enclosures. (See charts for why) Given your enclosure is adequately sized for these animals and is atleast an equivalent to a 36” store bought for a hatchling. We would want the bottom of its substrate to be roughly 12-14” (30-35 cm) from the tort while basking, with no dimming. If the surfaces below are getting too hot, simply try other materials (without changing the distance or dimming the lamp). This is why the measurement of out put is important! Due to the fact that every bulb spreads intensity differently a lot of people will say Arcadia is best or I only use flukers or even just get the bulbs at Home Depot they are cheap and do the same thing. However brand means little with incandescent technology, all these bulbs are manufactured to a similar standard, but the designs and beams vary enormously from one model to the next
I have charts for two Arcadia lamps (both use 100W), and neither would be useful in most set ups for sulcatas. The first is the Arcadia PAR38 halogen, which has to be used at least full 1.3 m (4 ft) from most animals, the second is the Solar Basking Floodlight, which needs to be used at much closer distances to provide a suitable intensity (please see attached charts in photos)

Now a lot of people in this group will recommend a CHE for heat please understand a CHE is only heating the air around the bulb and is in no way warming your tort through IRA. A CHE should only serve as a secondary or night time heat source never a primary. And all heating elements should always be monitored by a hand held IR thermometer and more importantly primarily monitored by an appropriate thermostat.

I will also link an extremely informative article here pertaining to heating choices: https://tomaskas.co.uk/a-worlds-first-power-density-iso-irradiance-charts/

Hope this helps! If you found this helpful please save this post and tag those new owners needing information this can really help those newbies needing guidance.

Mesh Types and Charts
Heat Charts

 

[Tom]

I understand the intent, and most of this is good, but most of the info out in the world is all wrong. Be aware of that as you go along. Here on this site, me and several other experienced members have been running experiments on all of this stuff for more than a decade to determine what actually works best and why. Many old myths have been debunked, and many people cling to those old myths with fervor and get really upset when you tell them that what they've known and followed for 30 years is wrong.

For example, those "intense" spot bulbs are NOT a good choice because they concentrate too much desiccating heat into too small an area and they cause pyramiding even in a humid closed chamber. Flood bulbs are the way to go for any species that needs a basking lamp.

I did like the UV tube info and agree with the conclusions, generally speaking.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Hey all,

I just wanted to post some info for all you to see. I am new here but constantly see posts asking for UVB and Heat recommendations in other groups. I had made this post on Facebook but thought I’d share here as well! Most of this info will be for Sulcata torts of hatchling to juvie size still living in doors in an enclosed chamber or similar. I’m going to build a mini guide here made up of information I have found from vetted sources and compiled from other reptile groups to clear a lot of confusion up for those that need it. A special thanks to members of those groups that have taken the time to test, measure, and produce this information and make it public so that we can care for our animals to the best of our ability. Please see attached charts in links at the end of this thread.

UVB:
Firstly there are so many factors that effect the UVB output in your enclosure just to name a few:
•Distance
•Mesh Type
•Bulb/Brand
•Top or Internal Placement

Without taking ALL of those factors into consideration we cannot guarantee we are meeting the specific needs to our tort friends. As we all know there is such as to little and too much UVB and it is not matter of option but scientific fact that choosing a linear bulb over atraditional bulb is the only way to go. However if you are not utilizing the bulb correctly it may as well not even be there. It also important to note that even when basing your UVB set up on the charts I am going to supply that you should still and ALWAYS be measuring your output with a solar meter 6.5 to ensure your parameters are correct. With out this meter you will never know for certain if your animal is getting what it needs. I will link the meter in the comments, it is expensive but so is life and you should be prepared to spend money on an animal you have chosen to care for simple as that.

Sulcatas land in “Ferguson Zone 3” partial or open sun baskers Zone range UVI 1.0 – 2.6 (Maximum UVI: 2.9 – 7.4 in basking zone) meaning an Arcadia 12% T5HO should be your go to linear bulb choice. Now let’s get into the fine print here. It is also not of opinion but of fact, tested fact at that, that did dent types of mesh and glass alike will filter most and sometimes all of the UVB your bulb is producing if your fixture is at on top of your enclosure. In fact most mesh screen or lids filter 30%+ of all UVB being produced and all glass to include plexi, acrylic, and common glass will filet 100% of your output rendering the fixture useless.

It is important to know A. What type of mesh you have and B. The amount that mesh is filtering. After this distance will fall into place. (Please see attached charts and pictures in the link at the end of this post)

Guide to Mesh Screens with T5-HO

Once you know what % of the UVB and light your mesh blocks, you can consult this chart to find what distance your T5-HO fixture needs to be above your reptile, to get the desired UV Index in the basking Zone.

Find the Group Letter for your mesh (Group A is "no mesh", Group B is 15% block, Group C is 25% block ... and so on)

Find the column that matches your tube brand and fixture (eg: data for an Arcadia 12% UVB T5-HO in a Vivarium Electronics fixture is always the second column along, in each coloured Group)

Find the UV Index range you want (eg. for Ferguson Zone 3, basking reptiles, such as Bearded Dragons, this will be between UVI 3-5. I've coloured the boxes orange so easy to find!) then read across to either "inches" or "cm" to see what distances that gives you.

UVB Internally Mounted: When UVB is internally mounted the output is much much easier to manage and measure. For this only distance, bulb selection and more importantly metered measurement is relative. We know based on the charts below the recommended distance for our linear bulb however we should not rely on this alone I cannot stress enough how important a measurement of intensity through a Solar Meter 6.5r is. Without this you will never know for sure.

Amazon.com

HEAT:

When it comes to heat (basking/ day time heat) we need to remember that wattage is the measurement of power consumption only, and doesn’t correlate well to intensity at a given distance. This means wattage is not a terribly important factor in bulb selection. The more watts, the more total power (heat energy) going into the enclosure, but that’s only the total, not the intensity (concentration). Intensity of IRA is what is beneficial to our animals not just the heat alone there is a difference between warmth and IRA/energy consumption.

For basking, it’s the intensity that really matters, and it’s somewhat hard to get right without specialist tools or guidance. Intensity is almost entirely related to distance from a lamp, but each lamp is different, and over the last few years some fabulous charts have been made (mostly by Thomas Griffiths) to help show various lamps’ intensity profile.

Sulcatas typically bask early in the morning or late in the evening, and so we want to replicate that intensity: 200-250 W/m² (of IR-A) on one of these charts.

The Exo Terra 100W Intense Basking Spot would be a reasonable choice in most enclosures. (See charts for why) Given your enclosure is adequately sized for these animals and is atleast an equivalent to a 36” store bought for a hatchling. We would want the bottom of its substrate to be roughly 12-14” (30-35 cm) from the tort while basking, with no dimming. If the surfaces below are getting too hot, simply try other materials (without changing the distance or dimming the lamp). This is why the measurement of out put is important! Due to the fact that every bulb spreads intensity differently a lot of people will say Arcadia is best or I only use flukers or even just get the bulbs at Home Depot they are cheap and do the same thing. However brand means little with incandescent technology, all these bulbs are manufactured to a similar standard, but the designs and beams vary enormously from one model to the next
I have charts for two Arcadia lamps (both use 100W), and neither would be useful in most set ups for sulcatas. The first is the Arcadia PAR38 halogen, which has to be used at least full 1.3 m (4 ft) from most animals, the second is the Solar Basking Floodlight, which needs to be used at much closer distances to provide a suitable intensity (please see attached charts in photos)

Now a lot of people in this group will recommend a CHE for heat please understand a CHE is only heating the air around the bulb and is in no way warming your tort through IRA. A CHE should only serve as a secondary or night time heat source never a primary. And all heating elements should always be monitored by a hand held IR thermometer and more importantly primarily monitored by an appropriate thermostat.

I will also link an extremely informative article here pertaining to heating choices: https://tomaskas.co.uk/a-worlds-first-power- density-iso-irradiance-charts/

Hope this helps! If you found this helpful please save this post and tag those new owners needing information this can really help those newbies needing guidance.

Mesh Types and Charts
Heat Charts

Here is a good visualization of why those “intense spot” bulbs are a poor choice for tortoises. They’re fine for some other reptiles, but tortoises are very unique in that they have a thick, hard dome covering most of their body that ideally needs to be evenly heated by a large heat source, like the sun. Those “spot” bulbs funnel their light into too small of an area, as displayed in some of the pictures here: https://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/baskinghealth.html
(of course these tortoises are larger than what this is probably written for, but it’s the same idea.)

You are correct about the (non halogen) flood incandescents, though. Those make good basking lights for tortoises, especially if multiple lower wattage (65 watt) lights are used to provide a larger 95-100 degree basking spot that a smaller tortoise can completely warm itself under.

I’m actually also part of that “reptile lighting” facebook group, and it’s great for most reptiles, but a lot of the heating advice there doesn’t really work for tortoises. It doesn’t account for their shells and the way they’re affected by drying out via certain heat sources. The UVB stuff is great, though.

 

[PerezG94]

Hey tom the links at the end of my post have all the charts for the UVB! Let me know what you think! As for the heat I’m always open to new data and husbandry guidelines the best charts in the links I posted were tested and metered over months at different distances take a look we’ve only done a few bulbs at this point would be excited to look at other data you’ve collected

Here is a good visualization of why those “intense spot” bulbs are a poor choice for tortoises. They’re fine for some other reptiles, but tortoises are very unique in that they have a thick, hard dome covering most of their body that ideally needs to be evenly heated by a large heat source, like the sun. Those “spot” bulbs funnel their light into too small of an area, as displayed in some of the pictures here: https://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/baskinghealth.html
(of course these tortoises are larger than what this is probably written for, but it’s the same idea.)

I’m actually also part of that “reptile lighting” facebook group, and it’s great for most reptiles, but a lot of the heating advice there doesn’t really work for tortoises. It doesn’t account for their shells and the way they’re affected by drying out via certain heat sources. The UVB stuff is great, though.

 

[kit0407]

Hey all,

I just wanted to post some info for all you to see. I am new here but constantly see posts asking for UVB and Heat recommendations in other groups. I had made this post on Facebook but thought I’d share here as well! Most of this info will be for Sulcata torts of hatchling to juvie size still living in doors in an enclosed chamber or similar. I’m going to build a mini guide here made up of information I have found from vetted sources and compiled from other reptile groups to clear a lot of confusion up for those that need it. A special thanks to members of those groups that have taken the time to test, measure, and produce this information and make it public so that we can care for our animals to the best of our ability. Please see attached charts in links at the end of this thread.

UVB:
Firstly there are so many factors that effect the UVB output in your enclosure just to name a few:
•Distance
•Mesh Type
•Bulb/Brand
•Top or Internal Placement

Without taking ALL of those factors into consideration we cannot guarantee we are meeting the specific needs to our tort friends. As we all know there is such as to little and too much UVB and it is not matter of option but scientific fact that choosing a linear bulb over atraditional bulb is the only way to go. However if you are not utilizing the bulb correctly it may as well not even be there. It also important to note that even when basing your UVB set up on the charts I am going to supply that you should still and ALWAYS be measuring your output with a solar meter 6.5 to ensure your parameters are correct. With out this meter you will never know for certain if your animal is getting what it needs. I will link the meter in the comments, it is expensive but so is life and you should be prepared to spend money on an animal you have chosen to care for simple as that.

Sulcatas land in “Ferguson Zone 3” partial or open sun baskers Zone range UVI 1.0 – 2.6 (Maximum UVI: 2.9 – 7.4 in basking zone) meaning an Arcadia 12% T5HO should be your go to linear bulb choice. Now let’s get into the fine print here. It is also not of opinion but of fact, tested fact at that, that did dent types of mesh and glass alike will filter most and sometimes all of the UVB your bulb is producing if your fixture is at on top of your enclosure. In fact most mesh screen or lids filter 30%+ of all UVB being produced and all glass to include plexi, acrylic, and common glass will filet 100% of your output rendering the fixture useless.

It is important to know A. What type of mesh you have and B. The amount that mesh is filtering. After this distance will fall into place. (Please see attached charts and pictures in the link at the end of this post)

Guide to Mesh Screens with T5-HO

Once you know what % of the UVB and light your mesh blocks, you can consult this chart to find what distance your T5-HO fixture needs to be above your reptile, to get the desired UV Index in the basking Zone.

Find the Group Letter for your mesh (Group A is "no mesh", Group B is 15% block, Group C is 25% block ... and so on)

Find the column that matches your tube brand and fixture (eg: data for an Arcadia 12% UVB T5-HO in a Vivarium Electronics fixture is always the second column along, in each coloured Group)

Find the UV Index range you want (eg. for Ferguson Zone 3, basking reptiles, such as Bearded Dragons, this will be between UVI 3-5. I've coloured the boxes orange so easy to find!) then read across to either "inches" or "cm" to see what distances that gives you.

UVB Internally Mounted: When UVB is internally mounted the output is much much easier to manage and measure. For this only distance, bulb selection and more importantly metered measurement is relative. We know based on the charts below the recommended distance for our linear bulb however we should not rely on this alone I cannot stress enough how important a measurement of intensity through a Solar Meter 6.5r is. Without this you will never know for sure.

Amazon.com

HEAT:

When it comes to heat (basking/ day time heat) we need to remember that wattage is the measurement of power consumption only, and doesn’t correlate well to intensity at a given distance. This means wattage is not a terribly important factor in bulb selection. The more watts, the more total power (heat energy) going into the enclosure, but that’s only the total, not the intensity (concentration). Intensity of IRA is what is beneficial to our animals not just the heat alone there is a difference between warmth and IRA/energy consumption.

For basking, it’s the intensity that really matters, and it’s somewhat hard to get right without specialist tools or guidance. Intensity is almost entirely related to distance from a lamp, but each lamp is different, and over the last few years some fabulous charts have been made (mostly by Thomas Griffiths) to help show various lamps’ intensity profile.

Sulcatas typically bask early in the morning or late in the evening, and so we want to replicate that intensity: 200-250 W/m² (of IR-A) on one of these charts.

The Exo Terra 100W Intense Basking Spot would be a reasonable choice in most enclosures. (See charts for why) Given your enclosure is adequately sized for these animals and is atleast an equivalent to a 36” store bought for a hatchling. We would want the bottom of its substrate to be roughly 12-14” (30-35 cm) from the tort while basking, with no dimming. If the surfaces below are getting too hot, simply try other materials (without changing the distance or dimming the lamp). This is why the measurement of out put is important! Due to the fact that every bulb spreads intensity differently a lot of people will say Arcadia is best or I only use flukers or even just get the bulbs at Home Depot they are cheap and do the same thing. However brand means little with incandescent technology, all these bulbs are manufactured to a similar standard, but the designs and beams vary enormously from one model to the next
I have charts for two Arcadia lamps (both use 100W), and neither would be useful in most set ups for sulcatas. The first is the Arcadia PAR38 halogen, which has to be used at least full 1.3 m (4 ft) from most animals, the second is the Solar Basking Floodlight, which needs to be used at much closer distances to provide a suitable intensity (please see attached charts in photos)

Now a lot of people in this group will recommend a CHE for heat please understand a CHE is only heating the air around the bulb and is in no way warming your tort through IRA. A CHE should only serve as a secondary or night time heat source never a primary. And all heating elements should always be monitored by a hand held IR thermometer and more importantly primarily monitored by an appropriate thermostat.

I will also link an extremely informative article here pertaining to heating choices: https://tomaskas.co.uk/a-worlds-first-power- density-iso-irradiance-charts/

Hope this helps! If you found this helpful please save this post and tag those new owners needing information this can really help those newbies needing guidance.

Mesh Types and Charts
Heat Charts

Thank you for your info! I tried to look through the charts in the google doc. But it seems a bit blur🙏🏻

 

[PerezG94]

Thank you for your info! I tried to look through the charts in the google doc. But it seems a bit blur🙏🏻

Thank you for your info! I tried to look through the charts in the google doc. But it seems a bit blur🙏🏻

Let me know if these turned out better I converted them to pdf had to break them up as the file was to large for the forum

 

[Tom]

Here is a good visualization of why those “intense spot” bulbs are a poor choice for tortoises. They’re fine for some other reptiles, but tortoises are very unique in that they have a thick, hard dome covering most of their body that ideally needs to be evenly heated by a large heat source, like the sun. Those “spot” bulbs funnel their light into too small of an area, as displayed in some of the pictures here: https://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/baskinghealth.html
(of course these tortoises are larger than what this is probably written for, but it’s the same idea.)

You are correct about the (non halogen) flood incandescents, though. Those make good basking lights for tortoises, especially if multiple lower wattage (65 watt) lights are used to provide a larger 95-100 degree basking spot that a smaller tortoise can completely warm itself under.

I’m actually also part of that “reptile lighting” facebook group, and it’s great for most reptiles, but a lot of the heating advice there doesn’t really work for tortoises. It doesn’t account for their shells and the way they’re affected by drying out via certain heat sources. The UVB stuff is great, though.

I have a better chart that was posted here by @venustus of Lightyourreptiles.com. Your link with thermal imaging photos showing real world info are great and all, but check out this work of pure art:

 

[TechnoCheese]

I have a better chart that was posted here by @venustus of Lightyourreptiles.com. Your link with thermal imaging photos showing real world info are great and all, but check out this work of pure art:


View attachment 367310

Ooh, nice! Good new weapon for my arsenal. The drawings definitely have character, lol.

 

[PerezG94]

I have a better chart that was posted here by @venustus of Lightyourreptiles.com. Your link with thermal imaging photos showing real world info are great and all, but check out this work of pure art:


View attachment 367310

lol that’s an awesome graphic I think the important thing to note is that although some bulbs are advertised as spot or floods they may do different things depending on brand for instance the Arcadia “flood” if placed with in ten inches has much of the same IR radiation patterns as a spot as to where the Exoterra spot of placed at higher distance mimicks the radiation patterns of a flood but is able to hold intensity the data difference between brands is astronomical! The info I posted here is for the novice to keeper to say okay I have an enclosure with ceiling height of “x” distance if I place my bulb here the intensity will be “x” amount. This is important due to ambient heat not really being all as important when compared to radiant heat. Like I said I’m all for new data and suggestions! I love a healthy trade off of information and knowledge I’m glad I found this forum!

 

[PerezG94]

Ooh, nice! Good new weapon for my arsenal.

It’s an awesome graphic! I wish mine were that in your face obvious its the science teacher in me that gets over complicated 😂

 

[TechnoCheese]

It’s an awesome graphic! I wish mine were that in your face obvious its the science teacher in me that gets over complicated 😂

Just open it up in MS paint and doodle a few smiling turtles, easy

 

[Tom]

Just open it up in MS paint and doodle a few smiling turtles, easy

I thought you guys would like that!

 

[kit0407]

Let me know if these turned out better I converted them to pdf had to break them up as the file was to large for the forum

Very clear now thank you

 

[Tom]

lol that’s an awesome graphic I think the important thing to note is that although some bulbs are advertised as spot or floods they may do different things depending on brand for instance the Arcadia “flood” if placed with in ten inches has much of the same IR radiation patterns as a spot as to where the Exoterra spot of placed at higher distance mimicks the radiation patterns of a flood but is able to hold intensity the data difference between brands is astronomical! The info I posted here is for the novice to keeper to say okay I have an enclosure with ceiling height of “x” distance if I place my bulb here the intensity will be “x” amount. This is important due to ambient heat not really being all as important when compared to radiant heat. Like I said I’m all for new data and suggestions! I love a healthy trade off of information and knowledge I’m glad I found this forum!

I find that are too many variables to give people an "x" number of inches for bulb placement recommendation. Every bulb, fixture, and enclosure is different. Even the same enclosure is different from winter to summer. There is no substitute for simply checking the temperature in your own enclosure. Approximate recommendations are a good starting point, but I tell people to lay a digital thermometer on its back at tortoise shell height directly under the bulb and let it cook there for an hour or more. Then adjust the height as needed.

 

[PerezG94]

I find that are too many variables to give people an "x" number of inches for bulb placement recommendation. Every bulb, fixture, and enclosure is different. Even the same enclosure is different from winter to summer. There is no substitute for simply checking the temperature in your own enclosure. Approximate recommendations are a good starting point, but I tell people to lay a digital thermometer on its back at tortoise shell height directly under the bulb and let it cook there for an hour or more. Then adjust the height as needed.

Correct! These shares are and were never meant as primary way of regulating temps however they drew good baseline starting point and aim to make it easier on the movie when selecting a bulb specific to their enclosures needs. The charts give a good measurement for Sistine evaded in enclosure size.