UVB Lighting *Hermann’s Tortoise*

hyj1752

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Hello everybody! My lil tort (Eastern Hermanni Tortoise) has moved into a new enclosure.

I was a gullible tort owner and believed everything that the tortoise breeder said. He recommended a vivarium, 99% humidity, and only pumpkin for food. Luckily, I have some common sense and questioned his advice with research. I did buy the vivarium before I got the tort because that is what had been suggested on Korean sites, but I have taken the glass out so one side is completely open like a tortoise table. It’s situated by a large glass window so it can ventilate all day.

I have a problem with the UVB lighting. There’s just a lot of conflicting information online, and I just want my tort to grow up happy and healthy without eye problems. I currently have a compact coil bulb that I’ve turned off (as research shows it can lead to eye damage).

Currently in Korea it is 22 degrees from 9am-3pm so I take him out for two to three hours and let him hang in my balcony garden. I would let him stay there but he is tiny, and there are birds - I unfortunately cannot fight them off all day and night (as much as I want to! I have to earn money so I can feed him lol) It also drops to 11 degrees at night, so I don’t want to keep him outside until I can sort out a proper outdoor enclosure which won’t be for a while (at least until next summer). I worry that in a month or so I can’t take him outside at all because temps will drop massively where I am at. I want to figure out UVB lighting before that happens!

Is two hours of sun time three times a week enough UVB? Should I purchase a bulb to be safe? He is very very small (5.1cm SCL) so would 50-80W mercury vapor bulb be sufficient? Are compact bulbs dangerous and be avoided completely? Please let me know.

Also a little unrelated but I am planning to plant some succulents on the left side of the enclosure. If you have any suggestions for how I can make this tort table vivarium thing more exciting/better for him, let me know. I am using loam compost 70 sand 30 and then some coco husk on top for ample digging experiences. He is a big climber and digger.

*my thumb is for reference sorry about the silliness. he is eating some weeds from my garden, the flat green is dandelion leaf*

image.jpgimage.jpg
 

method89

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The vivarium is fine. You should put the glass back. It will keep the humidity in. Which is something that you want. Read the care below. It will answer most of your questions. If you can an hour of sun a day you shouldn't need a uvb light.

 

hyj1752

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The vivarium is fine. You should put the glass back. It will keep the humidity in. Which is something that you want. Read the care below. It will answer most of your questions. If you can an hour of sun a day you shouldn't need a uvb light.

Hey thanks for replying! You actually posted this caresheet on one of my threads before haha :) It helped a lot, thank you for linking it again.

I would say that caresheet is the only time I’ve seen where an enclosed viv is stated as good - Tortoise Trust and other organizations have said it is inhumane to do so. I have been regulating the humidity at 50-60%, and it never falls below 40.

I have noticed he gets a bit crazy with the glass so I have set up a little cardboard fence that isn’t pictured to attach on when I’m not at home. Thanks again!
 

KarenSoCal

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Your humidity should be at 80% day and night...higher is fine, but never lower. And with the humidity he needs to be kept warm. Follow the care sheet for proper temps.

Two hours of direct access to sun 3x/week is plenty of UVB. But you can only do that in good weather.

Mercury vapor bulbs are not good. They run too hot, are finicky, burn out fast, and are expensive.

The compact bulbs are usually spot bulbs for basking. They are not good for tortoises because they are spot. All the light and heat is directed at that one small area, and it tends to burn the carapace where it hits it.

So what you need is 2 lights. For basking, use an incandescent flood bulb...flood, not spot. A 65watt is usually what keepers use, but if needed you can hang it higher or lower in the enclosure. Or you may need higher or lower wattage. Only your thermometer can tell you that.

For UVB you want to get a fluorescent tube type bulb. You also need the fixture to hold the bulb. Here is a link to one that several of us use. It's a package with both the fixture and the bulb included.


Your substrate could be improved too. I don't know exactly what "loam compost" is, but there shouldn't be any kind of compost. In the USA, compost can be anything, and there is no way to know that nothing in it is toxic. If your compost is made like that, I wouldn't use it.

The sand is a terrible impaction risk. There is no way to be sure he won't dig into the sand and get some in his mouth. It can also irritate the eyes and skin.

The best substrate is fine grade orchid bark (fir bark). It doesn't mold, holds water well, is good to walk on, and is diggable. If you want to mix some coco husk in you can, but it isn't needed. Another option would be cypress mulch alone, or with orchid bark on top.

I hope I've helped you. Come back with questions and we can try to give answers.
 

Tom

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Hey thanks for replying! You actually posted this caresheet on one of my threads before haha :) It helped a lot, thank you for linking it again.

I would say that caresheet is the only time I’ve seen where an enclosed viv is stated as good - Tortoise Trust and other organizations have said it is inhumane to do so. I have been regulating the humidity at 50-60%, and it never falls below 40.

I have noticed he gets a bit crazy with the glass so I have set up a little cardboard fence that isn’t pictured to attach on when I’m not at home. Thanks again!
Tortoise trust and other organizations are still promoting the old wrong info that has been followed and taught for decades. Its wrong. Its always been wrong. Only in the last 10 years or so has there been experimentation and study about what works best and why.

All the current and correct care info is explained in the care sheet.

Best substrates are orchid bark (aka: ReptiBark), or coco coir (aka: Eco Earth). A closed chamber will make temperature and humidity manintence easy. This and other Testudo species do not heed 80% humidity, but they do need it higher than ambient room humidity, and they need to have areas where they can find or make their own higher humidity microclimates. Humid hide boxes, deep damp substrates, and hiding areas help make this happen.

Read the care sheet, and when you see info that conflicts with what you've read elsewhere, ask us about it. Happy to explain further.
 

hyj1752

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Seoul
Your humidity should be at 80% day and night...higher is fine, but never lower. And with the humidity he needs to be kept warm. Follow the care sheet for proper temps.

Two hours of direct access to sun 3x/week is plenty of UVB. But you can only do that in good weather.

Mercury vapor bulbs are not good. They run too hot, are finicky, burn out fast, and are expensive.

The compact bulbs are usually spot bulbs for basking. They are not good for tortoises because they are spot. All the light and heat is directed at that one small area, and it tends to burn the carapace where it hits it.

So what you need is 2 lights. For basking, use an incandescent flood bulb...flood, not spot. A 65watt is usually what keepers use, but if needed you can hang it higher or lower in the enclosure. Or you may need higher or lower wattage. Only your thermometer can tell you that.

For UVB you want to get a fluorescent tube type bulb. You also need the fixture to hold the bulb. Here is a link to one that several of us use. It's a package with both the fixture and the bulb included.


Your substrate could be improved too. I don't know exactly what "loam compost" is, but there shouldn't be any kind of compost. In the USA, compost can be anything, and there is no way to know that nothing in it is toxic. If your compost is made like that, I wouldn't use it.

The sand is a terrible impaction risk. There is no way to be sure he won't dig into the sand and get some in his mouth. It can also irritate the eyes and skin.

The best substrate is fine grade orchid bark (fir bark). It doesn't mold, holds water well, is good to walk on, and is diggable. If you want to mix some coco husk in you can, but it isn't needed. Another option would be cypress mulch alone, or with orchid bark on top.

I hope I've helped you. Come back with questions and we can try to give answers.

Thanks for replying in such detail.

I am super upset by the fact that Tortoise Trust is wrong, because they’re pretty much
what I trusted and went off of.

What I meant by compost is it’s literally just soil. No perlites or anything - just soil.

Thanks everyone - have got a lot to do tomorrow :(
 

KarenSoCal

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What I meant by compost is it’s literally just soil. No perlites or anything - just soil.

When we buy any kind of bagged soil, it has been made by grinding up yard waste that has been collected. The manufacturer puts anything into the mix. It could be a pile of oleander and a bed of datura (both deadly to many animals, including humans). There's no way to know, so best to not use it.
 

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