What are the dangers of no uv or heat lamps for a week?

Braeden p

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We are going on vacation and I have my neighbor caring for Betty and my parents keep saying Betty needs no lights because the house temperature will be 74 and I say that is bad because Betty needs uv and heat to be healthy and when I say that they say don’t talk back so does anyone else know why else that is bad?
 

Pastel Tortie

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I agree with @ZEROPILOT. If you ever have to evacuate with your tortoise, temperatures are going to be a primary consideration, and UVB is going to be an afterthought.

Depending on the specifics of your situation, you might be able to persuade your parents to turn up the thermostat for the house itself (ambient indoor temperature) to 80F or even a little bit higher. There would likely be some energy savings attached to that.
 

Tom

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UV is not needed, but the tortoise needs to be able to warm up to operating temperatures daily. Failure to provide a basking area is likely to lead to respiratory infection.
 

Yvonne G

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Here's how you explain it to your folks: The human body manufactures it's own heat, so leaving the house at 70F degrees is fine for you. But cold blooded animals, like your tortoise, need an outside heat source to get their inner core temperature up to operating temperature, and unless they can warm up inside to at least 80F degrees, their food won't digest, so they won't eat. So if they're not going to allow you to have your heat set on a timer to be on during the day, you might as well tell you neighbor not to bother coming over to feed the tortoise.
 

Braeden p

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UV is not needed, but the tortoise needs to be able to warm up to operating temperatures daily. Failure to provide a basking area is likely to lead to respiratory infection.
How easy is it to treat a RI and how much does it cost
 

Tom

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How easy is it to treat a RI and how much does it cost
Its usually very difficult and costs hundreds of dollars. Some of them never recover and die. Sometimes the vets treat them incorrectly and kill them. Much better to just meet your tortoises basic needs and avoid sickness.
 

Braeden p

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Betty’s light
Its usually very difficult and costs hundreds of dollars. Some of them never recover and die. Sometimes the vets treat them incorrectly and kill them. Much better to just meet your tortoises basic needs and avoid sickness.
Betty’s light flashes sometimes because of over voltage so it won’t burn itself out and my iPad gets the same messages as my grandma because it is logged in to her account and my grandma read the text my friend sent that I already sent and then my dad said to turn the lights off because they flashed on and off and to turn them off so the house doesn’t burn down but I said no and that they need to stay on and my dad said “what is a vitamin D lack going to do” I said that Betty will get a RI and showed them what you wrote and my mom said “they don’t know what they are talking about” so Tom how many years did you do your own studies about tortoises?
 

Tom

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Betty’s light

Betty’s light flashes sometimes because of over voltage so it won’t burn itself out and my iPad gets the same messages as my grandma because it is logged in to her account and my grandma read the text my friend sent that I already sent and then my dad said to turn the lights off because they flashed on and off and to turn them off so the house doesn’t burn down but I said no and that they need to stay on and my dad said “what is a vitamin D lack going to do” I said that Betty will get a RI and showed them what you wrote and my mom said “they don’t know what they are talking about” so Tom how many years did you do your own studies about tortoises?
It has nothing to do with vitamin D. It has to do with ectotherm biology. Reptiles cannot generate their own heat. They rely on external sources. In the wild, the sun performed this function. They move in or out of the sun's rays and areas warmed by the sun to regulate their body temperature throughout the day. Indoors we must provide an artificial "sun". The basking bulb.

You can get a strip outlet with a surge protector for a few dollars. This will protect the bulb from any power anomalies, and keep things safer. Run your timer on the surge protector.
 

saleena.lewis

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UVB is not as important as heat but it is still important. I have all of my reptiles lights on timers which i recommend doing.
 

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