What type of light for Russian tortoise.

[vcarol222]

My light just went out for my enclosure, I received this light along with the tortoise so not sure of what type is best to repurchase and didn't want to ask the pet store personal

 

[TechnoCheese]

My light just went out for my enclosure, I received this light along with the tortoise so not sure of what type is best to repurchase and didn't want to ask the pet store personal View attachment 238833

Don’t get a spot lamp or a colored lamp. Get one that looks like a normal bulb, or a flood light. You can even use incandescent flood bulbs from a hardware store

 

[Tom]

My light just went out for my enclosure, I received this light along with the tortoise so not sure of what type is best to repurchase and didn't want to ask the pet store personal

Good call not asking the pet store people! That would likely have ended badly for your tortoise…

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a Testudo species.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. This one is optional.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height.

So depending on your situation, you might only need #1 from this list.

 

[vcarol222]

Good call not asking the pet store people! That would likely have ended badly for your tortoise…

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a Testudo species.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. This one is optional.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height.

So depending on your situation, you might only need #1 from this list.

Thank you! I'm almost done building his outdoor enclosure, but with weather permitting he gets outside for 3 hours a day.