Hi All,
My first post here!
I've been researching Tortoise for months as we are planning on getting a Hermann soon. I want to make sure we have everything we need in advance & know what we are doing.
I'm still struggling with heating/lighting & even after thinking I had it all sussed, I'm now having second thoughts!
If anyone is able to offer the thoughts on the following options so as to help me make my final decision that would be great!
1. Combined MVB
Pros:
- Takes up less space, looks better?
- Easy to maintain
- Only one thing to replace, may work out cheaper long term?
- Photo gradient is same for both heat & light
Cons:
- Less flexibility
- As they are concentrated, if they are moved away to suit heat, parts of the enclosure may not get enough UV & ff moved to suit UV, they can be too hot.
- May be too concentrated for young tortoise.
- Cannot be controlled by thermostat. Have to move up & down.
- MVB are designed for 4-7 hours a day max
- More likely to have cold/dark areas in larger table
2. As MVB as above + Tube Heater/Thermotube for night (to ensure temperature doesn't drop below 15C over night in winter etc)
3. Separate UV (Arcada UV Flood 55cm) & Basking Bulb
Pros:
- UV & Heat can be controlled separately (position, height, temperature, light/heat period)
- Less likely to burn animal.
- More flexible – we can change our mind on basking bulb, without changing uv bulb etc
- Better coverage (less unwanted cold/shade areas)
- Heat can be stat controlled
Cons:
- Takes up more space
- More expensive
4. Separate UV (Arcada UV Flood 55cm) & Basking Bulb + Tube Heater/Thermotube for night
5. Separate UV (Arcada UV Flood 55cm) & Arcadia Deep Heat Projector IR Bulb
Pros:
- All as 3 above +
- IR heat better/more natural
- Can also use IR bulb at night as it is dark (may not need any extra heating in 2/4 above)
Cons:
- Lack of white light in basking area - maybe doesn't even matter as we have UV?
6. Seperate UV (Arcada UV Flood 55cm) & Standard Bulb & Deep Heat IR
Pros
- as per 5 above +
- Ultimate flexibility – we can use them all at once, or alternate, or use IR at night only etc.
- Have standard natural white light + the IR light – we don't have to choose between them
Cons: