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Old 24-01-2010, 02:25 PM   #1
CustardCubes
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Default Lighting/heating for Hermanns

I'm planning a new set up for my 4 y/o hermanns tortoise and I'm getting a bit confused, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

I planned to get an exo terra ceramic heater with wire clamp lamp, combined with a good UVb light. I would keep the ceramic heater on at all times (necessary due to being in a cooler part of house) and I already have the clips/unit for a UV strip, so that's not a problem.

But which would be best?

1. Ceramic heater and UV strip (which brands and wattage are best? Some places say no more than 5%, others say 10 is appropriate?)

2. Ceramic heater and compact UV bulb (is there any difference between compact and strip light?)

3. Ceramic heater and combined bulb - Or is twice the heat a waste?

Also, different sources have different opinions on the ceramic heaters. Some say 60w is enough, but some say 100 is minimum?

I'm just so confused about this whole thing, so thanks for any help!
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Old 24-01-2010, 09:21 PM   #2
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Hi, most use a combined uv/heat bulb, 120w plus a holder, suspended at one end of the table, hot end. the other end has nothing cool end.
1 Uv strips not totaly up on them, but i am thinking quite high 20%, These are used in conjunction with a basking heat bulb.
2 The ceramic heaters are usually used with a thermostat for night time, winter, set so if the temps drop, say 18c. so it would be a compact uv, plus basking heat bulb
3 Again the ceramic would be used at night on a thermostat.
If you had a combined uv/heat bulb, and your night time temps would not fall more than 15c, there's no need for extra night heat.
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Old 24-01-2010, 09:35 PM   #3
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I use a normal 60w bulb in a lamp.. as long as it reaches the correct temps your ok... for night i have a SMALL heat matt with hardboard taped over the top so tort cant touch it... i put this in his "house" where he likes to sleep :P.. o0o I also use a .5 uv strip.

edit: heat matt has to be on a stat!
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Old 24-01-2010, 09:47 PM   #4
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I've never used the uv strip lights but had thought about it and asked advice from a guy who knows about such stuff and this was the reply

Quote:
If you change to fluorescent tubes for UVB, then you are shifting to a
completely different method of providing UVB... what I call the "shade"
method, because good fluorescent tubes emit far, far less UVB than a good MV
lamp.
You may not be able to create basking zones with higher levels of UVB than
about UVI 1.5 - 2 (equivalent to about 50 - 60 uW/cm2 from an Arcadia D3+
with a 6.2 meter) with even the best tubes in reflectors (I would suggest
you consider the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 or the Arcadia D3+ Reptile 12% tube,
fitted with a reflector. The reflector is essential
.)
But now, your aim must be to light a much larger area (which must include
the basking zone) because you are aiming to supply a lower "shade" level of
UVB to each tortoise, but increase the exposure time to a much longer part
of the day. The overall daily dose of UVB may therefore be similar.

Remember, the radiation from a fluorescent tube is greatest from the middle
of the tube and tapers away to each side. If you spread the tube over two
enclosures, the zones close to the dividing partition will have the highest
UVB and the areas near the ends of the tubes may have very little UVB. You
may want to plot out the gradient using your meter.
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Old 24-01-2010, 09:53 PM   #5
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yes i should of mentioned i have a reflector... i will be upgrading to a .10 tomorrow though going by this lol
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Old 24-01-2010, 10:17 PM   #6
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Thank's for that Alan, so have you made a decision on the tubes.
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Old 24-01-2010, 10:24 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 16 shells View Post
Thank's for that Alan, so have you made a decision on the tubes.
I don't think I will be getting them, but I also don't fancy the MV bulbs that pack in, not 2 at a time anyway

ATM I'm thinking of 1 160w bulb between the 2 tables but hoping I can make the spring with the 2 I've got and see what the new 160w Arcadia might be like
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Old 24-01-2010, 10:28 PM   #8
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Hi, a ceramic heater doesn't make an ideal heat source for daytime use for a tortoise partly because it doesn't emit light. Also the heat from them will tend to disperse quickly in an open area.
Many of us are using the combined heat and light UVB bulbs and although some us complain that they can be a bit unreliable, its a convenient all-in-one solution that provides quite reasonable quality of UVB. The UVB strip lights give off relatively little UVB though a reptisun 10 is OK if you decide to go that way.
Ceramic heaters are good at night if the room is really quite cold. Some keepers who use a UVB strip just use a plain bulb for some localised heat but if your room is a cool one then this probably won't be enough.
Hope this helps a bit.
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Old 24-01-2010, 10:28 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caledonia View Post
I don't think I will be getting them, but I also don't fancy the MV bulbs that pack in, not 2 at a time anyway

ATM I'm thinking of 1 160w bulb between the 2 tables but hoping I can make the spring with the 2 I've got and see what the new 160w Arcadia might be like
With your setup of tables together, was wondering why, there was not one lamp shared, would there not be a defined hot spot, that way.
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Old 24-01-2010, 10:44 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozric Jonathan View Post
Hi, a ceramic heater doesn't make an ideal heat source for daytime use for a tortoise partly because it doesn't emit light. Also the heat from them will tend to disperse quickly in an open area.
Many of us are using the combined heat and light UVB bulbs and although some us complain that they can be a bit unreliable, its a convenient all-in-one solution that provides quite reasonable quality of UVB. The UVB strip lights give off relatively little UVB though a reptisun 10 is OK if you decide to go that way.
Ceramic heaters are good at night if the room is really quite cold. Some keepers who use a UVB strip just use a plain bulb for some localised heat but if your room is a cool one then this probably won't be enough.
Hope this helps a bit.
not a plain bulb.. needs to be a spot i would say.
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