best light source for tort...

[chuck911jeep]

Hi everybody!
Can somebody tell me wich compagny do the best UV light source for tortoise? Bulb or neon? I'm also looking to build an enclosure for 2.3 russians tortoise. Any suggestion about the size and substrate and all... Thank's. I'm a newby in tort world

[Bartman]

I keep one russian in a 4x1.8x1.8 and someone told me thats good for its whole life so id say for 5 it would have to pretty pretty massive...probably around 10x5x5, but I could be very wrong get a second opinion maybe...

[johnnym1972]

Hello, the best light source that is available for Russian Tortoises is the 160 watt Zoo Med Powersun UV bulb. They are self ballasted mercury vapour bulbs that project more than 5 times the UVA/UVB of the very best flourescent tubes that are available on the market. If you contact Rob @ Canadian Feeders, he can sell you the bulb and ship it to you a.s.a.p. I use these bulbs for both of my groups of Russian Tortoises, as well as for all of my Indian Star's, Sri Lankan Star's, Marginated's, Hermann's, Red Foot's, Sulcata's, Desert Ornate Box Turtles, Western Ornate Box Turtles, and Eastern Box Turtles. Rob is having a big sale on the bulbs right now, so you should contact him a.s.a.p. As far as an enclosure for your Tortoises, a 4 foot by 4 foot Tortoise table would be the minimum that I would recommend for a breeding group. Of course bigger is better, so if you can make it bigger, go for it. But if you can't, that size will be more than adequate. I hope that this helps you, but if you need any more information please do not hesitate to contact me via PM or email.
Take care, Johnny.