One of the biggest ways that tortoises differ from dogs, cats, and other common pets relates to their metabolism. Unlike birds and mammals, tortoises are ectothermic (“cold-blooded”) animals. This means that instead of “burning” calories quickly enough to heat their bodies from within, tortoises depend on external heat sources to maintain a suitable body temperature.
So, to keep your pet tortoise healthy and happy, you’ll need to add a heating device – typically a heat lamp – to the enclosure.
Allow me to explain everything you need to know about setting up a heat lamp, as well as identifying a few of the best models on the market, and sharing a few alternatives below.
First Things First: You Need a Thermometer
At the outset, it is important to understand that you have to maintain the temperatures inside your tortoise’s enclosure within a relatively specific range. This means you’ll need a way to measure the temperatures – guessing won’t cut it.
In fact, it’s best to have two different types of thermometers.
One will help you measure the air temperatures inside the habitat, and the other will allow you to measure surface temperatures. Ambient temperatures (the temperature of the air inside the enclosure) are the more important temperatures to monitor, but it is important to check surface temperatures from time to time. This will help ensure that the surface temperatures directly below the heat lamp are not hot enough to burn your pet.
- These digital thermometers would work well for monitoring the ambient temperatures inside the enclosure. They’re quite affordable and are sold in a two-pack, which will allow you to place one at each end of the habitat. This is important for reasons we’ll discuss later. As a bonus, they also display the relative humidity in the enclosure.
- This infrared non-contact thermometer will work well for monitoring surface temperatures. It does require two AAA batteries, but they are included with your purchase. This particular model works best when held about 14 inches from the surface you’re trying to measure.
Thermal Gradients
It’s important to understand that you don’t want to create a uniform temperature inside your pet’s enclosure. Instead, you want to provide your tortoise with a range of temperatures. This way, he can adjust his temperature by moving through the habitat, rather than being forced to assume a body temperature that you decide.
This is called establishing a thermal gradient. The temperatures will be highest at one end of the enclosure, directly beneath the heating devices, and they’ll be lowest at the opposite end of the habitat.
Note that this can be very difficult to achieve in a small enclosure, which is one of the many reasons that large enclosures are preferred for tortoise maintenance.
Temperature Ranges for Tortoises
Different tortoise species require slightly different temperature ranges. So, you’ll need to research the specific needs of your pet.
With that said, most tortoises will thrive with a basking spot that is between 90- and 100-degrees Fahrenheit. The opposite end of the enclosure should ideally be kept in the mid-70s Fahrenheit.
At night, the temperatures can usually be allowed to fall to the low-70s, and some species (such as many desert-dwelling tortoises) can safely endure temperatures down to the mid-60s, as long as they’re allowed to warm up properly in the morning. This means that many keepers are able to simply turn off all of the heating devices at night.
If your home temperatures fall below this level, you’ll need to install some kind of heating device that does not emit light. This will help keep your pet within the proper temperature range, while not disrupting his day-night cycle.
It’s important to note that sick tortoises and hatchlings will not tolerate temperature extremes as well as healthy adults will. In these cases, it is generally advisable to keep the nighttime temperatures in the mid-70s.
Selecting a Heat Lamp Fixture
There are two key parts of a heat lamp – the fixture and the bulb used in the fixture. There are several different kinds of heat lamp fixtures you can use to maintain proper temperatures in your pet’s habitat.
Some of the best options include:
- This 10-inch heat lamp from Fluker’s is priced very affordably, comes with a built-in clamp, and features an on-off switch. And despite its affordable price tag, it features a ceramic base, which provides greater safety.
- This small heat lamp from Repti Zoo features a built-in dimmer switch. That’s probably not incredibly valuable for most tortoise species, but it’s never a bad thing to have more flexibility. However, at only 5.5 inches in diameter, this is not a suitable option for large enclosures (unless you purchase several).
- This twin-headed, gooseneck-style heat lamp from Petboda may be a good option for keepers who need to heat small enclosures. In addition to the positioning flexibility these lights provide, this model features built-in timers and control switches.
- This adjustable heat-lamp has a built-in adjustable stand, which makes it helpful for keepers using tortoise tables that don’t come with built-in light fixtures. It comes with an LED bulb, but you’ll likely have to swap that out, as LED lights don’t produce much heat.
- The Fluker’s 8.5-inch Sun Dome is likely the best-constructed and most reliable heat lamp on the market. You’ll have to pay a little more for it, and it does not feature a built-in clamp. But if you don’t mind installing some type of support mechanism, this is a great choice for most keepers.
Understand that you may need several heat lamp fixtures for large enclosures.
Selecting Heat Lamp Bulbs
Once you’ve acquired one or more heat lamp fixtures, it’s time to turn your attention to the bulbs you’ll use with them.
But before sharing some specific options, it is important that you understand that tortoises not only need the heat produced by some bulbs, but they also require exposure to full-spectrum light, containing rays in the UVA and UVB portions of the spectrum.
This is noteworthy because some bulbs produce heat and the full spectrum light your pet needs, while others only produce one or the other. If you opt for the latter style, you’ll have to include multiple light fixtures and bulbs in the habitat.
With that said, some of the best lamp bulb options include:
- Mercury Vapor Bulbs: Mercury vapor bulbs are the best option for most keepers, as they provide not only heat, but the UVA and UVB light wavelengths that your tortoise needs too. This means you don’t have to have both heat lamps and full-spectrum lights – you can satisfy all of your pet’s needs with one bulb.
- Incandescent Bulbs: Incandescent bulbs were the default choice for the decades before mercury vapor bulbs became widely available. They will work very well for maintaining temperatures in your tortoise’s enclosure, but you’ll have to provide separate full-spectrum lights to satisfy your pet’s UVA and UVB needs.
- Red Incandescent Bulbs: Red incandescent bulbs are primarily used for keeping your pet warm at night. The red light won’t disrupt your pet’s day-night cycle, but they’ll help increase the enclosure temperatures if the ambient temperatures in your home fall too low at night.
Setting Up the Heat Lamp
Once you have selected a heat lamp fixture and bulb, you can add the lamp to your pet’s habitat.
We’ve already explained the important of placing the heat lamp(s) at one end of the enclosure, but it is also important to mount or place it in a manner that is safe – you don’t want it to fall into your tortoise’s enclosure, potentially burning your pet or starting a fire. The bulb could also break, sending glass everywhere.
Heat lamp fixtures that come with built-in clamps provide the easiest way to set up a lamp. You can simply attach the clamp to the side wall of the enclosure. Alternatively, you could attach it to something suspended above the habitat.
Other heat lamp fixtures lack clamps. These types of heat lamp fixtures generally have a hook of some type, which can support the fixture from an overhead support of some kind.
Some keepers simply place the heat lamp on top of the enclosure’s screen top, but this is not a safe approach and is best avoided.
Heat Lamp Alternatives
Heat lamps are widely considered to be the best heating devices to use for your tortoise vivarium or enclosure, but they aren’t the only option. Some of the other heating devices you may consider include:
- Ceramic Heat Emitters: Designed to screw into conventional heat lamp fixtures, ceramic heat emitters do not produce visible light at all; they only produce heat (technically, they produce infrared light, but neither you nor your tortoise can see this). They are useful in the same situation that red light bulbs are – heating your pet’s habitat at night. It’s worth noting that these are often advertised as being more energy-efficient than typical light bulbs.
- Radiant Heat Panels: Radiant heat panels are flat panels that you attach to the top of your pet’s enclosure. Like ceramic heat emitters, they do not produce visible light. So, you’ll still need to include full-spectrum lights in the enclosure. Radiant heat panels should always be used in conjunction with a thermostat.
- Heat Pads or Heat Tape: While heat tape and heat pads (which are simply laminated lengths of heat tape) are useful for some reptiles, they’re not a good option for tortoise maintenance. Tortoises have evolved to bask in heat supplied from above, rather than by sitting on warm surfaces. However, they can be helpful in boosting the overall enclosure temperature if used in conjunction with heat lamps. As with radiant heat panels, heat tape and heat pads should be used in conjunction with a thermostat.
Citations
- Tortoise Trust – Understanding Reptile Lighting Systems
- Home & Roost — Do I Need a Tortoise Heat Lamp?
- SwellReptiles – Tortoise Table Lighting
