hi i have been reading on here about using differant heat sources i have 2 red foot tortoises they are eating ok enjoying bath they have a wander round don`t sit under heat much i was told to change bulb to a ceramic heater or a normal light bulb i am using the red heat bulb at moment which is best,any advice would be grateful.

I don't know anything about Red's but with other torts a normal spotlight would be best, as torts see light and know it is heat. A ceramic heater is generally used if you need heat during the night.

i have a ceramic in with my reds

hi dont have red's just horsfield and tunisian and i use spotlight bulbs they do the job and work for us as they are gr8 to reposition,have a ceramis light also but dont use it it was in my old viv when i got my tunisians i have now moved them into a table, im thinking of puting the ceramic into a kennel in the summer for extra heat if they need more when out side

i was just worried cause i was told they don`t like red bulbs cause they are to bright,i am not sure what to do.

i wold just use a normal white spot light bub personally but i dont know about red's as i dont keep them i have no idea of their care as i have not had to research them

cant see y a normal spotlight wouldnt work tho its providing the heat

In the world of reptiles the general cnsensus seems to be that red bulbs are used for nocturnal animals as they dont recognise this as "daytime" sunlight, that they cant really see it, so it cant be too bright. a few people will disagree with that as a small amount of research has shown that they CAN see a little of the red and also blue light spectrum.

I dont keep reds but i only use spotlamps for my africans, they require a very high and bright light source. Are reds different? i know they are tropical and live (obviosly) below the canopy so will have a naturally shadier environment. But i would imagine they still need some sort of photo period so they know when its daylight. Are they kept outside at all??

I'd (and do) use a ceramic with a night day dimmer. Reds can see red things. They have a preference for red, orange and yellow food. And they must have evolved red bits for a reason.

I think spotlights would be too bright as reds do prefer shady areas. They don't seem to bask the same as med species. I suppose that that is because where they are from, its just pretty warm all around.

How big are your redfoots and I assume you have a UV tube too.

hi yes i have a uv light,my reds are approx 3" i was considering the ceramic heater with a thermostat would it be better with a night and day thermostat? they are eating well and drinking fine they just don`t bask for long but on the whole they seem happy.

Hi I've been following this with interest. My son has a leopard. We use an infra red lamp to heat the table, and provide a basking lamp. It's attached to a thermostat so that at night he can turn it down so that his tort is still kept warm, but not as hot as during the day. Is a white light better for basking/heating, and if so what does he use at night, the tort lives in his room so he doesn't wants a bright light on at night, and we have no background heat at night. He also has a UV tube for daytime. The tort spends alot of time hiding in his shelter, would a white light attract him out?
Thanks for the advice
Tony