young hermanns tortoise basking light

by emily
(uk)

i got a young hermanns today and it lives on a tortoise table i was just wondering if i need to keep the basking light on a night?

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Jan 02, 2009
Basking Baby Tortoise
by: Shelly

Hello Emily,

You've asked a very important question.

There are two things to think about in your situation:

1. Be sure your tortoise can get away from the basking light. Any tortoise should to be able to cool off from time to time. One end of the table should be warm and the other cooler.

2. You don't want your baby tortoise to be cold, but you also don't want it to get too hot. A young tortoise will heat up faster than an older tortoise because the younger tortoise's body is smaller. An adult tortoise needs to bask for about 10 or 12 hours per day. A young tortoise needs less time than that.

The most important thing is to be sure your tortoise can cool off when it needs to. Of course you also want to be sure your tortoise gets enough heat, especially in the winter. But if your house is warm enough for humans, you shouldn't have to leave the basking light on at night.

Keep it slow and steady.

Shelly

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