Hi Please can i get advice, I have recently bought a d3 arcadia basking lamp 100w which is heat, light and uv all in one, Do i just turn this on in the day? what do i use at night i have taken the heat mat out as advised. I got my tort from a breeder and she told me to use the mat!

Hi im sure you will get infor you need but i to was told to use heat mat have trown the thing out and i use d3 bulb for about 10-14 hrs a day depending on how active Riversong is but we have separate uvb tube which is left on all the time hope this helps im pretty new to the torty world but its nice to knowthere are some helpful peeps on here xxxx

Hi thanks for advice, what sort of uv do you use at night i have been looking so confusing!

Hi Tracey and Welcome
A bit scary isn't it when you get your first little one, but the most important thing is to get the right information first time giving you a good start. I always say to people to think of what it is like for the tort in the wild and try to replicate it as much as possible. Glad you have thrown the heat mat out, the reason it is a No No is that it can cause acceleration growth and ferment the food inside the tort. The combined heat/light lamps are so easy to use, a wise choice, if you want to experiment with different lights later on then you can but at the moment concentrate on getting the basic needs set up and then go from there. Torts don't have any heat/light at night,that would not happen if they were in their own habitat, the only time I would suggest that is if the temps tht you have Mrs Brown would drop below 10c, as that is when the torts will start to close down and think is hibernation time.
What type of set up have you got for Mrs Brown?
Jane

Hi Jane thanks for advice my tortoise is called rhodita not mrs brown! I have a tort table with 50 50 compost and sand mix she has a bath daily and fed on mostly weeds that i got of a site recommended of here and now grow my own. Thankyou

Ha Ha sorry that is Debi's tortoise Mrs Brown, it was early this morning that I replied
Sounds like you have a lucky tort with all the right set-up in place.
 Please ask if you think of anything else you would like to know or share with us all,
Jane

we have been getting temps of around 4c to -6 degress at night i have left her basking lamp on longer than normal as have noticed Riversong will go back to bed but the smell of fresh weeds and flowers keeps her going neve seen her so spritly lol, Jane thank you for all your previous help you are a star xxx