Hello.. new to site, advice required. had two horsefields for two years been doing ok, however had had few problems at first with lighting and uv.. so purchased solar glo 125w with uv.. expensive... two blown in 6 months... pain... any advice they are in a 5 ft viv but roam around when they want to come out... is there a better way to give them uv and heat... ta
Hiya
They would be far better off in a tortoise table, Vivs are only really suitable for those torts requireing more humidity , sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Horsefields like to burrow and dig down so a deep table with a good depth of substrate would be beneficial. My two have a tortosie table with a UV strip and a hanging heat lamp so they have a cool end and basking spot, they also get nekaton NSA dusted daily on their food which also provides D3.
(12-31-2011 03:18 PM)Doodle-Bug Wrote: [ -> ]Hiya
They would be far better off in a tortoise table, Vivs are only really suitable for those torts requireing more humidity , sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Horsefields like to burrow and dig down so a deep table with a good depth of substrate would be beneficial. My two have a tortosie table with a UV strip and a hanging heat lamp so they have a cool end and basking spot, they also get nekton NSA dusted daily on their food which also provides D3.
I have to agree wholeheartedly with this advice. Horsfields are a burrowing species and to deprive them of this is like depriving a horse of a field
As Rowena says, if you use a 'daily' supplement containing D3 then you are effectively doing what the lights would do. I used to use the sunglo lamps but have now changed back to uvb strips and again, if using D3 supplementation such as Nekton MSA, it removes the worry of whether the uvb is strong enough or not. I do keep using the lamps after the uvb has reduced, as tortoises are actually stimulated by high levels of light, whether containing uvb or not. I would hasten to add that I would not reply on supplements alone without the added feel good factor of bright light.
I think your tortoises would thank you much more for a change of habitat though than a change in lamps.
Hope this helps