How important are hiding places really??? Discussion.....

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Posted by Toby on June 29, 2002 at 18:53:38:

As I sit here at my computer and watch my hatchling Egyptian Tortoises something has occurred to me. I love the Active UV bulbs and swear by them (T-Rex) but I'm not too sure that my torts take full advantage of this great bulb. They are in their hiding places MOST of the day and not out basking in the important UVB rays offered by my 10 hour light cycle.
So my question is why use hiding places at all? The torts cannot be getting much of anything from the bulb if they are hiding all day! The bulbs are expensive and probably over the life of them, expensive to run also. So what if I get rid of the hiding places? One might say "They need to thermoregulate". Your right, but they can just mosy on over to the other side of the cage where it isn't as hot. One might also say "They feel secure in hiding places" Your right, but does this contribute to their overall health and growth? I don't know the answer to this.
I know this is long, but are hiding places really necessary? I just hate sitting here and watching this bulb burn bright and knowing that although the torts are enjoying the ambient heat they generate, they are not taking full advantage of what is equally and maybe more important, the UVB that I paid $50 bucks to get. I could buy a $7.00 heat bulb and they would still enjoy the heat. It's almost as if you need a motion detector to turn the Active UV bulb on when they stepo out of their hiding places.

I would appreciate all of your thoughts on this. This is just for discussion.

Follow Ups:

Re: How important are hiding places really??? Discussion..... Melodie 07/02/02 (0)
I was thinking... Lacy 06/30/02 (0)
Re: How important are hiding places really??? Discussion..... GS 06/29/02 (0)
Re: How important are hiding places really??? Discussion..... Frank 06/29/02 (1)
- Re: How important are hiding places really??? Discussion..... DaviDC. 06/29/02 (0)

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: As I sit here at my computer and watch my hatchling Egyptian Tortoises something has occurred to me. I love the Active UV bulbs and swear by them (T-Rex) but I'm not too sure that my torts take full advantage of this great bulb. They are in their hiding places MOST of the day and not out basking in the important UVB rays offered by my 10 hour light cycle. : So my question is why use hiding places at all? The torts cannot be getting much of anything from the bulb if they are hiding all day! The bulbs are expensive and probably over the life of them, expensive to run also. So what if I get rid of the hiding places? One might say "They need to thermoregulate". Your right, but they can just mosy on over to the other side of the cage where it isn't as hot. One might also say "They feel secure in hiding places" Your right, but does this contribute to their overall health and growth? I don't know the answer to this. : I know this is long, but are hiding places really necessary? I just hate sitting here and watching this bulb burn bright and knowing that although the torts are enjoying the ambient heat they generate, they are not taking full advantage of what is equally and maybe more important, the UVB that I paid $50 bucks to get. I could buy a $7.00 heat bulb and they would still enjoy the heat. It's almost as if you need a motion detector to turn the Active UV bulb on when they stepo out of their hiding places. : I would appreciate all of your thoughts on this. This is just for discussion.

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