I have a pet tortoise in her house there is a heat lamp (spot lamp) and a uv light?

Question

this is on for 13 hours a day and my mum is saying that our elecrtic bill is sky high because of it ,would these two lights cause such a big increase in our bill?

Answer 1

These two things along can really suck up the energy costs, especially if they are high wattage devices.

Some ways you can reduce the energy bills are:
- Cut back on UVB to 6-8 hours a day
- Use a compact flourescent UVB bulb
- Use a smaller wattage ceramic heating element hooked up to a thermostat.
- Try using low-wattage heating such as heating cables or tapes
- Use a couple compact flourescent bulbs for lighting
- Insulate at least part of the habitat- maybe even cover part of it to trap heat better. Plain cardboard makes a good, if unattractive insulator to try this out with.

Answer 2

I don't think so. But then again, "sky high" is kind of objective. I'll give you an idea of how much it costs here; I have 24 snakes that all have flexwatt heat tape, rheostats, timers connected to lighting systems and space heaters to maintain ambient temperatures. My Savannah Monitor has a temperature controlled area with a space heater and a heat strip. And the Beardie has her own basking light and UVB lights for day and night. We also have 5 large vivariums for the burms and boas that have heat strips, basking areas and habimists.
In the worst part of winter here, the temperature outside was maintaining a miserable 19 degrees. With the exception of the breeders, my reptiles never got under 78 degrees.
With all that juice, my power bill is about $60 more than it was before the reptiles got here.
So, no, I really don't think that 2 little lights are going to make much more than a couple dollar difference in your electric bill.

Tanith

Answer 3

my friend looked after my tortoise for a week when i was on holiday and it raised her electricity bill by £5.

Answer 4

how many watts are you using? they should not be using to much power