Sulcata - lighting

Question
I have recently adopted a 14 mo. old sulcata.  I have her in a 2' X 2' wooden box, indoors.  I've had a neodymium Daylight lamp on her, and a red night heat lamp. I was told I should get a mercury vapor light. I was going to order one, but they say it's not recomended for 'small inclosures.' The more I read on Sulcata's, the more confused I get with conflicting info. But am concerned about her health & willing to do about anything it takes to keep 'Lil Baby' in top shape!

Answer
Hi Beth, I would recommend that you stick with a fluorescent tube UVB light (avoid the coiled or compact type) until your enclosure size is upgraded. Zoomed and Exo Terra are both reliable brands. Sulcatas have high UV requirements so go for the highest desert level output which I believe is a 10.0 for both these bulbs. The self ballasted mercury vapour bulbs come in 100 and 160 watts (the *self* ballasted bulbs produce heat as well as UV) but they would almost definitely overheat your enclosure. There is also a 60 Watt *external* ballasted mercury vapour bulb available (produces very little Heat) but these are also only recommended for larger enclosures. You would require a second heat source with that bulb as well.
The difficultly with square enclosures such as yours is making sure your tortoise has a suitable range of temperatures. Once you have heated one corner to a suitable basking temp. of 95 - 100F the entire enclosure can get too warm. Rectangular cages that are around 4 feet long  allow you to provide a hot spot in one end while the other end remains cooler. Those plastic storage bins sold at hardware stores make suitable, lightweight and inexpensive  enclosures for a young tortoise. Sulcatas can also be quite active and the longer bins provide some room for roaming and digging.
I hope you live in one of the southern states where keeping her outside will eventually be an option. It is really not possible to adequately house even a sub adult sulcata indoors and virtually impossible to house an adult inside.

I have linked several good care sites on sulcatas. The Sulcata station site has a top temperature range recommendation of only 85F which does (confusingly) seem quite low for an African desert species. Perhaps there was a higher basking temperatue listed that I missed??? The other sites recommend a range in the 90 to 100 F range which is what I would recommend.

http://www.anapsid.org/sulcata.html

http://www.sulcata-station.org/basics.html

http://www.chelonia.org/articles/sulcatacare.htm

http://www.monkeyfrog.com/sulcatatortoise_caresheetpage.html