Habitat - Indoor :: I have a question about lighting

[yellow belly 9]

hello guys, i have bought a new tank for my turtle and this time i am doing everything right i got everything new for her and a nice basking area which she enjoys lol well my question here is about basking i bought her a Heating Bulb 100 watt and also a UVB Fluorescent bulb 5.0 i have the uvb on the water side and uva on the basking spot my question here is are both bulbs have 2 be located at the basking area? or am i doing it the right way


these are the products i am using:

[steve]

The heating bulb doesn't need to be that power full... many use 60-75 Watt bulbs. You can also use regular incandescent bulbs. If you want to warm the tank a night, you really don't need to do that with RES since they normally sleep underwater. Do you have a water heater?

Both bulbs need to be over basking area. she'll absorb the UVB through her skin and most bulbs don't project UVB very far. It also won't penetrate the water.

[LeonardoTheTerrapin]

It's best to have both bulbs together on one basking area, as heat is a prerequisite for the proper absorption of the UV rays. Perhaps you could locate the heat bulb slightly higher up than the UVB? Perhaps 2 or 3 inches.

The UV bulb would best be about 10 inches away for a 5.0, and note that this is the distance from the top of of the RES's shell, not the basking area.

[yellow belly 9]

The heating bulb doesn't need to be that power full... many use 60-75 Watt bulbs. You can also use regular incandescent bulbs. If you want to warm the tank a night, you really don't need to do that with RES since they normally sleep underwater. Do you have a water heater?

Both bulbs need to be over basking area. she'll absorb the UVB through her skin and most bulbs don't project UVB very far. It also won't penetrate the water.

oh ok its cause i bought a 40 gallon breeder tank off craigslist and the guy threw in the lamp with it and he told me it was 100 watt lol ima go too petco or petsmart too get one with lower wattage .. and yes i have a water heater the temperature is always around 72-76 degrees , alright got it thanks i have some shopping too do then haha

[yellow belly 9]

It's best to have both bulbs together on one basking area, as heat is a prerequisite for the proper absorption of the UV rays. Perhaps you could locate the heat bulb slightly higher up than the UVB? Perhaps 2 or 3 inches.

The UV bulb would best be about 10 inches away for a 5.0, and note that this is the distance from the top of of the RES's shell, not the basking area.

thanks i read up on some info about i think i got it so far just need 2 get the items now lol

[slider_keeper]

In the future you will want to get the 10.0 UVB Bulb. These turtles bask directly under the sun's rays with no obstructions from trees or leaves. The 5.0 bulbs are designed for thin skinned reptiles that don't bask in direct sunlight, i.e. a chameleon. A thin skinned reptile will bask using the UV rays that are reflected off surfaces or come thru trees and vegetation reducing their intensity. Aquatic turtles have thick skin and bask directly in the UV rays the sun produces. The reason for all this is thin skin is less shielded from the UV rays and allows the rays to go thru the skin easier, where as a thick skinned reptile needs more UV rays to penetrate it's thicker skin.