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Ok i thought i had this down, but i've seemed to have forgotten how it works. I have two lights for my turtle, One is a Nocturnal Infared Heat Lamp by ZooMed. I had Started with the clear Basking Light by Zoo Med,but then got the Nocturnal because he needs heat 24/7 but not a bright light in his face. I also have an 8.0 tube light that is fleurescent which I turn on when i wake up and turn about 10-12 hours later. Im not sure which is UVA or UVB??? If someone could explain the differences, that would be wonderful. I've read the info on redearslider.com, about to read over it again. Thanks!! (:

I think most will agree that you need to get a water heater instead of using a Light to heat the water 24/7 and since you already have a hood (tube Light) you should look into getting a Repti Glo 5.0 bulb for that and just keep your basking light the way it is probably.

You need to provide him with a light cycle as well. That's one of the things that using a normal bulb accomplishes. The normal bulbs provide UVA (heat). You need to get a UVB bulb (Repti Glo's are fine) as well. If it doesn't say UVB on the packaging, then it isn't UVB. I'd toss the red bulb and get a water heater. What size is your tank? The temperature of any decent sized tank can't be altered by a bulb.

I agree about the water heater. Turtles usually sleep in the water so if the water is the right temperature it doesn't matter much about the air temp.

The purpose of the light bulbs is to provide heat and UVB at the basking area.
You need these two bulbs:

1. A regular household incandescent bulb for heat. Turtles are naturally attracted to heat so the purpose for this bulb is to motivate them to get up out of the cooler water and bask. Heat also aides their digestion and speeds up their immune system. A 75 watt bulb seems to be popular. (by the way, the heat is primarily from the infra red part of the spectrum rather than the ultra violet (UV) part.)

2. The other bulb is for uVB and, since UVA is on the spectrum between UVB and visible light, it will also provide the UVA. UVB is essential for turtles' absorption of calcium. It causes their bodies to produce vitamin D, without which the calcium they eat will go to waste, and they will get soft shell and bones and eventually die. To provide meaningful UVB this bulb must be fluorescent, it's packaging must say it provides UVB, and the amount of UVB should be at least 5.0% but less than 10.0%. The repti glo (made by Hagen exo terra) UNTSMURF mentioned is good - just be sure and get the 5.0 26 watt one. Lower than 5.0 is not effective and the 10.0 will probably be too strong. UVA light is also necessary for turtles' well being. Since the bulbs that provide UVA/UVB are fluorescent, they are cool, hence the need for a separate bulb to provide heat.

I already have a water heater. I understand temp, but not the differences between the lights. I have a water heater, I have a heat lamp for his basking, and also the tube light. I turn the tube light on during the day and off at night, keep his red heat lamp on at all times, so he may bask, and his water heater is on 24/7 also. I just couldn't remember which light was which. As far as I understand it the tube light is for UVB, which gives him calcium. The red heat lamp is UVA?

just so you don't have to wonder again, our red light is uva...our tube is uvb. :p

love ya.

I would take the red heat lamp out your RES doesnt need it.

the only reason I would use a red heat lamp is for at night if the turtle is sick and is sleeping on the basking dock.
Other than that it's kind of pointless, and it's better to just use a regular household lightbulb for basking heat since it provides a day/night cycle and all.

but would the red bulb not provide better lighting for the "night" cycle portion of his day than the extremely bright nornal household bulb? he seems to sleep more with the red bulb as opposed to the regular household bulb.

also, the turtle seems to switch between napping on the dock and beneath his dock.

Turtles sleep in the dark and don't need light. The red heat light is basically to provide warmth without disturbing the sleep cycle, using one won't improve it.

If the water is being heated and he's on the dock at night and it's cool, he should slip back into the water where it's warmer. You could also cover the tank at night to help keep the warmth rising from the heated water so the ambient air in the tank is warmer.

marisa wrote:Turtles sleep in the dark and don't need light. The red heat light is basically to provide warmth without disturbing the sleep cycle, using one won't improve it.

If the water is being heated and he's on the dock at night and it's cool, he should slip back into the water where it's warmer. You could also cover the tank at night to help keep the warmth rising from the heated water so the ambient air in the tank is warmer.

it's not a matter of warmth at this point. we know his tank is fine with the temperatures. the initial topic was covering the types of lights but apparently some member's misunderstood the topic completely with how the water should be heated.

to remain on the current point, is the red light satisfactory for him? he seems to be a lot happier with the red heat bulb as opposed to the white heat bulb we had previously for him. it's not about providing him light when it should be dark because i know he prefers the dark as opposed to the light, it's really about whether or not the red heat bulb is the correct choice for the tank.

so, can someone answer simply...is the red heat bulb good for him? if not, can someone actually explain as to why it isn't so we know and aren't just following directions without knowing the reason behind it?

Do you mean can you use a red heat bulb for heat along with a UVB light as opposed to a regular light bulb for heat and a UVB light? If so, then yes, I've done that to save on the number of lights I had to use. If the UVB light gives off a pinkish/bluish hue, though, then I'd use a regular light bulb during the day to balance off the UVB light's color.

Okay, I think I need to clarify...

The bulb we have now is a ZooMed Nocturnal Infrared Heat Lamp. It's a red light, and it makes the tank basically a red color at night. The turtle seems to prefer this, but I'm not sure if it provides the UVA he needs.

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/Entry ... SearchID=1

The light we were using before provides UVA for sure as it states it on the website. He didn't seem to prefer this light because he never seemed to sleep with it on. It was also just way bright for the area it was in and sucked for us to sleep next to. It's extremely bright, just like a normal ceiling light.

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/Entry ... SearchID=1

All I know is that he has been more active since we put the red bulb in over his basking area as opposed to the white bulb we had previously. I basically want to know if the infrared heat lamp is good for him and if it provides UVA.

I already have a UVB tube light, it's an 8.0. I should also let you guys know both heat lamps we have are 75w.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: One more question...do we leave the UVA on at night as well? Or are we supposed to turn that off when we turn the UVB off, as well? I've noticed he enjoys occasionally basking in the red heat lamp at night.

The red light is fine to use as a heat light, and since RES can't see infrared, it would be fine to leave on during night hours. I don't know if is produces any UVA, but I do know your UVB bulb produces UVA, so your fine!!!

N4784N R4613 wrote:The red light is fine to use as a heat light, and since RES can't see infrared, it would be fine to leave on during night hours. I don't know if is produces any UVA, but I do know your UVB bulb produces UVA, so your fine!!!

Cool, 'cuz he really does seem to enjoy the extra heat on the rock during the night. I've woken up to him just sleeping on the rock before.