Habitat - Indoor :: Help I bought my turtles on the side of the road!! Need info

[twotinyturtles]

I bought two tiny turtles on the side of the road, not so smart I am afraid. They are about two inches a piece, I have a 20 gallon tank. I have a basking spot and did have a Zoo Med Basking Spot Lamp 50w over the spot. Then Petsmart informed me they needed both uvb and uva so I bought a Super UV Coil Lamp 20w but it does not seem to be producing heat. The tiny two are no longer basking. Should I buy another clamp lamp and provide both lights?
Also if I follow the rule for Turtles when these little babies are lets say 6 inches long, do I need a 60 gallon tank??

[steve]

UVB bulbs in the form of compact florescent lamps give off very little heat. They also use very little electricity but it will need to be replaced within 6 months, regardless of what the package says. What is the percentage of UVB output? 5-10% is required, and try to position it right over the basking area so the turts can get the maximum benefit.

They will not bask if there is no heat for them to warm up and dry off. 90-95 F is a good temp range and you need both lights or a combo uvb heat bulb, but those are too powerful for a small tank. A regular lightbulb is ok, just make sure it cannot get wet and splashed on or you will have a big dangerous mess.

Turtles will grow despite their tank size, unless it is sick or it's genes make it that way. Your babies will be around 8-12 inches long.. you're looking at a 200 gallon tank in the future

[marisa]

You have the ESU coil light that produces 3% UVB?

You can use a regular light bulb for the heat. Try to position both of the over the basking area, and have the coil light no more than 8 inches from your basking turtle. The basking area temp should be 88-90F, water temp about 10 degrees cooler to give them an incentive to bask.

[twotinyturtles]

200 gallon tank, do they make tanks that large? I do not think I saw anything that large at Petsmart. I am not even sure how big that is, I cannot picture it. OK so I need two lights, so that means two clamp lamps. My coil lamp does not have a break down for the uvb and uva. So I am not sure but I do know that it does not emit heat. It stays cool to the touch, not like the basking spot lamp. Thanks guys

[marisa]

Your coil lamp, if it's the one above, gives off 3% UVB and I think 15 -17% UVA. The UVB output is the least that is acceptable for a turt and needs to be fairly close to him while basking for him to benefit (6-8 inches). Flourescents don't give off much heat, not enough for basking , anyway.

A 200-gallon is a big tank--I haven't seen one that size in the Petsmart or Petco near me.

[bradhart]

for tanks that size, you're prolly going to have to go to an outlet store like Big Al's. Although, a mom&pop store near me has tanks that big... really cheap too