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hello everyone! i have a question regarding the lighting thing, i've searched quite a few topics but can't seem to find a definite answer to this. as i understand it i need a uva for heat and light and a uvb for imitation of the sun's ray. the uva i can just use any regular ole' incandescent light (whats the minimum watts?) but for the uvb i need them special bulbs. instead of having multiple lighting fixtures on my turtle habitat can't i use those full spectrum bulbs? would they provide enough heat and uvb for the turtle? the turtle is going to be small and if the full spectrum is good enough temporarily for a turtle that small then thats fine too... if the full spectrum bulb is a good way to go what should i look for in one? any help would be greatly appreciated thankyou!

I use Powersun and TRex Active UV Heat Bulb. They both provide uva & uvb but they cost quite a bit more. I get them from petsmart.com. Not sure of how much uvb they actually produce...the box/instructions don't say.

The bulbs you are looking for are usually in the $50 or so range.

so would it be better to get the expensive one or get a seperate uvb bulb that fits into a lamp thing?

how's something like this? http://bigalsonline.com/catalog/product ... ry_id=4091

That's a uva uvb bulb, but no heat. I have that bulb and I am not having issues, but the turtle will still need a heat bulb.

The expensive bulbs that are being talked about (mercury vapor bulbs) are not for tanks smaller than 50 gallons so just keep that in mind. If your tank is smaller than 50 gallons, getting a UVB bulb (7-10%) and a heat bulb (can use a regular household bulb) will be the best route.

Also, in your first post, you asked about full spectrum bulbs. When a bulb says full spectrum, it doesn't guarantee that it includes the adequate amount of UVB that your RES needs. Make sure the UVB bulb you get says the percentage on the packaging.

okay then its settled, i'll get one of em flood lamp thingy and stick the uvb bulb i showed you guys in the link in there, and get another flood lamp thingy and stick an incandescent bulb in there... so i'll have two flood lamp thingers. any suggestions on minimum wattage for the incandescent bulb? also when i go to buy the turtle is there anything i should look for? thanks for everyone's reply so far!

It really depends on the heat temp in your house and how far away the bulb is from the basking spot. I use a 75 watt to bring the temp apx 10 degrees higher than the water temp.

You don't have to buy *reptile* fixtures though. I got a very cool metal clip lamp at walmart for $8 for the reptisun, that doesn't get hot and then I got a smaller 5" head with a ceramic socket and day heat bulb for $10. You can check around for prices...ebay is good as well.

For the heat lamp/lightbulb, use whatever wattage will get the basking area 88-90F. Check the basking area temp with a thermometer (put it on the place your turtle would bask and leave it there for about 20 min.) If it's too cool, either adjust the distance the light is from the basking area or up the wattage a bit. I'd have the Reptisun 10.0 about 8-10 inches from the basking turtle.