Habitat - Indoor :: UVB?

[andywoo87]

I know that UVB and UVA lighting is required so i bought a flourescent tube light for my setup. My question is that if the paperwork for the light says it contains full spectrum lighting does it emit both UVB and UVA?

[steve]

I dont think so. It should specifically say that it carries UVB. Sorry if you wasted some money, maybe you can return it?

[soopermum62]

Full spectrum lighting pertains to all the colors that UVA comes in..
UVB is a totally different wave length..

The Package must read UVB.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

but in the post it reads that she bought a "florescent" light bulb. I thought UVA only came in incandescent, since it takes heat to make UVA rays. LOT's O HEAT . i didnt think UVA came in flourescent. DOSE IT?

[soopermum62]

UVA comes in both types of bulbs. BTW don't grab ahold of a fluorescent bulb after it has been on a while.. you'll get burnt. In fact, I only use a UVB bulb over Scooter's tank as his primary lighting... His other bulb is his basking heat lamp. (infrared)

[marisa]

The UVB bulbs you buy also emit UVA rays, so the fact that it's flourescent doesn't really have anything to do with it. (And heat doesn't make UVA rays.) I think Full Spectrum means all visible light, but that doesn't include UVB rays.

For one tank, I'm using a red heat lamp along with a UVB light as well.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

grabing a light bulb after it's been running sounds like something stupid my friend would do. lol he put his hand in a pot of boiling oil just to see if it was hot. i guess it was just below boiling so it looked like it was cold cuse it wasnt moving. But i mean really, putting your hand in a pot of oil isnt smart especially if the burner is on!

[da sAUCE!]

wow...your friend sounds really special.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

he isnt very smart i would say. he gets mad at me when i correct him every 10 seconds. lol too bad he isnt smarter

[mikey]

Do bathroom heat lamps have uvb? Or is uvb only available with a uvb bulb?

[marisa]

If it's the light I'm thinking of, no. It has to say somewhere that the bulb emits UVB rays--and remember these are the rays that we're supposed to be using screen with at least a 15 UV rating to protect ourselves from outside (although the UVB rays from a light are much less than those from the sun).

Conventional UVB lights (like the Reptisun 5.0) for reptiles are flourescent and don't give off much heat. That's why a heat lamp (can be a regular light bulb) should be used with them. If you bought a combination UVB/UVA mercury vapor light (T-Rex Active UV Heat lamp, Zoo-Med Powersun, for example) the bulb would give off heat, UVA and UVB rays. But this bulb is not the same as the bathroom ones that give off heat.

[mikey]

thanks for that Marisa.
I was out all afternoon checking out these lites. holy cow their $$.
What does 2.0 5.0 and 8.0 mean on the tube lites? How far away from the turts should these uv lites be?

Sorry Andy, not meaning to take over your post. I'm trying to be a sponge and soak all this new info up.

[marisa]

For regular uvb bulbs, 2.0, 5.0, 8.0, etc., is the percentage of UVB rays that the light gives off--a Reptisun 5.0, for example, gives off 5% UVB rays. You don't want to get anything with 2.0--not enough. I wouldn't go lower than the 5.0.

The mercury vapor lights, give off significantly more UVB rays. And, as you noticed, they are pricey. Buying on-line is much cheaper. Take a look at www.4littlepets.com or www.reptiledirect.com for example.

There shouldn't be any barrier between the turt and the UVB light because glass, plastic, water etc. blocks UVB rays. For conventional UVB lights, more than 12 inches away from a basking turtle and the turtle doesn't benefit. I try to have the light 6-8 inches away.

For the mercury vapor lights, follow the directions on the package for distance. They give off a LOT of heat and you don't want to cook a turt. They're also not recommended for smaller tanks.