Habitat - Indoor :: I'm so confused?!?!?!

[newtoturtles]

Well,

Here is my first question:)

Background:

Had Squirt (named today) 3 days. He was not basking at all nor showed interest. He swam around fine and eat fine when the activity level in the room was low.

Water temp was (and is) 78 degrees
Basking temp was about 81 degrees using a 60 watt daylight balanced incadesent bulb. I know this is too low, that is where the trouble starts. The light was just not producing enough heat.

Last night, I bought and installed a red noctural heat lamp (75 watt)(hanging from above) in addition to a UVB light. Finally, I got the basking area to 10 degrees over the water temp of 78 degrees.

Squirt seems to be showing some interest, yah! However, I just read on the site that I shouldn't use this type of light with RES:(

The question is, what light can I use to produce sagnifigant enough heat to warm the basking area that is okay for turtles????????/

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Michael[/img]

[cam722]

You can use a regular house light bulb. Inexpensive and easy to replace. You'll just need to test which bulb (wattage) is sufficient to get the basking area to around 90 degrees.

[newtoturtles]

Thanks for the reply,

It seems like a household bulb would have to be very very big and very very bright to produce the amount of heat from the heat lamp. The light hangs about 18 inches above the basking area.

BTW, how can I post pictures. Do I need to have someone host them, then just post a link? I have never done this. Ironically, I have been a professional photographer for 17 years!

Michael

[newtoturtles]

Hey, your turtle is named squirt too! Let me guess, Nemo movie?????

Michael

[cam722]

I have a Squirt too but it was because he was the smallest of the 3 I had .. not because of Nemo

Yes, that's how you post pictures. Just host them on a site like Yahoo or photobucket and then either use the img or url tag

The household bulb can be kept closer than 18" .. I use a 60 watt in a 75 gallon tank.. in the 20 gallon I used a 40.. and both are/were about 8-10" from the basking area. Just use a themometer to check to make sure of the temp and adjust the light accordingly

Are you keeping the light on at night? or planning to? Because that's not needed. The Basking area only needs to be heated during the daylight hours.. 10-12 a day. Do you have a water heater to keep the water temp consistant?

[sonyj]

...It seems like a household bulb would have to be very very big and very very bright to produce the amount of heat from the heat lamp. The light hangs about 18 inches above the basking area. ..

This is where the trouble is... 18 inches away is too far away. It's not the bulb but the distance from the basking area. You have to position the light close enough to provide adequate heat without being close enough to be touched by the turtle or splashed with water. Just play with the distance until your thermometer reads the right temp, usually give the thermometer about 20 mins for an accurate reading. Also what type of light fixture are you using, a clamp light or a light stand. I use a stand that has the arms that bend and it's fairly easy to adjust.

Oh out of curiosity, how big is squirt? What's the rest of your set up like? To post pictures you can read the sticky found under the Photo section of the forum for a general guide, and yes you'll need a site like Photobucket, imageshack, or something like yahoo photos to put them on to link them to here. We'd love to see your little guy.

[newtoturtles]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-10/1094698/IMG_4445.JPG

I am not sure I can get the bulb much closer. I have to keep a screen on it to keep the cats away! The filter is an internal filter. I will upgrade eventually. The water is murky because I rearranged last night and it hasn't completly cleared up yet.

Any help (set up, lights, etc) will be much appreciated. Any ideas on protein skimming?

Michael

[newtoturtles]

[newtoturtles]

BTW, squirt is 3.5 inches.

Michael

[sonyj]

It would help to raise the water level. RES can swim in deeper water with them being aquatic turtles. This would solve your problem then. Many RES owners aren't sure at first how much water to put in, but soon realize the deeper the water the happier the turtle. As long as he has someplace to rest under water(ledge or plants) he'll be fine and happy with as much water as you can fill it with out him escaping. I see your basking area is homemade? It looks nice, but should be raised to have more swimming room/water. Many people have the floating dock, but others make their own and still have a semi-full tank out water. Check out pics in the photo gallery to get some ideas.

I understand about the screen and cats, but be sure that the mesh holes in the screen are larger than 1/2 inch or you are filtering out the UVB rays and it's not doing him any good.

[marisa]

Newtoturtles, there's nothing wrong with using a nocturnal red heat lamp (where did you read that?). I'm using one to provide heat along with a UVB light for a recently-hatched painted. The UVB light is on a timer for about 11 hours a day, while the red heat lamp is on 24/7. Using a regular lightbulb is cheaper, though, but it should be off at night along with the UVB light.

Some people put their lights in reflective domes directly on the screen (metal, of course) to get them close enough to the basking area. How big are the holes in the screen? Less than 1/8 of an inch is too small (too much of the UVB rays are blocked). Conventional screens will block out about 30%. If the holes are closer to 1/2", this would be much better. Just remember to check the temp with a thermometer.

[newtoturtles]

Marisa,

Thanks for the reply. I read that the nocturnal lamp was possibly harmful (because of the color of the light produced)on this site under the catagory "lighting" in the main menu.

Michael

[marisa]

Are you confusing the red heat lamps (Zoo-Med and ESU are two companies that make them) with black lights? Certain black lights can damage the eyes. The red heat lamps produce no visible light and do not interfere with the sleep cycle.

[newtoturtles]

Here is what I read and that gave me concern. Was I mistaken?

Black lights, nighttime lights and infrared lights are examples of lights that are inappropriate to use with sliders. RES might not benefit and it might even cause harm to their vision. These lights may produce unnatural colors that can be harmful and distracting.

The heat lamp I was using was a heat lamp that produced a very red glow.

Thanks,
Michael

[steve]

newtoturtles, I wrote that snippet. I will generalize certain info if I think it is safer that way. There are such a variety of products to consider and many of them are not suitable for RES. Most of the red lamps that produce heat/light are for desert reptiles, which is why I would suggest avoiding any light that might seem like a specialty light. If you want a heat lamp for day or night use, get a ceramic heater. For day time, you have regular light bulbs and mercury vapor bulbs to choose from.