Habitat - Indoor :: Heating and Lighting Questions

[blaydes]

I have been keeping my turtle in a "death bowel" for a while and I am going to purchase the necessary tomorrow at petsmart.Right now I am on petsmart.com making a list of the supplies I will need to buy. They have so many heating and lighting sources,and I am so confused!

[staman]

Can you provide some specifics about what you plan to buy regading the tank size, volume etc.. This would help a lot in making some intelligent suggestions.. Basically turtles need two types of light:UVA and UVB. Most aquarium or reptile florescents have UVA. For instance, I have a 75 gallon 48" tank so I have two 48" UVA 33% bulbs over the whole tank. In addition I have one 24" 8% UVB (Reptisun) bulb over the basking area. Thats pretty much the ideal setup. Turts also need a heat source but most people simply use a household incandescent bulb in a fixture for that.
My advice, if you want to save $$$, is go to home depot buy a double bulb florescent ballast the length of the tank your gonna buy, and then buy two florescents. One with UVA and one with UVB.

[blaydes]

I am planning on purchasing a 20 gallon tank, my turtle is only about 1.5 or 2 inches

[staman]

You probably have 2 options..

1. Buy a 24" florescent fixture with ballast. Put 1 regular day glo and 1 UVA bulb in it. Buy a UVB/heat lamp for the basking area.

2.With ballast above put 1 UVA and 1 UVB bulb in it. Use a household lamp for the heat source.

[blaydes]

Thank You for all the help!

[steve]

You can also get a couple of domed clamp lamps. Both the UVA and the UVB should be directed over the basking area. Your turt is still in a fast growing stage and will outgrow that 20 gallon tank too. You may want to consider a plastic storage container until you can determine your turtle's gender. A adult male may need a 90 gallon tank and a female may need a 110 gallon tank.