Habitat - Indoor :: Lighting

[megcornell]

I'm a bit confused about the lighting needed for a RES. I have a baby RES (about 1.25 inches long) and he's in a 10gal tank. The pet store i bought the tank and other supplies from confused me more than helped me and most of the light set ups i saw on this site were for much bigger tanks, so before i bought his lighting i wanted to check... so for a 10gal tank would a UVB light be sufficient with a heat source (one of those large metal clamp lamps)? and, due to the size of my tank is 40W sufficient as suggested or should I do 60W? And what is an appropriate lamp to hold the UVB light? thanks everyone!

[fishandcandy]

A UVB light does not produce heat. Since it doesn't make heat, you can put it in any lamp - a clip on desk lamp, for example.
For heat you can use a regular light bulb. Try different wattages to find one that makes the right temp. I have either a 40 or a 60 on my 10 gallon, I think.
They make heat producing UVB lights, but those would be too hot for a 10 gallon.

[steve]

A fluorescent UVB light gives off very little heat... it is insufficient for basking. If you get a "compact fluorescent light", they use normal light sockets, so nearly any lamp can hold them. They look similar to those energy efficient bulbs. Look for one with 5-10% UVB output.

For basking, many people use a normal household light bulb. Wattage shouldn't matter as long as the light is a safe distance from the basking area (RES like to splash water) and can raise the basking temperatures to around 90-95 degrees. For the lamp, a ceramic base is usually recommended.