Urgent Care :: swollen/puffy eye (pic included)

[airgetsthinner]

is uva the same as uvb, it seems every bulb i pick up says uva and i havent seen one that says uvb..

[Kallistos]

No problem, google truly is a beautiful thing!

UVA and UVB are completely different. You're not going to find a bulb that emits significant amounts of UVB at a hardware store or DIY store. They can only be found at pet stores and online at places like petsmart.com or drsfosterandsmith.com

There's a lot of posts on this topic, just search and you'll recieve a better understanding on the topic.

[SpotsMama]

UVA and UVB are not the same. Turtles need both to mimic what they get from sunlight. A bulb that emits UVB has a special coating on it that produces the UVB. If the package doesn't specifically say that it emits UVB and how much then it doesn't emit anything of use to you. Those incandescent bulbs that are marketed as "full spectrum" are not adequate for UVB.

The only types of bulbs that will emit UVB are flourescents that have been treated and mercury vapor bulbs (MVBs). The MVBs are too powerful to be used with smaller tanks - they are only safe with tanks 55 gallons and up.

Most people with smaller or medium sized tanks use treated flourescent bulbs. A popular and good brand is Reptisun which makes a 5.0 and 10.0 tube flourescent (the numbers refer to the percent UVB produced). They are very common in pet stores. They aren't cheap.

If you didn't know, you should expect to need to replace your UVB bulb after about 6 months, even if it still burns. The coating that produces the UVB rays wears off or something over about a 6 month time span.

On a side note - Reptisun also makes a compact flourescent in addition to the tube flourescents. I wouldn't use the compact bulb because some people have reported problems with their turtles' eyes after they've been exposed to the Reptisun compact flourescents.

[marisa]

If you do chose to use a compact flourescent, and you notice that the light isn't that bright and is giving off a pinkish/violet light, try to have the bulb giving out the heat be one that gives off "natural" light (could be a broad spectrum light, but doesn't necessarily have to be) to counteract the pinkish/violet hue. It would be easier on your turtle's eyes.