General Care Discussion :: How close to the lights?

[Meta]

How close exactly can the turtle be to the uvb and heat light? I just put in a piece of cork bark instead of my turtle dock, and it is using it, but its a little higher than the other one, so shes closer to the light. Prolly 5-6 inches away with egg crate between the turtle and lights. Eyes remain open fully, which makes me think of another question, how do can they keep their eyes open like that! its like staring at the sun.

[marisa]

The heat source should warm the basking area to 88-90F, so it should be at a distance which would put the temp in this range.

What kind and what strength is the UVB light you're using? Is it in a fixture with an aluminum reflector?

[Meta]

its a 10.0 reptisun 18 inch bulb, in a fixture that holds the uvb and up to 2 lightbulbs for heat. dunno if its aluminum, maybe if its common. the uvb prolly lost some strength since its old. im getting a new one soon, shbould i maybe get a 5.0 instead of 10 if its 6 inches or so away.

[marisa]

I've used an 18-inch Reptisun 10.0 in a fixture with a white backing and had it about 9 inches from the basking turtle.

I'm currently using an 18-inch Reptisun 5.0 tube, and it's about 7 inches from the turtle. For the 5.0, 6 - 8 inches is fine. An aluminum backing (it would be shiny) on the fixture would intensify the rays, especially when the bulb is new.