General Care Discussion :: A little confused... do I need UVB *and* a UVA bulb?

[GrantH]

We just got our red ear slider last week. His name is Scully:

http://www.metroidmetal.com/images/fun/ ... rtle06.jpg

We spent a load at the pet store yesterday on a clamp light, filter, etc. But when we got home, we realized we bought a standard UVA bulb. ?? Reading on the lighting pages, we couldn't figure out if he needs BOTH bulbs or not? UVA and UVB

So, do I need to return the UVA bulb and get a UVB one? He won't have a lot of light where he is in the room, so I want to make sure he do this correctly. What am I needing exactly? He's less than 2 inches long, so what wattage do you guys think?

I've done plenty of forum searching and couldn't find a clear answer.

[flutterby]

If you didn't open the bulb you could take it back and get a UVB bulb and use a regular house hold bulb for the heat (UVA).

[GrantH]

We did open it, and are using it. It was only like $3, so I guess we could just keep it.

So, I'm still confused... we need 2 clamplights with 2 different bulbs???

[jenaero]

Some pet stores sell uva/uvb combo bulbs but they're quite expensive and not suitable for tanks under 50gal, which I'm assuming yours is.

You will need 2 light fixtures. One for the uva (regular household bulb is fine, just test the wattage you'll need...make sure it doesn't make the basking area too hot). The other for the uvb. ReptiSun 5.0 or higher is your best bet. Make sure the fixture for the uvb bulb has a ceramic base (most do anyway).

[GrantH]

Thanks! Is the UVB bulb something you leave on ALWAYS, and do the UVA during the daylight hours?

If I'm asking too much and there's a resource for this, please link me.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

You should mimic daylight and have both on for 12 hours during the day and off for 12 hours a night! If you have to wake up in the morning or don't mind waking up earlier in the mornings to turn on his light, you can do that, or they have timers you can buy to automatically turn your light on and off at certain times!

[missibsu]

It should follow a daylight schedule. I keep mine on between 8-12 hours depending on the season. Getting a timer will help you maintain times too!

The main site is great for finding pretty much anything you need to know. www.redearslider.com Also, checking the stickys at the top of eat forum section can answer a lot of questions.

[Muirner]

Personally i run 2 lights on my tank, I have a 55 gal. tank and i use a Reptisun 10.0 Self Contained ballist flourcent bulb. It screwes into a regular ceramic clamp lamp.. 10% UVB Output, 30% UVA Output. It is a 26 watt bulb but functions as 130 Watt standard incandescent light.

I also use a Daylight Spot 100watt light for their basking bulb, this will keep my basking area at 90*F. I have to adjust it with the water level so it isnt like the ronco machine where you set it and forget it. Most of the time it's good to go, but i watch the temps every day.

For my lights i use a timer, i hvae them turn on at 6am and turn off at 6pm (5 min from this post time). This helps out so much because i'm often not around to do the lighting turning on and off.

There are even surge protecters you can get at a pet store that have built in timers. But know RES's dont benifit or need a "night light".

[da sAUCE!]

I have a 75 w Exo Terra spot basking lamp for their basking spot and a UVB coil over the water, and it works pretty well, both Ed and Tyco's shells are healthy.

[Muirner]

Note there is one UVB bulb that they sell at the PetSmart and Pet Co. near me, which is a coil light. It looked good and i used it for a little bit, but when i investigated the light through the company it put out 3% UVB... That bulb cost me 22$ but they let me return it and get the ReptiSun 10.0 and i love it.