General Care Discussion :: He doesn't like the UVB light

[drummer queen]

My RES had a regular light for 6 months and I recently got him a UVB light but he doesn't seem to like it. He doesn't sit under the light much and seems to hide more. Other than that, he's ok, he eats and all that.

I don't know what the problem is. He used to sit under the regular light a lot.
Any ideas?

[jenaero]

It's probably a bit brighter than what he's used to. Give him another week or so to adjust. Make sure the basking spot isn't too hot/cool

[mkoby]

What type of uvb is it? If it's not a mvb, do you have a light for heat?

[SpotsMama]

What brand of bulb is it? Is it a compact flourescent?

[drummer queen]

Yeah, I thought the light might be too bright. And I don't have a heat lamp. The regular light used to give off quite a bit of heat and the turtle probably liked it.

I guess I'll have to get a separate light for the heat (I don't think I can get one of those heat lamps because the aquarium I have right now is only 10 gallons, so the heat lamp will be too hot, right?).

Thanks for the help!

[drummer queen]

I'm not sure what brand the bulb is (I'm not at home now). It's very bright though.

[SpotsMama]

You're right on target. If your tank's too small for an MVB, then you have to have two bulbs - an incandescent for heat and a flourescent for UVB.

You'll have to experiment some with the incandescent (which is just a regular household bulb) to find the right distance from the basking spot so that it warms the spot enough to induce basking but isn't too hot.

There are two types of flourescent UVB bulbs - a tube and a compact. Some people have reported in the past that their turtles' eyes were irritated by a compact flourescent. I think part of the problem may have been that the bulbs were in highly reflective fixtures.

If you are using a compact flourescent and it's in a highly reflective fixture (shiny on the inside), then you'll have to watch the distance from the basking spot to make sure the light isn't so intense it's irritating the turtle's eyes.

[marisa]

Try to position the lights so that the lighting is "blended" to tone down the brightness of the UVB light.