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hola, a while ago i asked a bunch of question about uvb light. with everybody's help, i came to the conclusion that i need to buy a reptisun 5.0. here's the tricky part,... im poor.(internet at school) so basically, ive had the two incher about 1 to 1 1/2 months already. im still using that 10 dollar blue bulb that can possibly do damage to his eyes. well, i dont want to leave him in like north korea with no lights, so how long can i wait to buy the good bulb. he still basks though, so i'm not sure. can i wait until cristmas time? or is that too far away? and please do not tell me i need the bulb right away, i know that, i just need to "buy" some time. thanks, later...

Well, I mean since he's growing he needs to UVB for his shell. So, get the UVB light ASAP. For now, instead of using that blue bulb, is there any way you could put in a regular household bulb that gives of heat?

He'll be fine for a while without the UVB, if it has to wait until December, then that's fine. Naturally, if you can get it sooner, do so. Try to give him plenty of cuttlebone between now and then. Even though UVB light is very beneficial for calcium absorption, he'll still be able to use some from the cuttlebone.
For now you should have only a household UVA bulb for basking light, since you don't have the UVB. Any potentially damaging light source (the blue bulb) should not be used. He'd be much better off with just the UVA until you can get the UVB.

Can you take him outside periodically and let him get some sun? He can get very good UVB light from natural sunlight. If you could do it for 30 minutes at a time several times a week this would help greatly.

There are some supplements you can get to help when there's a temporary shortage of UVB light. Here's some info:

http://www.redearslider.com/supplements.html

You want something with D3 and calcium. You can moisten some pellets and roll them in the powder, then let them dry so the powder sticks. Feed a few of these powdered pellets to your turtle every day or every few days.

On the light, a similar but cheaper alternative to the reptisun 5.0 is an exo terra repti glo complact fluorescent - get a 5.0 with 26 watts. These are widely available on-line and if you shop around you can find some really good prices.

If you are feeding him a good nutritious pellet (like Mazuri or Reptomin which both have vitamin D3), he should be fine without a UVB light for a coupla months.

Another way to feed him supplements: I am a big fan of cooking some squishy food (like yams or sweet potato) and mixing the powdered supplement in with the food. Feed with your finger (since he is so small, if he nips your finger by accident, it won't hurt).

Also, shop around online for the best deal. I have saved as much as $12-$15 by shopping online.

yeah... i feed him the reptomin baby pellets, and i dont have time to go over the lettuce issue, but thanks industrial girl, ur answer was the one i was looking for. i got to hit up big al's, or whatever its called, and get a bulb soon. spots momma, he's only like 2 inches big, and i posted a topic that asked if i can leave him outside like a dog, and got what i felt was an emphatic no. so...once again, confusion surrounds me. so i dont know, what if i put him in one of those liitle blue lagoon things and go outside and chill? the turtle can bask, and i can yell at cars going too fast down the street just like grandpa.

so long as the temps not cold outside theres no reason ya can't take him out in somethin like that so long as its supervised as those lagoons dun tent to have high walls an he could possibly escape. When i take my guys outside i use large bowls or cheap high walled plastic containers.

I'd definately get rid of that blue bulb, an if i had to replace it with an ordinary house hold bulb, though there are some prety cheap uvb bulbs out there. I have one that only cost around 5.99$ that works verry well its put out by exo terra. ESU Reptile also makes some uvb bulbs that don't run to high in cost. Both these brands of bulbs can be used in anormal fixture unlight the long floressent style bulbs.

In any case Natural sunlight in my opinion is alot beter then any artifical in the long run, but its always nice to have both.

What is the temperature like where you live in Wisconsin this time of year?

It's fine to give your turtle sunlight, if it's warm enough outside, he has shade to go to if he's too hot, and he can't escape.
No, you can't leave him out like a dog, he'll get lost, especially at his size.