General Care Discussion :: heater

[buddytheturtle]

What kind of heater is good for res? I think my turtle's water is too cold as the room temp is only 65 degrees.... I'm going to buy a thermometer and heater and would like some suggestions please... I have a petco near me or can order online from a different place

This is the only heater I found so far, but it has pretty bad reviews: http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx? ... wedproduct


Thanks!

Oh, and right now I'm using a 50 Watt UV light during the day and a 60 watt at night... The one at night is red and I've been told that having a night light isn't the best idea for turtles as they need a light and dark cycle...

[Love of Animals]

Hi Buddy,

Need to know your tank size and the amount of water in it. heaters generally go by watts. For instants I have a 200 watt heater in my 55 gallon filled with 40 gallons of water. When you say 50 watt UV, is that a UVB? Unless you have a mercury vapor bulb which emits heat and uva/uvb rays you'll need 2 lights one for heat and one for uvb. I use a plain 100 watt light bulb for heat and a separate light fixture for the uvb bulb. I can't remember the brand uvb I have right now. The light for uvb has to specifically say uvb, not full spectrum or uva. Hopefully someone else will come along to tell you what brand name uvb bulbs. Rather long winded but I hope it helped. Also, the nighttime red bulb shouldn't hurt but it probably won't be needed when you get your heater. Most RES sleep in the water.

[buddytheturtle]

I use repti basking spot lamp.. 50W ... UVA rays... The tank is 10 gallon and probably has about 2 gallons of water....

[kmichael55]

Your heater should be 3-5 watts per gallon of water. I would definite recommend adding water to the tank. You should fill the tank as much as possible, I don't know of a heater that can safely heat only 2 gallons in a 10 gallon tank. Most have water fill lines, so be careful to pay attention to this as it can be very dangerous (shocking or explosive) if the water doesn't reach the minimum fill line.

You can use a regular incandescent bulb for heat but you are going to need a UVB bulb as well. ReptiGlo UVB bulbs (will say 2.0, 5.0, etc. are pretty cheap and easy to find at the store. Both need to be pointed at the basking area. What's the rest of your set up like?
Once you get that thermometer, make sure the heat light is the appropriate distance away from the dock to provide a temp of around 85-90 deg, about 10 degrees warmer than your tank water should be. I use a temperature strip on the tank which I check with a floating glass thermometer from time to time. (I don't trust the liquid crystal strip but I also don't trust the turtles not to bite the glass thermometer)