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Hi all,

I recently set up a fluorescent light for my turtles' basking site. However, I'm concerned about the brightness of the light. I figure that if people shouldn't be staring at the sun for extended periods of time, then the same goes true for turtles. I'm concerned that since my turtles like to orient themselves towards the light, they will have retina damage or other types of eye damage after prolonged exposure to such a bright light source. Thoughts?

Frank

I can't say for all the other turtles out there, but mine situates herself with her head away from the light (does that make sense?). She roams around for the perfect spot in her basking area and directs her shell under the light. Just make sure that the light is on for 10 hours and the temperature is 10F above the water temperature.

well, just my thoughts on this subject...... In the wild turtles will bask under BOB (Big Orange Ball)! I have observed basking behaviors of sliders and found out during these observations that sliders will position themselves in different ways during basking. I figure (not 100% sure), just my guess that they are moving around to absorb UV rays from different angles and different intensities. Second I believe it is apart of thermoregulating while basking but again this is all my own thoughts. The point is, turtles will position themselves as needed while basking. I'm unaware of any lights that hurt a turtles eyes without the turtle moving away from the light source. Also the fact that there is no current light that can make the amount of lux the Sun produces on the earths surface. If your turtle is not moving away from the source or is not exhibiting any sign of eye irratations, you should be good to go. Make sure the light is at the right distance from the basking plateform and you shouldn't have a issue.

As slider_keeper mentioned, make sure the light is at a proper distance. Some guys or gals may be a bit more sensitive [like mine], if that is the case you will notice...like puffy eyes and such. If the light is at a proper distance and no signs of eye irritation, then they will do what they need to do. No worries.