General Care Discussion :: 100 watt Halogen bulb too hot for basking?

[Ihuynh]

Hello Turtle Nation,

Just wondering if any of you had experience using halogen bulbs as a means of a basking bulb? I recently bought a 100 watt from Walmart and I'm not sure if its too dangerously hot for the turtle.

Thanks!

[steve]

Hi, I use a 50 Watt PAR30L halogen... usually one made by GE or Philips. 100 Watt will get very hot, you might want to get a smaller one.

[Ihuynh]

Cool. Thanks Steve!

[Ihuynh]

BTW steve just curious what height you're using the halogen bulb at? I'm trying to build my own lamp stand and I wanna get the height down. Thanks!

[steve]

About 8-10 inches but keep in mind that they have long and wide basking areas, so they move around. They don't always like to be directly under it. They are cold-blooded and basking is to let them thermoregulate.

Also when building a stand, keep in mind the fixture should have a ceramic base rated for the wattage you want to use. Compact UVB bulbs or MVBs should be pointed straight down. Most of these bulbs are heavier than normal bulbs as well.