General Care Discussion :: Question on Lighting

[greerman29]

So when I originally got my turtles a couple days ago (they are babies) I bought with it a 75w heat bulb that does not give off any real light. It seemed as though it was not giving the amount of heat that it should to make a good basking area.

So I went out and bought a 90w halogen lamp that apparently is designed for turtles. When I brought it back though it looked WAY too bright (maybe I just got used to the heat bulb. can it be too bright?

Is the halogen alright to use or should I try something different?

[Pizza]

Yes, it is possible for a bulb to be too bright and can blind your turtles, but most bulbs are not, and if you are uneasy about it anyways, use your best judgement and either use a different bulb or raise the halogen up higher.

Another concern regarding high wattage bulbs (halogens in particular) is that they make heat up area too much and can burn/harm your turtle, so it's a good idea to measure the temperature before using youur turtles on it. Average basking temperatures should be 10 degrees F above the water temperature, or about 88-93 degrees F.

If you don't have one, pay attention that you also need a UVB bulb, it is quite important to a turtle's health. UVA bulbs (probably what you have now with that halogen) only gives off heat and entices your turtles to bask, but UVB promotes strong healthy shell growth, improves turtle health/immunities, and other things that I forgot (read up on this on main site under lighting). When buying a UVB, check so that it is a UVB bulb, many have been fooled by buying another expensive UVA instead.

[greerman29]

do they make any lights that are both UVA and UVB and fit on a normal clip lighting fixture?

[missibsu]

They make combo bulbs, they are called mercury vapor bulbs, or mvb. These bulbs do need to be in a fixture that will accomodate high heat and your tank size should be at least 55 gallons. Smaller tanks will over heat with these type bulbs.

[steve]

If you do get a MVB, you should get the light fixtures designed to hold these types of bulbs. They cost a bit more but the quality is better. They should also have a ceramic base and try to make sure you can point the bulb straight down.

[marisa]

If you have a smaller tank (less than 50 gallons), don't use a mercury vapor bulb. If your turtle have problems with the halogen bulb, just use a regular light bulb for the heat and use a wattage that will warm the basking area to 88-90F.