Habitat - Indoor :: Repti Glo 5.0 Compact UVB

[A&N_Potter]

Hello, I recently purchased the Exo-Terra Repti Glo 5.0 UVB Compact, Tropical Terrarium Lamp, 26W (in green box). Is this the correct UVB light for RES Turtles? I have it situated in a clamp lamp over the basking area. I also have an incandescent house bulb in a clamp lamp over the basking area. The box includes no instructions as to the height in which it should be above the basking area. I have been reading other posts that advise to follow the man. instructions; however, there are no instructions. I want to make sure this is the correct Repti Glo 5.0 UVB compact that has been highly regarded by other posters. I've noticed other brands at PetCo, such as the Reptisun Compacts, which are around $45, as compared to Repti Glo $16. Please help me... Thanks, Nolan

Also, I've noticed a water temp. change with this UVB compact, the water was 79 (before I introduced a UVB light source), now the water temp. is around 84. Is this due to tank size? Wrong UVB compact? Currently I have a 20 gallon tank, this weekend I am upgrading to a 75 gallon tank...

[N4784N R4613]

Yes, right on!! That bulb will do fine for RES!!! Is there anything in between the bulb and the basking spot(like screen, glass, etc. etc.)? What is the basking temp? A Compact florescent UVB bulb should put off a very small amount of heat(that is why you need the incandescent bulb, for the heat.) , and would not be able to heat up 20 gallons of water. How much water do you have in the tank?

[A&N_Potter]

The tank is about halfway full of water. I have both lamps clamped on the rim of the tank, no tank cover or screen (open top). The lamps are together on one side, over the floating turtle dock. Both the 60 watt incandescent and UVB are about 8 inches (estimate) above the floating dock. Should they be positioned higher? I do not know how I would do this, there is nothing for me to clamp the lights on, except for the tank rim. Thanks for your help, Nolan

[grey goose]

8" is a little too close for those compacts. Also, is the lamp fixture reflective (shiny)? If it is then it's WAY too close for a new bulb. Those compacts take a couple of weeks to "burn in" and reflectors will boost the UVB output even higher.
Can you move the clamp further down the side of the tank, away from the basking area?

Go here for more info and instructions (PDF) on the compact lamps:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/reptisuncompacts.htm

[N4784N R4613]

Grey, that is for the reptiSUN, he has a reptiGLO, which I haven't seen any complaints for the reptiglo, just the reptisun. And it is only a 5.0. Just keep an eye on your RES's eyes(no pun intended), for swelling, puffiness, hard to open or close, etc.,etc.,. And what is the basking temp?

[Starchick]

Even so, I'd allow for a burn in period.

[DavidY]

If you can't find a way to set your reptiglo bulb higher during the burn in period (2 to 4 weeks) I wouldn't worry about it. These bulbs don't come anywhere near close to the strength of the sun even during the burn in period so having it 8" away from the basking platform should be fine for that particular bulb. But as Nathan mentioned, just keep an eye on your turtles eyes for signs if irritation (swelling).

The main reason for concern is with the Zoo Med Reptisun compact flourescent bulbs, particularly the 5.0 and 10.0 bulbs, and it seems to be a problem with the more recently manufactured bulbs. Some of these bulbs have caused severe irritation to the turtles eyes which shows up very quickly after installation. I don't think it's just an issue with burn-in or proper distance. The fact that the eye damage occurs so rapidly suggests something else is wrong with them. The ExoTerra ReptiGLO bulbs do not have this problem as far as I know.

[A&N_Potter]

Thanks everybody! I wish I would have found this forum before I went out and purchased a lot of the wrong stuff (filters, substrate, lighting, etc.)! I have found out the hard way that pet store employees are no experts...

Anyways, the clamp lamps do not have reflectors. I had purchased one of those reptile terrarium tops (ExoTerra) with the built in reflectors, because I did not know the UVB compacts would work with the clamp lamps; however, I decided to take that back! Only one of my RES likes to bask right now, the others like to swim in the water. I am trying to measure the temp. of the basking spot as I type. The water temp. is around 82-84 (the temp. remained overnight, even though the lights were off, so it may be the room temp. or the heater, 100W submersible TetraFauna).

I have 4 RES, about 1.5 - 2 inches each, I know I need a bigger tank; therefore, I am looking to purchase very soon. The largest tank I have found at the pet stores is 75 gallons, wide ($199). I like it, but would still consider larger, but I cannot find anywhere to purchase a larger tank. Anyone live in southeastern Pennsylvania, upper Delaware, who knows of a custom tank builder? I have found them on the iNet, but shipping is ridiculous...

Thanks, Nolan

[A&N_Potter]

I forgot to mention, all of my turtles used to bask earlier, when the water temp. was around 78-79. Do they tend to stay in the water if it is warmer, 82-84? So, If the water temp. is 82-84, and the basking spot is still 10 degrees warmer than that, will they bask?

[DavidY]

Yes if the water is warm and the basking temp is not warm enough, they will stay in the water. If the basking temp is 10 degrees warmer than the water they should be more likely to bask, but you don't want to risk heating things up too much. What happens if you unplug your water heater or turn it down? If you can get the water temp back down to where you had it before (78-79) that would be perfect. The warmer temps may cause them to grow too quickly among other things.

If you live near Allentown, PA, there's a delivery from http://www.GlassCages.com today! lol! Well too late for that one, but if you can wait you can order a decent sized tank for a little over $200 and save some money on shipping by getting in on one of their group deliveries. Usually if they get enough orders from the same area they will schedule a group delivery. I hear they make pretty good tanks.

[A&N_Potter]

We unplugged the heater to see what that will do...

I live about an hour and half from Allentown, Pa, I saw that on their web site. I think it said delivery would be $100 if I picked it up in Allentown. Yes, they do have very nice tanks!

Thanks for your insight!

[DavidY]

No problem.

[marisa]

I've never gone through a "burn-in" period with the bulbs I've used. Balance out the light of the flourescent UVB bulb with a warmer light (the lightbulb) as you are doing now.

[N4784N R4613]

I got my 240 gallon tank from www.GlassCages.com ,they where awesome!!! I went up to Allentown, and we(Me, my brother, and my Mom) where the first ones there. I thought we would have to wait for some others to move there tanks, so we could get to mine, but they got our oder in late, so it was sitting right there, in the back of the truck!! It was huge!! I didn't think we could get it into the back of the van, without waiting for some others to show up, and help us.(they already told me this on the phone, they said I should bring "4 able bodied men" to get it into the van. But it was such short notice, that I was unable to get anybody.)

So this HUGE guy from Tennessee (thats where there warehouse is located) gets out of the truck, and says in his southern accent , "I think we can get it." I was like, . So, he put these suction cup things on my tank(three on one side, and two on the other side), and told use to get one side, and he could handle the other side. So, me, and my brother got one side, and we could barely lift it!! While he is over on the other side holding it up in the air by himself!!!

We ended up just sliding it(he put styrofoam down, so it would not starch the bottom of my tank) onto the power-lift tailgate, lowering it to the hight of the van, and sliding it into the van. I was so happy!!! I think I tipped the guy like 40 bucks(I was expecting to have to tip a few other guys to help me get it into the van, so I had the extra cash. Lol, probably made his day when he unrolled the ten, and found three more tens in there!!!)!!

I would definitely, highly recommend www.glasscages.com !!!

[tennisnut]

Uh oh.

Sorry to bump this thread back up, but are Reptisun bulbs bad? I have a Reptisun bulb 5.0 UVB bulb (the long skinny ones) that I got for free (otherwise I would have NEVER bought it! $35!).

Do I just need to be careful?