Habitat - Indoor :: relating to light placement

[Lantic]

How close can the UVA/UVB be to the basking dock? 5 inches? 10 inches?

I have my UVA on top of the wire mesh and i have about 6 inches from the zoomed dock. And i have my UVB about a foot away which angled at the dock .

I can post a pictures if necessary

thanks

[Daniel3507]

the wire mesh will block most of the UVB if you need a screen the holes should be about half an inch wide. its best to follow the manufacturers recommendation on the UVB. with the heat lamp you really just have to play around with it till you get the temp right.

[Lantic]

Alright thanks.

Do a lot of people not use the wire lids and just leave the tank open?

[Daniel3507]

most people use a screen so their turtles cant crawl out but the screens most people use are made out of egg crate light diffuser. go ahead and post some pics of your set up if you can

[Lantic]

Sure






and yes that is my thermostat on the bottom of the tank.

[Daniel3507]

i thought the stick on thermometers had to be on the outside? those screens block alot of heat and UVB from getting through. look into a digital thermometer that you can use to check the basking area temp

[Lantic]

I bought that for like 1.99 at petco and it said submersible, but im afraid they are wrong.

Tomorrow i planned on going to the store so i'll make sure to buy a digital one and if i can find another spring-loaded swivel clamp for my UVA light since i can't find my other one. The basking temp is around 96F.


I have one question, I've look around for tips to entice basking, and i found that covering the cage with a blanket or leaving the room helps but wouldn't that make worse in the long run since he or she won't be comfortable with the owner?

[Daniel3507]

it just takes them awhile to become comfortable to bask in front of people. when i got cujo i would leave the room and he would bask and jump off when i would walk in. now though i can pet him while he basks and doesnt even care when other people watch him bask. so to answer your question it wont hurt in the long run.

[Chrisbarnett]

I can see your tank has a lip on it that would hold eggcrate nicely. you could make an eggcrate screen so it would sit flush with the top.

I did it on my moms 55 gal,


and I did it on my tank with just 1 bay covered to hold the lights. theres 2 cut outs because the UVB bulb sticks out a bit, and the second for heat not to melt the plastic.


You can find a large sheet of eggcrate, officially called light diffuser at home depot, lowes, etc. for about $10. It won't block rays.

[Lantic]

@Daniel: Alright cool.. So then it is safe to just leave the cage uncovered and let him get used to people.

@Chris: Beautiful Thanks alot. While i go to the store for the thermostat i'll head to lowes.