General Care Discussion :: Lighting Issue

[unclejoe]

Hello,

We just acquired a baby midland painted Turtle last Wednesday. We have had him/her a week today. My Question is, I ordered a proper UVB Bulb from Dr Foster and Smith the monday before we got him and the bulb arrived today and broke as I twisted it into the socket. Needless to say I am a tad ticked off waiting a week and a half for a bulb that breaks soon as you turn it on. Little red glow and pop,, and it is done. What I want to know is,, is my little guy gonna be ok without a UVB light? I am not sure his previous owners even had one and its been a week now and all he has had is the heat uva lamp. I promply ordered the same bulb from Amazon cause I know they ship way faster. But I won't receive it till at least Saturday. By this time it will be a week and a half he hasn't had UVB. Can he safely wait that long or do I need to make a trek to Petsmart and pay $30 for a bulb I got for $12 on Amazon? I will go buy it if its urgent.

Please let me know,

Thanx

[steve]

He should be OK until you get a new one. Make sure the pellets you feed him have some vitamin d3, and you're good.

[unclejoe]

Fortunately outside temps warmed up enough today we Put him out tank and all in the sun today. He basked for three hours, just not sure if uv is strong enough this time of year here. Dfs was good enough to ship us another bulb overnight. So hopefully he has it tomorrow. We are feeding him reptomin pellets. He also got his first earthworm yesterday he loved that..lol

(If he turns out to be a Girl gonna be all messed up..lol)

[steve]

What kind of tank do you use with him outdoors? I try to provide as much space without possible escape.

[unclejoe]

Ok so now we have the new bulb, but Phil don't seem to like it. Is this a common problem? Any suggestions as to why? Its a Zoo Med 5.0 mini bulb. I don't know if its too close to far or what? if I turn it off and just turn on regular heat bulb he basks for hours but when we have the UV Bulb on he wants nothing to do with the basking spot.

The bulb right now is about 8" away, which is the max distance the box said to place it. He seems to crawl out now and go under it, but walks right through and back in the water.. doesn't want to stay under it.. Yesterday it was about 6" from basking area and he tried to hide under his plastic plant all day till I turned it off..

Any suggestions??

[Kansasslider]

I would say 6" is way to close. When I used those bulbs they were 10-12" from the basking area.

[unclejoe]

the instructions it came with said 5-8" from basking area, I think because its a mini bulb not a full size one.. but I also don't have the proper deep dome fixture just a regular clamp on fixture so the bulb sticks out a bit..

[Kansasslider]

I used the full sized ones but a while back they made them smaller for some reason. Im not sure if they are mini bulbs? That's still close. I would get a different bulb. Megarays are probably the best you can get.

[unclejoe]

I have been reading that using a long bulb is better then these bulbs that screw into domes.. Heat bulb in dome and a long tube for UVB is this true? I want to plan for my bigger tank if that is the case.

All I can say is he isn't hiding today but he also isn't basking, but he is active swimming around.. I tried to move it a bit further but my clamp lamp bends only so far or I can't keep it horizontal.. Since I need to purchase new lights anyway, what would you suggest for the bigger tank, so I can shop around.. WE have been considering those stands you can hang the lamp from that are braced under the tank, since we don't wanna put any unnecessary holes in the walls since this is a rental? Anyone use these?

http://www.arcatapet.com/jumbo/10737.jpg

Thanx

[Kansasslider]

Yes you can use stands like that. I think Steve uses tube uvb bulbs.

[unclejoe]

Ok should the lights both be over the basking area, because I have seen pictures of tanks where the heat lamp is over basking area but the UV Strip light is set over the water/swim area? I thought that UV can't pass through water, so I am wondering if that is an improper way to set up the lights?

[steve]

Was he basking prior to the UVB bulb?

[unclejoe]

yes under the heat lamp, and one day outside in the natural sunlight while we were waiting for the bulb. Someone suggested moving it up higher and he is now basking under it. The package instructed 5-8 inches but I have it about 10 inches now and he seems to sit under it.. but not nearly as long as he did with just the heat lamp. I am wondering if the heat lamp needs to be closer to the UV lamp??

[Kansasslider]

Both the heat and uvb bulb need to be over the basking spot.