Lighting for a turtle

[EricIvins]

Okay wow.......

All my Turtles kept under a roof get ambient light.......That's it........What's kept outside gets direct sunlight, but the majority of the time they want nothing to do with it.......

I see no differences between the two in growth, behavior, etc.........I can still get alot of Turtles/Tortoises I keep up to 6-8" ( or more ) in a year whether inside or out.

With that being said, I do not believe in UVB/UVA bulbs marketed for Reptiles. I use regular Incandescent Bulbs, and everything I keep does just fine. A 30 watt Indoor flood will do everything a fancy $50 bulb will, but at about $.50 a piece.........

They need heat, and a simple Indoor flood makes a decent Basking spot for any small Turtle........

 

[kdrun76]

Okay wow.......

All my Turtles kept under a roof get ambient light.......That's it........What's kept outside gets direct sunlight, but the majority of the time they want nothing to do with it.......

I see no differences between the two in growth, behavior, etc.........I can still get alot of Turtles/Tortoises I keep up to 6-8" ( or more ) in a year whether inside or out.

With that being said, I do not believe in UVB/UVA bulbs marketed for Reptiles. I use regular Incandescent Bulbs, and everything I keep does just fine. A 30 watt Indoor flood will do everything a fancy $50 bulb will, but at about $.50 a piece.........

They need heat, and a simple Indoor flood makes a decent Basking spot for any small Turtle........

There is so much wrong with this post I am not sure where to start.

Do some research, please.

 

[snakeguy101]

Okay wow.......

All my Turtles kept under a roof get ambient light.......That's it........What's kept outside gets direct sunlight, but the majority of the time they want nothing to do with it.......

I see no differences between the two in growth, behavior, etc.........I can still get alot of Turtles/Tortoises I keep up to 6-8" ( or more ) in a year whether inside or out.

With that being said, I do not believe in UVB/UVA bulbs marketed for Reptiles. I use regular Incandescent Bulbs, and everything I keep does just fine. A 30 watt Indoor flood will do everything a fancy $50 bulb will, but at about $.50 a piece.........

They need heat, and a simple Indoor flood makes a decent Basking spot for any small Turtle........

aren't most of your turtles mud turtles or similar species? I know that not all turtles need UVA/B but others do. I have seen some turtles with nasty vitamin D deficiencies and it is not pretty.

 

[snakeguy101]

There is so much wrong with this post I am not sure where to start.

Do some research, please.

I usually dont agree with Eric's opinions but when it comes to turtle facts, there is no one here that has had more experience in raising and breeding rare turtle species and I would trust him.

How many turtles have you raised? one, maybe 2? certainly no more than a handful I am sure.

 

[Chrisplosion]

Painted should be treated like sliders. It should be able to get completely out of the water to dry off and bask. The basking spots should be between 90-105F so you will need a heat lamp. They cost like $15. Make sure the UVB is made specifically for reptiles. It should be able to get within 6-10 inches of the bulb. How deep is your water?

 

[AceofSpades]

/Facepalm

This thread is full of fail dont give advice when you dont know what your talking about. For the 2 inch turtle a 5watt uvb bulb will be fine for now but your going to want a stronger one. The one you have is most likely a 5watt 2.0 bulb their are different levels going all the way up to 12.0. I use 10.0 Compact Fluorescent Lamps for my turtles. Turtles need need sunlight just likes humans do. They of course can live without it but they wont live as long or be as healthy. Theirs no reason not to buy a 20$ bulb once a year.

My uvb bulb
http://www.amazon.com/ReptiSun®-10-...1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1285606456&sr=8-1-fkmr1

 

[kdrun76]

How many turtles have you raised? one, maybe 2? certainly no more than a handful I am sure.

I am not sure why the number of turtles I have or have not raised is in anyway relevant. However, the simple fact that a painted turtle needs exposure to full spectrum lighting to produce Vitamin D and allow calcium to be used is indisputable.

The bone deformities that result in growing turtles with out proper lighting are pretty sad.

 

[methos75]

/Facepalm

This thread is full of fail dont give advice when you dont know what your talking about. For the 2 inch turtle a 5watt uvb bulb will be fine for now but your going to want a stronger one. The one you have is most likely a 5watt 2.0 bulb their are different levels going all the way up to 12.0. I use 10.0 Compact Fluorescent Lamps for my turtles. Turtles need need sunlight just likes humans do. They of course can live without it but they wont live as long or be as healthy. Theirs no reason not to buy a 20$ bulb once a year.

My uvb bulb
http://www.amazon.com/ReptiSun®-10-0-Compact-Fluorescent-Lamp/dp/B00061V53Y/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1285606456&sr=8-1-fkmr1

Those Bulbs are pretty shoddy, in test they have only put out some amounts of UVB light, much less than a turtle like a Painted would use and they have been known to cause eye damage. I would personally go with a MVB light such as the Megaray, Heating, high levels of UBV and UV light all in one. As to rather a 5 watt light is enough for a Painted Turtle, of course not, hell from a good height even larger 75 watt and higher will not penetrate enough to give off proper UVB levels and that is before you add in stuff such as wire screens which lessen the amount of UVB light getting into the set-up.

Anyway TC, what type of Painted Turtle is it, bear in mine that some like the Southern stay small, especially as a male, and a good long 55 Gal Tank to start off with might last it a long time. Check out Craiglist, I see good buys there all the time for tanks. And its true Pet Stores are not suppose to sell Turtles under 4 inches, but I see this law being obeyed less and less.

 

[fhawk362]

Ok so I have a 5.0 26 watt uvb/a bulb as well as a hundred watt heating bulb which keeps it pretty warm, sadly I am not sure of the exact species as my girlfriend was the one who picked him up, up to my knowledge hes a painted turtle, but once I get some pics up Ill try to get someone to give me a more specific ID.

 

[zenyoungkoh]

/Facepalm

This thread is full of fail dont give advice when you dont know what your talking about. For the 2 inch turtle a 5watt uvb bulb will be fine for now but your going to want a stronger one. The one you have is most likely a 5watt 2.0 bulb their are different levels going all the way up to 12.0. I use 10.0 Compact Fluorescent Lamps for my turtles. Turtles need need sunlight just likes humans do. They of course can live without it but they wont live as long or be as healthy. Theirs no reason not to buy a 20$ bulb once a year.

My uvb bulb
http://www.amazon.com/ReptiSun®-10-...1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1285606456&sr=8-1-fkmr1

Im going to make it simpler. Theres 2 option. Option A is more expensive but option B needs 2 light fixtures. Option a) A MVB bulb like
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4005372 http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752615
Option B: A 50w-100w incandescant bulb you can get from walmart and a UVB bulb like
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752555 or http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3571148

Actually theres another option. If you have a hood fixture lying around. You can just get one clamp lamp for incandescant heat and get this for your hood:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752656

GOod luck.