# will uvb bulb keep plants alive?



## naturalman91 (Feb 25, 2014)

hello everyone I am currently in the process of setting up a enclosure for a red foot which i should be getting in about 2 weeks and i was wondering if the uvb bulb would enough to keep a couple spider plants alive i've already done my research about weather or not they are poisonous it say's safe i do not want to use any fake plants so if anyone might also have some plant idea that would be awesome!


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## Yvonne G (Feb 25, 2014)

Spider plants require a lot of light to live. A very bright light will keep most house plants alive, but I THINK a UVA bulb provides the correct colored/spectrum for plants, not a UVB.


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## naturalman91 (Feb 25, 2014)

Yvonne G said:


> Spider plants require a lot of light to live. A very bright light will keep most house plants alive, but I THINK a UVA bulb provides the correct colored/spectrum for plants, not a UVB.



i was going to get something like this http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SolarGlo it say's it provides both uva and uvb would something like that work or would you recommend a seperate uva? i'm trying to mimic nature which i know i'll never be able to fully do but i'd like to come as close as possible i'm even hooking up a humidity switch that will mist if humidity fall's below a certain point


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## pfara (Feb 25, 2014)

If you want to grow plants and provide uvb, fluorescent tubes are the way to go. They spread enough light that isn't super bright which is perfect for redfoots. Tubes also do not put out tons of heat which might fry plants. And Yvonne is correct in that plants do not need uvb.


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## naturalman91 (Feb 26, 2014)

pfara said:


> If you want to grow plants and provide uvb, fluorescent tubes are the way to go. They spread enough light that isn't super bright which is perfect for redfoots. Tubes also do not put out tons of heat which might fry plants. And Yvonne is correct in that plants do not need uvb.



do you mean separate fluorescent lights just for the plants? and have the basking bulb away from the plants?


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## pfara (Feb 26, 2014)

You can buy fluorescent tubes specifically designed for reptiles (provides uvb) that can serve as light to both plants and tortoise. I don't really use basking bulbs for my redfoots. I use a combination of tubes, incandescents, and CHEs for my lighting/heating purposes.


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## naturalman91 (Feb 26, 2014)

pfara said:


> You can buy fluorescent tubes specifically designed for reptiles (provides uvb) that can serve as light to both plants and tortoise. I don't really use basking bulbs for my redfoots. I use a combination of tubes, incandescents, and CHEs for my lighting/heating purposes.



thank you for the help i don't even know why i didn't think of fluorescent in the first place, do you use real or fake plants? or what are your thought's on fake plants? i'm sorry if i'm asking a lot of questions this is going to be my first red foot and i want to give it as happy and healthy life as possible i've had russian's before but people tell me there's a major difference between them and red foots


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## pfara (Feb 26, 2014)

I use real plants. It serves as shade, food and helps with humidity. I'm not against the use of fake plants; I just prefer the benefits of live plants and attempt to grow as much as I can in my enclosure. I've never owned any other species but redfoots so I can't speak for differences. However, from reading a bunch on this forum I would have to agree that the two species are pretty different in terms of care and maybe personalities. And don't apologize for asking questions. That's what this forum is for.. so keep asking more


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## naturalman91 (Feb 26, 2014)

pfara said:


> I use real plants. It serves as shade, food and helps with humidity. I'm not against the use of fake plants; I just prefer the benefits of live plants and attempt to grow as much as I can in my enclosure. I've never owned any other species but redfoots so I can't speak for differences. However, from reading a bunch on this forum I would have to agree that the two species are pretty different in terms of care and maybe personalities. And don't apologize for asking questions. That's what this forum is for.. so keep asking more





thanks for all your info! what is the ideal humidity that you aim for? and did you happen to get any of your red foots from people on here? stores in person isn't a option for me they only carry russian's and greeks around here i'm currently waiting on tortoise supply as they said they have some that will be ready in about 2 week's


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## pfara (Feb 27, 2014)

Ideal humidity is around 80% or higher. However, since it's winter, I allow mine to go down to the low 70s. During summer it goes back to ~85% and the temps rise accordingly. Check out www.tortoiselibrary.com for more redfoot care. Mark (the owner of the site) is a moderator on here and has been so very helpful to me. I got my redfoots from Vicki Hale at www.tortoiseyard.com but could have easily bought redfoots from Tyler at www.tortoisesupply.com. Tyler's a good guy and has equally amazing torts. It's great that you're taking the time to prepare. Make sure you run your enclosure for at least two days prior to getting the tort(s) to ensure that the timers and thermostats work and that the temps and humidity levels are where you want them. If you need more help, just ask


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## lisa127 (Feb 27, 2014)

UVB bulbs for reptiles will also keep plants alive, if that is your question. Plant grow bulbs are good for just plants, but reptile UVB bulbs are good for both reptiles and plants. Why wouldn't they be....they are supposed to mimic the sun. They have both UVB and UVA.




pfara said:


> If you want to grow plants and provide uvb, fluorescent tubes are the way to go. They spread enough light that isn't super bright which is perfect for redfoots. Tubes also do not put out tons of heat which might fry plants. And Yvonne is correct in that plants do not need uvb.


yes she is right in that they don't need uvb. But there is both uvb and uva in the reptile uvb bulbs.


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## mikeh (Feb 27, 2014)

Fluorescent UVB tubes for reptiles have very cool color temp. around 7000K. 
Sun color temperature is between 3000-5600K depending on time of day and season. Full shade is around 6000-6500kelvin. 
That being said, shade loving plants will still do ok under UVB T8 tubes, plants needing lots of light may need T5HO tubes, and spacing is important.


Since trying to put together
plants that require lots of light but tortoise (red foot) which prefers low light, it would be helpful to know dimensions of the enclosure including height to determine which tubes, what length, and how many will be ideal. In addition, how bright is the room where the tort will be and will this light penetrate inside the enclosure? What type of a set up,closed chamber? Open table? Plastic storage bin?


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## naturalman91 (Feb 27, 2014)

mikeh said:


> Fluorescent UVB tubes for reptiles have very cool color temp. around 7000K.
> Sun color temperature is between 3000-5600K depending on time of day and season. Full shade is around 6000-6500kelvin.
> That being said, shade loving plants will still do ok under UVB T8 tubes, plants needing lots of light may need T5HO tubes, and spacing is important.
> 
> ...



the enclosure is 2 50 gal plastic storage bins connected together i took the end off each of them overlapped them hot glued together and put plastic wrap over the cuts so no soil will fall out. this is only a temp enclosure tho i'm saving up to make a table like i had with my russian's




pfara said:


> Ideal humidity is around 80% or higher. However, since it's winter, I allow mine to go down to the low 70s. During summer it goes back to ~85% and the temps rise accordingly. Check out www.tortoiselibrary.com for more redfoot care. Mark (the owner of the site) is a moderator on here and has been so very helpful to me. I got my redfoots from Vicki Hale at www.tortoiseyard.com but could have easily bought redfoots from Tyler at www.tortoisesupply.com. Tyler's a good guy and has equally amazing torts. It's great that you're taking the time to prepare. Make sure you run your enclosure for at least two days prior to getting the tort(s) to ensure that the timers and thermostats work and that the temps and humidity levels are where you want them. If you need more help, just ask



as soon i get the last of the stuff needed to set up today i was going to set up the enclosure and start messing with temps and humidity and the placement of plants i'm thinking of using a couple fake plants just hiding area's and such. everything will be ready way before the tort is here


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## pfara (Feb 27, 2014)

Good stuff  Remember to make a thread and post many, many pictures of your new addition!


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