# Uvb lighting



## micaela (Jan 16, 2016)

Hi everyone 

I'm getting a greek tortoise and was wondering what wattage of a uvb bulb should I get? 

I know some people are against having the bulb uvb light instead of the tube lights but it's all that I can find in my area 

Thanxs in advance


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## micaela (Jan 16, 2016)

What do you think of this 

Promotions!! 25W UVA UVB Pet Reptile Heating Daylight Full Spectrum Lamps for Tortoise / Lizard /Fish Durable
http://s.aliexpress.com/MbMjiAvQ


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## Lyn W (Jan 16, 2016)

Hi and welcome.
Many of us use mercury vapour bulbs (MVBs) because they give light, heat and uvb in one bulb, so only need one outlet socket.
I use an arcadia mini d3 80w bulb but going to get a higher watt next time.
The MVB is in a ceramic holder with a wide dome (deep domes can sometimes cause over heating). I also hang mine rather than use the clamps (as those have been known to fail and cause fires) then the temp can be adjusted by raising or lowering the bulb. I use a CHE at night which just gives heat as torts need darkness to sleep - you may not need one depending on your climate and night temps.
A covered enclosure will help you control the temp and humidity.
Have you found the caresheet for Greeks under species specific yet? That will tell you all about temps diet humidity and substrate etc.
The Beginners Mistakes is also great for avoiding pitfalls encountered by others (link below)
The Enclosures thread is full of good ideas too.


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## Markw84 (Jan 16, 2016)

Michaela

Where are you located? I wish everyone would include that in their avatar info as it is so much a consideration in giving advice.

If you can get your tortoise outside at least a few times a week in natural sun for even a few hours, a UVB bulb will not be necessary, especially since we are not talking about a baby tortoise here. But if you do need to provide artificial UV----

I get most of my stuff on Amazon.com. Please do not spend your money on those coil type UV bulbs. They can often be defective and emit the wrong type wavelength that will damage your tortoise's eyes. Plus, even if you happen to get one that is not defective, they give off so little UVB that it really is practically no use. The best option is a mercury vapor bulb. Get a 100 Watt one. They are a bit expensive but you have a basking light and UV all in one.

Zoo Med PowerSun 100 W Mercury Vapor Bulb $45.98

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-PowerSun-Mercury-Vapor/dp/B0002AQDJK/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1452459077&sr=1-2&keywords=mercury+vapor+bulb

Get a brooder lamp fixture for it as it needs to be rated high enough and have a ceramic, not plastic, base. If you have a Home Depot or a feed store in your area, these are quite inexpensive.


Home depot 250W brooder lamp fixture $10.99

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Designers-Edge-10-1-2-in-Brooder-Lamp-with-Hang-Hook-0165/204667675

Others prefer to go with the long tube type fluorescents. Really not that much less as you need both the tube and fixture. Get the 10.0 bulb, not the 5.0 as these put out much less usable UVB. Even the 10.0 will need to be hung


Reptisun 10.0 UVB $23.99

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun%C2%AE-Fluorescent-24-Inch/dp/B0009YHSWK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_199_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=31vHSZzfyFL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=109NZ4FV7N370HRGY2DB


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## micaela (Jan 16, 2016)

Markw84 said:


> Michaela
> 
> Where are you located? I wish everyone would include that in their avatar info as it is so much a consideration in giving advice.
> 
> ...




Thanks I'll order those as soon as I can


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## Speedy-1 (Jan 17, 2016)

*I got a 65 watt UV bulb at WalMart which is mainly used for heat and basking . I live in Az. so Speedy gets outside almost daily ! *


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## micaela (Jan 19, 2016)

I'm in Ireland so barely ever any sunshine and almost always raining so not the ideal conditions for him but I think I'll get the Mercury vapor bulb instead of having to but to lamps and two light bulbs .... how long does the MVB last ?


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## TerrapinStation (Jan 19, 2016)

Hello and Welcome

The Powersun MVB comes with a one year manufacturer warranty. Just be sure to save your receipt and box. I believe after a year or so (depending on use) they begin to deteriorate and need to be replaced.


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## Tom (Jan 19, 2016)

micaela said:


> I'm in Ireland so barely ever any sunshine and almost always raining so not the ideal conditions for him but I think I'll get the Mercury vapor bulb instead of having to but to lamps and two light bulbs .... how long does the MVB last ?



In addition to UV, you are also going to need heat. There are multiple ways to accomplish this. A 25-50 watt bulb by itself is probably not going to do it all.

You need to think in terms of meeting all your tortoises heating and lighting needs.

Here is a post I did explaining all this for another member. I hope it offers some insight for you too:
"Let me break down the heating and lighting thing. You need three or four elements:
1. Heat. During the day this is best accomplished with 65 watt flood bulbs from the hardware store set on digital timers. These also give some light. Move them higher or lower to get the basking temp under them correct. I buy them in 6 packs, so if they burn out I always have a spare on hand.
2. Light. Sometimes the basking bulb and ambient room light are enough. If not, use a tube style florescent strip light form the hardware store. Run it on the same timer as the heat lamps. Try to get a bulb in the 5000-6500K color range. The more common 2500K color range bulbs look yellowish.
3. Ambient temp maintenance and night heat. Tortoises need it dark at night, but still warm, depending on species. This is best accomplished with the use of a CHE in a ceramic based fixture. Get the 11" ceramic based domes from Home Depot for all your heat lamps.
4. UV. Best to sun them for an hour two or more times a week. Its okay to skip a few weeks over winter and this will do no harm. Since you live in the frozen North (Okay, Midwest, but its a figure of speech…), you will need to provide some artificial UV. Several options for this:
a. Use a mercury vapor bulb, like the power sun for your basking bulb. Use this in the Home Depot fixture I mentioned, not in a small pet store dome or deep dome. Replace it every fall.
b. Use a long tube type 10.0 florescent bulb. These MUST be mounted no more than 10-12" from the tortoise to be effective.
c. Get an Arcadia 12% HO bulb from lightyourreptiles.com. These are great, but they make a lot of UV. Mount it at least 18" and as much as 26" away from the tortoise and put it on its own timer for only about 4 hours a day."


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## Cheryl Hills (Jan 20, 2016)

Tom said:


> In addition to UV, you are also going to need heat. There are multiple ways to accomplish this. A 25-50 watt bulb by itself is probably not going to do it all.
> 
> You need to think in terms of meeting all your tortoises heating and lighting needs.
> 
> ...



I have a light question. Do the tube galore cents put out uvb light? Or, does it have to be a special bulb. I got one from the pet store, uvb, one it cost forty bucks. It was a 10.0


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## Tom (Jan 20, 2016)

Cheryl Hills said:


> I have a light question. Do the tube galore cents put out uvb light? Or, does it have to be a special bulb. I got one from the pet store, uvb, one it cost forty bucks. It was a 10.0



Yes. A 10.0 tube should be making UV. That type will need to be mounted within 10-12" of the tortoise to make it effective. There are other types that will work from farther away.

If you live in a climate that requires your tortoise to be kept indoors for months at a time, you really need a good UV meter so you know how much your bulbs are producing, how high to mount them and when to replace them.


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## Cheryl Hills (Jan 20, 2016)

Tom said:


> Yes. A 10.0 tube should be making UV. That type will need to be mounted within 10-12" of the tortoise to make it effective. There are other types that will work from farther away.
> 
> If you live in a climate that requires your tortoise to be kept indoors for months at a time, you really need a good UV meter so you know how much your bulbs are producing, how high to mount them and when to replace them.



Ok that was tube fluorescent bulbs, do they put out uvb also?


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## Tom (Jan 20, 2016)

Cheryl Hills said:


> Ok that was tube fluorescent bulbs, do they put out uvb also?



Regular florescent tubes do not put out any UV. In fact, they specifically make the internal coating to stop all bands of UV.

10.0 bulbs that are made for reptiles DO emit UV for at least a few months, and sometimes longer. This is why a meter is needed, so you know when to replace the bulbs, and how high to mount them.


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## Cheryl Hills (Jan 20, 2016)

Thanks for clearing this up for me.


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