# direct sunlight....



## samanosuke (May 31, 2012)

i dunno if this question had been asked or not....outdoor, is necessary for the tortoise/turtle to have intact with direct sunlight for the to get uvb??


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## JoesMum (May 31, 2012)

To get UVB, your tort just needs to be outdoors. UV cannot pass through walls and windows (you don't get sunburn indoors), but even in the shade of a tree or with cloud cover, your tort will get UVB.

I tested this as a teenager, by failing to put on suncream on a cloudy summer day and getting my worst ever sunburn! 

You tort does need some direct sunshine to warm up... the outdoor equivalent of a basking lamp, but that its all.


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## Merlin M (May 31, 2012)

Well UV does pass through glass, however its intensity drops down really quickly!! (so right by a window they will get some UV but a meter away they wont - even by the window would not really give enough UV...)


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## wellington (May 31, 2012)

Ditto with JoesMum. One more thing. Uv will not go through plastic either. Also, fine mesh/screen/wire will block a good deal of it. So if using a top on your torts enclosure, be sure it is out if a material that is spaced like chicken wire.


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## samanosuke (May 31, 2012)

thanks for the information....what about the shade area??i mean shade area with no direct sunlight outdoor??


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## wellington (May 31, 2012)

They will still get some. Outside, as long as the sun is out, even behind clouds, they will get some. In the shade, it reflects off on different things and that's how they still get it.



wellington said:


> They will still get some. Outside, as long as the sun is out, even behind clouds, they will get some. In the shade, it reflects off on different things and that's how they still get it.



They still need direct sunlight available for them to get to, to warmEd up, like a basking spot, as JoesMum said.


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## samanosuke (May 31, 2012)

wellington said:


> They will still get some. Outside, as long as the sun is out, even behind clouds, they will get some. In the shade, it reflects off on different things and that's how they still get it.
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thanks for the informations.....


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## Tom (May 31, 2012)

I once read that there was more UV in the shade in Texas, than in full sun in Northern Canada.


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## Merlin M (May 31, 2012)

You could be right Tom, different places get differing intensities of UV (depends on the thickness of the Ozone layer above - as it is not an even layer) but then I could be wrong...


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## CLMoss (May 31, 2012)

Good question! Thanks for the information.


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## Madkins007 (May 31, 2012)

Tom is right. North of the US/Canada border, there is almost no usable UVB in the sunlight during winter.


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## exoticsdr (May 31, 2012)

We do everything Big in Texas...haha. Doc



Madkins007 said:


> Tom is right. North of the US/Canada border, there is almost no usable UVB in the sunlight during winter.


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## samanosuke (May 31, 2012)

wellington said:


> They will still get some. Outside, as long as the sun is out, even behind clouds, they will get some. In the shade, it reflects off on different things and that's how they still get it.
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i think my country is one of the most sunny country......even at noon the temperature can be reached until 40 degree Celsius (about 104 fahrenheit) at certain day...


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## Tom (May 31, 2012)

Yes. The closer to the equator, the stronger the UV.


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