# will same uvb bulb for tort grow pants?



## blueturtle (Aug 10, 2013)

i tried searching this but couldn't find any real answer. I just bought a tiny baby golden greek from tyler at the pomona expo this weekend. Much too small for a real outdoor enclosure so I'm setting one up indoors and would want to grow plants within the enclosure itself. 

i'm just wondering if the plants will still grow with uvb bulb i have for the hatchling or will i need to take them out each day for sun? I'm planing on using those jiffy peatmoss pots that you dont have to transplant because it breaks down in the ground. I'd love any advice anyone has that's successfully grown plants for their torts solely indoors.


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## Team Gomberg (Aug 10, 2013)

The UV source should grow the plants just fine. I've seen a few enclosures do well set up that way.

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## jaizei (Aug 10, 2013)

Plants utilize visible light so uv is unnecessary.


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## Saleama (Aug 10, 2013)

I use a UVB bulb and it works great. I'm not sure about jaizei's post, but when I move my UVB the plants grow towards it and not the heat lamp.... just saying...


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## Yvonne G (Aug 10, 2013)

To expand a bit on Jaizei's response:

"Plants do not use nor need UV light for photosynthesis. They produce pigments to block UV light. These allow only the needed visible light that plants cells absorb for photosynthesis."

So, like Jaizei said, plants need light, but not ultra violet.


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## blueturtle (Aug 10, 2013)

Thanks alot guys! Here's to seeing how my green my thumb is on these seeds! lol


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## Tom (Aug 10, 2013)

I have grown many indoor plants under regular florescent lights.


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## Mrturtle527 (Aug 10, 2013)

Interested to know how it works as I haven't been successful in keeping things alive yet. 


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## Team Gomberg (Aug 10, 2013)

Well these answers surprise me. I have never been successful at keeping live plants in the indoor enclosures. I "assumed" it was because I don't use artificial UV lighting. 

Well despite not needing the UV rays they should still grow fine under them, correct?

Maybe I should try live plants again...hmmm..

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## blueturtle (Aug 10, 2013)

Well i hope I have some luck at least sprouting the seeds. I haven't had any luck finding safe plants that were already started. 

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## Yvonne G (Aug 11, 2013)

Heather...that's probably because your house is too dark. Indoor plants need way more light than one normally finds indoors.


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## Teodora'sDAD (Aug 11, 2013)

You should be able to sprout seeds under normal florescent light. Seed will sprout MUCH faster if provided heat. A good idea would be to lower your light source so its around 6" from the dirt. Raise it as the plants grow. Provide a heating pad under the saucer to warm the dirt. cover to provide humidity to keep the seeds evenly moist. Dont allow to dry out.  works like a charm!


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## jaizei (Aug 11, 2013)

Thank you Yvonne for explaining what I said, I was mobile and unable to go into detail. 

To expound on what Luke said, if you use fluorescent lamps as grow lights it is better to have them closer since the light is diffuse. A fluorescent lamp mounted higher can cause the plants to become 'leggy'. Lamps with a 'cool' color temperature (5000K and up) encourage vegetative growth. An easy to make adjustable stand. As for germination temperature, there is a sweet spot for most seeds between the high 60s and mid 80s.


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## pfara (Aug 11, 2013)

Yvonne and jaizei are spot on. If you think about it, you can grow indoor plants on window sills and glass filters out UV; same thing with greenhouses. If you don't want to worry about leggy plants and having to lower the lights, consider indoor plants like spiders or bromeliads. They seem to have worked well for me in super humid, low light applications. I made sure to wait a while before putting well established, home improvement plants in my enclosure.


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## blueturtle (Aug 14, 2013)

Update on the seeds I planted! They're doing amazing! In fact I gotta find a way to protect them from being eaten as it seems my tiny little one prefers the sprouts over the spring mix I'm currently offering while these seeds grow in! Lol in here I planted a pod each of pansy and viola and about 3 pods with the seed mix from tort supply. Not sure which is which in the pix since I didn't mark them. They're doing better than the seeds I planted outside for my older goldie. Super happy! So it can be done. 
Btw, these are under 12 hrs of light on a timer. Planted in coco coir in jiffy peat pods. Watered/misted each day around noon. 

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## Kapidolo Farms (Aug 14, 2013)

Yes, the same light will grow plants. The UV lamps also produce the range of the spectrum that plants use in addition to the UV spectrum.

Will


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## Madkins007 (Aug 17, 2013)

Ok, time to get technical.

The sun emits a balanced white light and a lot of 'colors' we cannot see. Pretty much no bulb we can easily buy does this. Fluorescent UV bulbs, for example, emit a lot of yellows and blues, but not so much greens and reds. This looks mostly 'white' to our eyes, but photos often look 'off-color' because of it.

Plants respond to different wavelengths and colors in different ways, but most plant lights put out blue, red, and sometimes green, while dimming other colors. 

Cool fluorescent bulbs are bluish, warm bulbs are yellow and red. Sometimes you can see this in an office or something- some of the tubes are obviously bluer than others. 'Daylight' and 'superwhite' bulbs are more balanced.

Mercury Vapors are also unbalanced- green and purple, but, weirdly enough, a plain incandescent bulb is pretty balanced color-wise.

This is something to think about as you plan your tortoise lighting. They do not see colors the way we do, and I would bet a lot that unbalanced colors affects them in at least some way- possibly making food look funny. I recommend working to get the best white balance you can- it would help the tortoises AND the plants!


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