I'm not going to lie, this isn't a topic I know too well so I'm hoping someone has done the research before. Has anyone looked into the risk of having the tortoise enclosure (and therefore UV Bulb) in a high traffic area such as the kitchen? My understanding is that UV ray exposure is cancer causing. My own bulb is an Arcadia D3 basking lamp which has UVA and UVB and is in the kitchen (we have a rather large kitchen). It's been there for the years we've had our Russian but a recent (unrelated) event has me thinking about the risk of having constant UV rays where the family often is. Is there a risk with these lamps? Should we move the tortoise to a more isolated room?
Having a UV Bulb in the Kitchen
- Thread starter Cee
- Start date
The amount of UVB these bulbs put out dimishes rapidly with distance. At more than 3 feet away, there would be less UV than you would have in the Irish sun at 3 pm in mid winter = virtually none!
Plus if the bulb is inside an enclosure, any glass between the light and you, would totally filter the light as well. The only risk is if the bulb is hung so when you (or kids) are looking in at the tortoise, they are also looking directly at the bulb and it is closer than 50cm or so away.
And if you have had the bulb too long, there is no uvb left in it.
As mentioned, you should be fine. Do you have an outside area for your Russian? They prefer to roam and need to be in a large enclosure. Outside is the best!
tortoiseplanet
Active Member
Extended exposure to UV rays has been linked to eye damage, cataracts, macular degeneration, and more.
This is only if you are able to look the the bulb. The bulb should never be looked at long term and should be hidden with the right lamp/equipment.
This is only if you are able to look the the bulb. The bulb should never be looked at long term and should be hidden with the right lamp/equipment.
We do but as Mark said, there is virtually no sunlight in Ireland during the winter. Plus, it's cold and wet and windy and it's still snowing on and off so outside is limited. It's not a great country in general for raising tortoises as we have very few warm, sunny days but we have him several years now so we can only do the best we can with what we have unless we ship him to a warmer country!
I was actually thinking of this. The bulb prides itself on being long reaching, but I was wondering if we should get a shade attachment for it to focus the light down more.
Thanks for the replies! As I said, I really had no clue on the topic and couldn't find much on reptile lamps with a quick search so I thought I'd ask here
Rusky
Active Member
I may have understood this incorrectly, but are you letting your tortoise roam the kitchen? Tortoises need a dedicated enclosure with substrate they can dig in, and the best lamps only send out uvb at around 2 feet.
Rusky
Active Member
If you have a hood over the light there is no reason that uv light should be reaching humans walking around the kitchen. What sort of enclosure are we talking about? Tortoise table? Closed chamber? Tank?
There's no hood over the light as the bulb description talks about having a wide basking area and long reaching light so I hadn't put one on. It's a table that's about 6ft 7 (2m) x 3ft (1m), and we'll likely be building a bit over it with a railed ramp over the summer.
