LED UVBs

Fresh Hex

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Recently saw some LED UVB lights for sale. Expensive, but are supposed to last 20,000 hours. Has anyone used these before? Do UVB levels drop off over time?
 

Tom

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I've not seen any LED UV bulbs yet. Do you have a link? I don't think anyone will have an answer to this as it is something new to the market.
 

Fresh Hex

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I've not seen any LED UV bulbs yet. Do you have a link? I don't think anyone will have an answer to this as it is something new to the market.

No I don't have a link because I apparently misread the ad to begin with. It was a combo LED T5 fixture.

Inauspicious first forum post.
 

Tom

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Ahh... Well if its a combo and the T5 HO is a decent bulb, then UV output should be good, and I've been sing LEDs for light for a while now and its been all good.

I don't think you are off to a bd start. Welcome to the forum! :) I'll be out near you in a couple of weeks for work. I love Georgia.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome! I use the T5, but it's just a straight fluorescent UVB tube, no combo.
 

Markw84

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There are no LED uvb lights on the market. Any that say they produce UV only produce the very longest wavelength UVA. Useless for D3 production.
 

Fresh Hex

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Ahh... Well if its a combo and the T5 HO is a decent bulb, then UV output should be good, and I've been sing LEDs for light for a while now and its been all good.

I don't think you are off to a bd start. Welcome to the forum! :) I'll be out near you in a couple of weeks for work. I love Georgia.

Thanks. I just today received a 4" CB Hermann's. First tortoise for me. Always been more of a bug and snake guy. Still waiting on his UVB fixture and bulbs to arrive.
 

Tom

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Thanks. I just today received a 4" CB Hermann's. First tortoise for me. Always been more of a bug and snake guy. Still waiting on his UVB fixture and bulbs to arrive.
If you make a safe and secure outdoor enclosure, you won't really need the UV bulb until fall.
 

Fresh Hex

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If you make a safe and secure outdoor enclosure, you won't really need the UV bulb until fall.

Yeah I'm planning to put one together eventually. It just rains so much and is so humid here I don't think it would do well if kept outside. I could be wrong though.
 

Tom

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Yeah I'm planning to put one together eventually. It just rains so much and is so humid here I don't think it would do well if kept outside. I could be wrong though.
Forgive me if I've missed it, but what species are we talking about?
 

Tom

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Hermann's.
Hermanni can handle some humidity. If your tortoise is acclimated, it should be fine as long as temperatures are warm. Personally, my preference is to have both an indoor and an outdoor enclosure for them. Indoors at night and during rainy or cold weather, and outdoors during fair weather.
 

Fresh Hex

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Hermanni can handle some humidity. If your tortoise is acclimated, it should be fine as long as temperatures are warm. Personally, my preference is to have both an indoor and an outdoor enclosure for them. Indoors at night and during rainy or cold weather, and outdoors during fair weather.

I'll have to read up more on how to acclimate it safely. I'd love for it to be able to graze a bit in my yard.
 

Tom

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I'll have to read up more on how to acclimate it safely. I'd love for it to be able to graze a bit in my yard.
If your tortoise was raised in an area with a similar climate to yours, it should be fine outside all the time. If your tortoise was hatch in Vegas or AZ and is used to a bone dry environment, then I would keep outside time down to an hour or two, and gradually add more. This will allow the tortoise to get used to the new climate and conditions gradually instead of all at once in one shocking moment.
 
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