Box Turtle Lighting Issues

[JordyMcC]

I am having trouble with my UVB light in my box turtles habitat. I have just moved him into a larger terrarium/coffee table house, however, it is quite shallow, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for a better way to mount his light fixture. I have a temporary set up right now which is basically a light socket with some tin foil wrapped around the base for direction and shade. I realize this is not an ideal or safe set up and would like to replace it as soon as possible.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[lisa127]

Are you using an MVB? Those are not ideal for box turtles. Long tube UVB flourescent is preferred with separate heat source.

How deep is the tank? If it is 18 inches by 48 inches, get an 18 inch screen cover and lay the wrong way on one end to rest lights on.

There is no safety issue with foil around lights. The safety issue is how is the fixture secured?

 

[JordyMcC]

It's about ten inches deep, and I'm using a florescent with a separate heat source. I've attached a picture of the brand and type.

 

[lisa127]

I would switch to long tube flourescent.

 

[Markw84]

You have a very dangerous situation going on there. You cannot use a compact fluorescent like that! Those bulbs are designed to be in a dome or an "aquarium type" hood. That bulb is best mounted about 8" above the top of your turtle to give best UVI exposure. The issue is that they have a very narrow area of optimal UVI levels. Because of the way the tubes are bent and quadrupled back on each other, you have a very large amount of surface area of the tubes in a relatively small area, if you get too close the UVI reading goes off the charts. With aluminum around the bulb, a good deal of all the UV is bounced back and directed down, compounding this.

Your turtle can quickly develop photo kerato conjuctivitis That is damage to the eyes due to extreme UVB exposure. Please remove that setup ASAP.

Your best solution would be to go with a 24" Fluorescent tube and fixture. Mount it to the top of the case and about 12 above turtle level. With the low height of the enclosure I would stay with a 5.0 T8 tube. YOu can then put in a very low wattage incadescent bulb - 25 watts is probably good - for a warm basking area.

 

[JordyMcC]

Good information, I have seen those number letter combinations by several of bulbs while shopping around and was wondering, what does T8 mean? I've also seen T10.

 

[Adogowo]

Good information, I have seen those number letter combinations by several of bulbs while shopping around and was wondering, what does T8 mean? I've also seen T10.

T8 and T10 T12 T5 all of these are simply different diameter of fluorescent light bulbs. The different bulbs are also higher or lower depending. T12's are the old shop lights people used to have everywhere. T-5's are the newest in high output (HO) fluorescent lighting. Set 12 inches from the animal is the ideal range for the full amount of light radiation the bulb emmits to surround the animal.