Bulbs harming the eyes of turtles/tortoises...

[turteler]

Hi all, I have read several threads about coil bulbs damaging the eyes and vision of turtles and tortoises, apparently this kind of bulbs:

I have bought an Exo Terra Turtle UVB bulb and now I'm afraid if it could be one of the dangerous coil type, this:

Could someone please confirm if this bulb is safe to use?

 

[Tom]

I would not trust any cfl type bulb after what I've seen first hand.

Having said that, I have not seen that particular bulb in use at all, so it might be fine. On the other hand, it might burn your turtles eyes. Why not use something known to be safer?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. I agree with Tom. However, if you want to try using it, you have it in a proper fixture, the bulb going left to right, not hanging up and down. Just keep a close eye on your tort/turtle for any eye problems if you use it, and stop using it at the first sign of a problem.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi @turteler and welcome to the forum!

Personally, I would not use any of the lights you posted. "Better be safe than sorry."

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

It was my understanding that if you mount that type of bulb so it is horizontal and not vertical, it is ok to use. But, like Wellington said, if you use it, keep a close eye on your tortoise to make sure it isn't hurting his eyes. We have found it to be very young tortoises that are sensitive to the light, not so much older tortoises.

 

[turteler]

Thanks for your answers, I think I will return this bulb... I rather prefer buying another one than risking his eyes / health.

I would not trust any cfl type bulb after what I've seen first hand.

Having said that, I have not seen that particular bulb in use at all, so it might be fine. On the other hand, it might burn your turtles eyes. Why not use something known to be safer?

Could you please specify which one would be safe? I'd like to buy Exo Terra because this brand is easily findable in stores where I live.

I looked at their webpage and it seems that their products are rated with some kind of 'star system', which designates the animal species and the bulb safety distance: http://www.exo-terra.com/en/explore/uv_rating_index.php

In my case the bulb will be 12inch/30cm away from my turtle, and his species is rated with '2 stars', so I cannot manage to find any product which fits to my turtle aside from the 'turtle uvb' ... there are only 3 bulbs emitting UVB:

Solar Glo: 12inch/30cm = 5 stars (too much) http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/solar_glo.php
Sunray Bulb: 12inch/30cm = 5 stars (too much) http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/sunray_bulb.php
Turtle UVB: 12inch/30cm = 2 stars (exact) http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/turtle_uvb_bulb.php

So the only one which seems to fit is the Turtle UVB, that's why I bought it... but since I have read they are dangerous I have no idea what should I buy now...

 

[Tom]

Those product guides are not a bad place to start, but there are too many variables for them to be reliable and also remember that the goal is to sell more product.

"Regular" 10.0 style florescent tubes will be at the outer limits of their effective range at 12", and HO type bulbs would be too close at 12".

Can you mount the fixture higher? Or just a little lower? Or raise the substrate height to bring the turtle closer to the bulb?

Where are you? What species of turtle are we talking about?

 

[turteler]

Those product guides are not a bad place to start, but there are too many variables for them to be reliable and also remember that the goal is to sell more product.

"Regular" 10.0 style florescent tubes will be at the outer limits of their effective range at 12", and HO type bulbs would be too close at 12".

Can you mount the fixture higher? Or just a little lower? Or raise the substrate height to bring the turtle closer to the bulb?

Where are you? What species of turtle are we talking about?

I'm from Spain, the turtle I have is a red slider (scripta elegans). My idea is to place the fixture just above the terrarium, leaning on the top metal bars, so the distance is not variable unless I buy some kind of external support or movable arm. I already have one 100W ceramic bulb placed over the bars for heating, this one: http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/ceramic_heater.php

Would you say any of the bulbs I mentioned before (solar glo and sunray bulb) would be appropriate?

 

[Alexio]

I am curious about your setup. Could you post a picture of your tank? Admittedly i have never heard of someone using a che with a red eared slider? You did say it was a red eared slider right?

 

[Tom]

I'm from Spain, the turtle I have is a red slider (scripta elegans). My idea is to place the fixture just above the terrarium, leaning on the top metal bars, so the distance is not variable unless I buy some kind of external support or movable arm. I already have one 100W ceramic bulb placed over the bars for heating, this one: http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/ceramic_heater.php

Would you say any of the bulbs I mentioned before (solar glo and sunray bulb) would be appropriate?

I don't have experience with those particular bulbs, so I'm reluctant to offer specific advice.

 

[turteler]

I am curious about your setup. Could you post a picture of your tank? Admittedly i have never heard of someone using a che with a red eared slider? You did say it was a red eared slider right?

Yes, is a red eared slider, heat and uva/uvb is needed, I wanted to leave the heater turned on 24 hours, but I didn't want any light during the night, that's why I decided to buy one independent ceramic bulb just for heating, and one lightning bulb apart for the uva/uvb, instead of buying a 3-in-1 bulb.

My setup is basically the aquarium on the bottom and the terrarium above, connecting both with a ramp:

I'm putting the lamps leaning on the top bars that I use to secure the enclosure:

I don't have experience with those particular bulbs, so I'm reluctant to offer specific advice.

In that case I would find the way to buy any other brand, maybe on Amazon or some online store, what I want is to be sure that I'm buying a safe bulb... on your first post you said "On the other hand, it might burn your turtles eyes. Why not use something known to be safer?". So, if you could tell me which are those I will buy one of them.

 

[Tom]

Yes, is a red eared slider, heat and uva/uvb is needed, I wanted to leave the heater turned on 24 hours, but I didn't want any light during the night, that's why I decided to buy one independent ceramic bulb just for heating, and one lightning bulb apart for the uva/uvb, instead of buying a 3-in-1 bulb.

My setup is basically the aquarium on the bottom and the terrarium above, connecting both with a ramp:

I'm putting the lamps leaning on the top bars that I use to secure the enclosure:

In that case I would find the way to buy any other brand, maybe on Amazon or some online store, what I want is to be sure that I'm buying a safe bulb... on your first post you said "On the other hand, it might burn your turtles eyes. Why not use something known to be safer?". So, if you could tell me which are those I will buy one of them.

Any of the "regular" florescent tubes are safe. The issue is that most of them are not effective UV sources unless that are mounted close enough. I think one of these could work for you as long as you can get it close enough to the turtle, or get the turtle close enough to the bulb by making the haul out area a little higher under the bulb. It look like you could mount the florescent fixture to the underside of the metal top and that would get you the necessary distance.

The newer "HO" (High Output) type UV bulbs make great UV, but you have to be careful not to get them too close to the turtle as they make A LOT of UV.

In any case a UV meter is an essential tool in mounting your bulb, whichever one you choose, at the correct height and checking to make sure it is still producing good UV into the future.

This guy: http://www.lightyourreptiles.com is a great resource for lighting questions. I don't know if he can ship to Spain or not.

 

[turteler]

Any of the "regular" florescent tubes are safe. The issue is that most of them are not effective UV sources unless that are mounted close enough. I think one of these could work for you as long as you can get it close enough to the turtle, or get the turtle close enough to the bulb by making the haul out area a little higher under the bulb. It look like you could mount the florescent fixture to the underside of the metal top and that would get you the necessary distance.

The newer "HO" (High Output) type UV bulbs make great UV, but you have to be careful not to get them too close to the turtle as they make A LOT of UV.

In any case a UV meter is an essential tool in mounting your bulb, whichever one you choose, at the correct height and checking to make sure it is still producing good UV into the future.

This guy: http://www.lightyourreptiles.com is a great resource for lighting questions. I don't know if he can ship to Spain or not.

Ok so I will search for one regular fluorescent, those which are straight shaped, am I correct?, like this one:

Looking again at the bulb that I bought, the 'Exo Terra Turtle UVB', is it really a CFL type? I have been looking at those kind of bulbs and they tend to be shorter, like these ones:

The Exo Terra bulb is quite longer, but I guess it still enters in the CFL group, right?

 

[Tom]

I would consider your bulb a type of cfl. However, the safety of your bulb is an unknown as I don't know of anyone who is using that bulb over a reptile.

 

[turteler]

I would consider your bulb a type of cfl. However, the safety of your bulb is an unknown as I don't know of anyone who is using that bulb over a reptile.

Yes, it is a CFL bulb for sure... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp
The second bulb in the second picture is like the one I have, and it is refered as a 'compact fluorescent lamp'. I'm definitely going to return it.

I will probably buy a fluorescent tube or a vapor mercury bulb. Would you recommend one over the other for some reason?

 

[Tom]

Yes, it is a CFL bulb for sure... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp
The second bulb in the second picture is like the one I have, and it is refered as a 'compact fluorescent lamp'. I'm definitely going to return it.

I will probably buy a fluorescent tube or a vapor mercury bulb. Would you recommend one over the other for some reason?

I used to recommend the MVBs as a convenient and good source of heat, light and UV all-in-one, but apparently some of them are only making UV for 3 months now. I would not trust one without a UV meter to check it if my tortoises depended on indoor UV for most of the year.