Finally got a UV bulb

[Erick153]

Hey everyone. I finally got a uvb bulb for Ayana and Im wondering what yhe gegeral consensus is on the brand I got. Its a zilla slim line light fixture with a desert 50 uvb bulb. Also what do you think about yhe placement? Rather than placing it on top I decided to use double sided sticky tape to securely place it inside the tank. Its about 6"-7" from the ground which provides around 75 microwatts of uvb according to the packaging. It was rather affordable too and came all in one package so I am curious as to whether I have a good product here.

 

[Lyn W]

Hey everyone. I finally got a uvb bulb for Ayana and Im wondering what yhe gegeral consensus is on the brand I got. Its a zilla slim line light fixture with a desert 50 uvb bulb. Also what do you think about yhe placement? Rather than placing it on top I decided to use double sided sticky tape to securely place it inside the tank. Its about 6"-7" from the ground which provides around 75 microwatts of uvb according to the packaging. It was rather affordable too and came all in one package so I am curious as to whether I have a good product here. View attachment 154730

Be careful of the double sided tape it tends to lose its stickiness in hot humid conditions - you don't want to burn your tort or God forbid start a fire when it falls!!
Needs to be much more secure than that. Better safe than sorry!

 

[Erick153]

Its not exactly tape, its a heavy duty gooey type strip. Trust me, that thing aint going anywhere! I accidently placed it too close to the wall and made the switch very hard to access so I tried to remove it and re-place it, but to no avail. Now I gotta use a scalpel to switch it on and off . I will keep an eye on it though to make sure its holding up. While were on the topic, how long should I keep her humidty at around 85%? I was under the impression that she prefered desert conditions but I tend to find her in her humid hide most of the time.

 

[Tom]

They hatch during the African rainy season. Its hot and humid. This is not a desert species.

And tortoises wil ofte make choices, for a wide variety of reasons, that are not good for them, so it really doesn't matter what sid ehte tortoise prefers to be on. You need to make it so that both sides meet the tortoises needs.

They need humidity as long as they are growing.

Have you seen these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Erick153]

Any s

They hatch during the African rainy season. Its hot and humid. This is not a desert species.

And tortoises wil ofte make choices, for a wide variety of reasons, that are not good for them, so it really doesn't matter what sid ehte tortoise prefers to be on. You need to make it so that both sides meet the tortoises needs.

They need humidity as long as they are growing.

Have you seen these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Any suggestions on how many hours a day I should keep the uvb bulb on for?

 

[Tom]

Usually I would recommend leaving that type on all day. I'd set it on a timer with the heat lamp.

But in your case, with it mounted that low, I'd feel more comfortable if you put a UV meter under it, so you'd know exactly what you are dealing with.

 

[AnimalLady]

I know you say the sticky stuff is industrial, but is it rated for heat? Over time it can melt and fall and that would be really bad.
For my sanity and peace of mind i'd use some other back up to hold it in place. Good luck!

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!