Heat lamp drama

[CaptainPugwash'sMum]

Captain Pugwash lives in his vivarium in our living room and has a UVA lamp, a UVB lamp and a heat pad for overnight. Today we have noticed that the blue paint (?) has peeled off the UVB bulb (the bulb is 4 months old) so it is bright white light shining through. We are worried that the bright light could damage his eyes so have tried to replace it this evening (the bulb and converter we got from Pets At Home doesn't work so we only have the old bulb until we can find a new one tomorrow). Does it matter if the bulb loses it's colour? The temperature is the same as normal...any ideas?

 

[Akronic]

some times they coat the bulb in a phosphorus powder coating, but i thought that was just for florescent UVB bulbs. unless you keep the house really cold, he doesnt need the heat pad at night, and do yourself a favor and just get a single Powersun UVB it provides all the essential lighting and heating requirements that your tort will need if kept indoors. what do you mean by converter? post some pics of your lighting and setup.

 

[ascott]

I believe this member is in the uk??

 

[Tom]

Can you show us a pic of the peeling bulb? I know of know UV bulb with that sort of coating. You can use a regular household incandescent bult for heat until you get you Uv bulb replaced.

And depending on the species, age and how damp you keep things, you might need night heat.

 

[Madkins007]

I have also never heard of a coated UVB bulb- I am wondering if you got a real UVB bulb, or a cheaper 'black light bulb' or were misinformed somehow.

By the way, ALL UVB bulbs emit all the UVA a reptile needs- you don't need both bulbs.

 

[CaptainPugwash'sMum]

C:\Users\Helen\Pictures\2012-04-14\210.JPG
C:\Users\Helen\Pictures\2012-04-14\212.JPG
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Hope these pictures upload! We got all the lighting as a "starter pack" when we got Captain Pugwash...I'm really confused and worried that I'm doing totally the wrong things for him

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I really wish I understood how to upload pictures...bewildered :-s

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Is it working?

 

[Tom]

Ahh... A picture really is worth a thousand words...

The incandescent bulb there is just a colored household bulb. You are not getting any UV from that. Its fine for basking and warming the enclosure for the day time, but a regular non-colored bulb will work much better for you. You can find these at any hardware store or where ever you'd normally buy light bulbs. You can also just go ahead and continue using that one since the color is now coming off anyway.

If your florescent tube along the back is a special UV emitting type, then you might be getting some UV from that, but it is much too far away. Where it is now, it does a fine job of lighting the enclosure, but you probably are getting little to no UV benefit from it. It should really be no more than 10-12" from the tortoise for maximum benefit. Also those bulbs must be replaced every 6 months or so since the UV output drops of sharply. After all of that... I personally have found the florescent types to be inadequate as a sole source of UV for an indoor reptile.

I see another bulb on top of the enclosure not being used. What ever it is, it will not be giving you any UV either. I'm not sure what it is, but I can tell that it is not a MVB. I think an MVB would be too powerful for your small enclosure since the smallest size is a 100 watt.

So that all means Captain Pugwash is in serious need of some REAL UV. Is it warm enough for an outdoor pen and some real sunshine where you are? If he get at least an hour or two of sun a couple times a week, then your current lighting set up should be just fine. More sun would be better, but that amount can serve as a minimum. No harm in having better UV inside, in addition to the sun outside either.

Last thing, it looks like the Cap'n could use a much bigger enclosure now, and a real hide where he can cozy up and tuck in. He could really benefit from a humid hide to simulate the sort of hidey holes a wild one might either find or excavate.

Hope this all helps. Come on back with more questions...

 

[CaptainPugwash'sMum]

Ok...I'm a terrible tortoise mum :-( please can you all come round to my house (kettle's on) and sort out my lovely tortoise - he needs a new house and new lighting, new substrate and possibly new curtains and soft furnishings xxx thanks everyone for their help xxx

 

[lovelyrosepetal]

I would not say you are a terrible tortoise mum, or else you would not care enough to ask. I think the advice and criticisms we receive on this site only help us to be better able to take care of our amazing torts. I think that you are great and it is good info. for all of us!

 

[JoesMum]

You're not a terrible Tort Mum... you came on here to ask

I believe you're a Mancunian. I know the weather is on the damp side up there (I went to uni in Lancaster and got webbed feet), but even there they can go outside at this time of year.

They don't mind rain, it's cold that gets them. Even an hour or two every other day with cloud cover will give him the UVB he needs

 

[wellington]

Ok...I'm a terrible tortoise mum :-( please can you all come round to my house (kettle's on) and sort out my lovely tortoise - he needs a new house and new lighting, new substrate and possibly new curtains and soft furnishings xxx thanks everyone for their help xxx

If I lived by you, I would be right over. However, I'm in another country. No one on this forum is a bad tort keeper, we are all here, because we all care and are passionate about our torts and in helping others. I would just add on to the enclosure you have. Get one CHE(ceramic heat emitter) for night time heat, when needed and get one UVB bulb, either the tube type flourescent or the MVB (mercury vapor bulb) the flourescent does not give off heat. So if heat is needed during the day, use with the CHE. The MVB gives off both heat, light and UVB-UVA. Only one you will need during cold days and then the CHE only on cold nights. Hopes this helps a little.