How to choose the light bulb?

[Vita]

I was using this until Iwas told that it is not good at all to my tortoises eyes:

So now I am looking for a new one. Before searching online, I went to the shop. Light bulbs for reptiles were only in one of them. Like these:

Are they good? And how can I know which one to choose - 50w, 75w or 100w?
Thanks !

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

You need one that says it outputs UVB, not just UVA - that second bulb isn't a UVB bulb. The wattage depends on your enclosure style and size and what options you have for mounting height.

 

[Tom]

We need some more info first.
Where are you?
What species and size tortoise are you trying to heat and light?
How much time does your tortoise spend outside daily?
What size and type enclosure?

With the above info we can make a good suggestion for you to start with, but you will still need to check whatever you get and possibly make adjustments.

I would not get the bulb you pictured because it is a "spot" bulb. Those concentrate too much heat in one small area and they typically lead to excessive carapace desiccation. If all you need is heat, you can use a regular incandescent flood bulb from the hardware store.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

If he's outside a lot you don't need a UVB light. If he's not, I always try to find a 100 watt Powersun.....I hang mine so that its' not too close. My sis made the hanging thing for me, most of my habitats have one. It's a bar over the top and the wood goes under that tank (or whatever) for stability. With that I can raise or lower the light as needed.I'll try to get a picture for you.
Now here's where Tom and I will disagree. My family has been in the turtle and tortoise business for 35 years or so and we have always used a black light for warmth. The color it puts out is something the torts can't see. They all sleep good and to my knowledge, none have ever been hurt by them...

 

[Careym13]

As Tom said, more info would be very helpful so that we can make the right suggestions in order to help you. A photo of your enclosure would be great if you can post one up.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Hi Vita, I can add some bit more that is not an echo of the good advise already posted.

Those coil bulbs seem to alter behavior regardless of whether they put out the correct spectrum or not. I think it is simply to focused a spot of light. The same wattage can be found in straight tube bulbs and the straight tube distributes the light over a larger area, so you get the same watts of illumination over more enclosure space.

I prefer T5 HO tubes. the digits after the "T" indicate how many 1/8 inches in diameter the tube is, so yeah a T8 is 8/8ths or one inch etc. The T5 HO is a very good and easily obtainable bulb and fixture. The light for the dollar has the best value ratio of any UVA/UVB lighting system.

I prefer to provide heat separate from light, as I may need to heat at night and don't want the light on. I use room heaters or heat mats for heat. Also when you use the fluorescent fixture they put out a good amount of heat themselves, so they can in part warm the enclosure (better use of this heat in a enclosed, not open top, enclosure).

If you go the route of T5 HO keep in mind there are T5 but not HO, HO = High Output. A two foot single tube fixture for a T5 HO uses a 24 watt tube, a regular T5 of the same length uses a 14 watt tube, so even if the packaging is confusing one way or the other, they all say what wattage tube to use, and for the two foot the tubes are 24 watt, 24 watts for 24 inches. If you go for a four foot, they are 52 watts for 48 inches, you pick up some output the longer the tube is.

You can buy these fixtures as single, twin or up-to 24 tubes at most indoor plant growing stores. The tubes them self can be bought through Arcadia or ZooMed, sold all over the world. If you get a multiple tube fixture the other spaces after the UVA/UVB tube can be used for general illumination and I suggest using tubes called BlueMax, for the 24 inch ( http://www.bluemaxlighting.com/product_334_detailed.htm ) the color balance is as good as any tube out there, if not the best.

As for which type of UVA/UVB tube to get 5.0, 10.0 or 12.0 etc, that is dependent on questions already sought in this thread. Another thing about the T5 HO, the UV's output lasts longer than other types of tubes.

 

[Vita]

Thank you all very much for your advice. I'll try to give more information :
I am from Latvia. We have 4 seasons here and summers are not the hottest. So my tortoises can spend outside maximum 1,5 months during summer and that is all. So most of the time they spend inside in their terrarium. There is a box for sleeping (made it after reading information given in this forum . And the walking space - 84cm long and 44cm wide. The distance from the light bold till the tortoise is about 22cm (when the tortoise is under it). It is an open terrarium.Next month I will put the female away from the male in a closed terrarium (the size is almost the same as this open one).
I have 2 Russian tortoises.
I have got also a ceramic heating bolb because the room temperature is about 20-24 degrees celsium and sometims lower in the beggining of winter.
Tortoises are about 19 and 16 years old.
Something is wrong with my camera's memory card so I can't take a picture of the enclousure .

 

[Vita]

Hi Vita, I can add some bit more that is not an echo of the good advise already posted.

Those coil bulbs seem to alter behavior regardless of whether they put out the correct spectrum or not. I think it is simply to focused a spot of light. The same wattage can be found in straight tube bulbs and the straight tube distributes the light over a larger area, so you get the same watts of illumination over more enclosure space.

I prefer T5 HO tubes. the digits after the "T" indicate how many 1/8 inches in diameter the tube is, so yeah a T8 is 8/8ths or one inch etc. The T5 HO is a very good and easily obtainable bulb and fixture. The light for the dollar has the best value ratio of any UVA/UVB lighting system.

I prefer to provide heat separate from light, as I may need to heat at night and don't want the light on. I use room heaters or heat mats for heat. Also when you use the fluorescent fixture they put out a good amount of heat themselves, so they can in part warm the enclosure (better use of this heat in a enclosed, not open top, enclosure).

If you go the route of T5 HO keep in mind there are T5 but not HO, HO = High Output. A two foot single tube fixture for a T5 HO uses a 24 watt tube, a regular T5 of the same length uses a 14 watt tube, so even if the packaging is confusing one way or the other, they all say what wattage tube to use, and for the two foot the tubes are 24 watt, 24 watts for 24 inches. If you go for a four foot, they are 52 watts for 48 inches, you pick up some output the longer the tube is.

You can buy these fixtures as single, twin or up-to 24 tubes at most indoor plant growing stores. The tubes them self can be bought through Arcadia or ZooMed, sold all over the world. If you get a multiple tube fixture the other spaces after the UVA/UVB tube can be used for general illumination and I suggest using tubes called BlueMax, for the 24 inch ( http://www.bluemaxlighting.com/product_334_detailed.htm ) the color balance is as good as any tube out there, if not the best.

As for which type of UVA/UVB tube to get 5.0, 10.0 or 12.0 etc, that is dependent on questions already sought in this thread. Another thing about the T5 HO, the UV's output lasts longer than other types of tubes.

Thank you very much for this valuable information . I have got no lamps for these tubes at home, so it seems very complicated. I am now reading info given on Arcadia homepage and trying to understand all the numbers.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

I'm not so informed about your local shipping and travel concerns so please forgive me if I error in an assumption.

The fixtures and UVA/UVB tubes are readily available in St. Petersburg, I was there a few years ago, and as with most travel I visited pet shops. They had ZooMed there.

 

[keepergale]

Color me embarrassed. After all these years I didn't know that the T5 T10 etc gave me a tube diameter.

 

[Vita]

Searching through the internet, I found light bulbs like these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E27-220V-...rum-UVA-UVB-/331572346021?hash=item4d33407ca5
Maybe you can give some advice about it? The price is so low compared to other uva/uvb bulbs that it makes me suspicious about the quality.

 

[Vita]

Today I with a lot of help from my fater started to build a vivarium for my female tortoise (we are making it from an old TV table). I am thinking about putting there a HO Tube. But I can not find a lamp where it is put in. I found only one that cost more than 100 euro. Are there any cheaper ones where to put this tube in?
And for the other enclousure I thing I will leave the lighting buld but still can not fond one that does not cost a fortune . And another question - can I use only the bulb or I need also the lamp for it?

 

[Yvonne G]

Searching through the internet, I found light bulbs like these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E27-220V-...rum-UVA-UVB-/331572346021?hash=item4d33407ca5
Maybe you can give some advice about it? The price is so low compared to other uva/uvb bulbs that it makes me suspicious about the quality.

Try to find one that looks like this (but I think 100 watts is big enough) :

You can mount this bulb in a ceramic-based fixture like this:

...but don't use the clamp. Hang it instead so it hands straight down.

If you want to use the fluorescent UVB tube with reflector hood, this page looks like people "across the pond" can order from them:

http://arcadia-reptile.com/t5-slimline-luminaire/

 

[Vita]

Try to find one that looks like this (but I think 100 watts is big enough) :

You can mount this bulb in a ceramic-based fixture like this:

...but don't use the clamp. Hang it instead so it hands straight down.

If you want to use the fluorescent UVB tube with reflector hood, this page looks like people "across the pond" can order from them:

http://arcadia-reptile.com/t5-slimline-luminaire/

Thank you ! Maybe you can advice me about this one:

I have got it already installed in the open enclousure. Can I this it for this Power sun bulb or I have to change it for the fixture you suggested? Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

No, that looks like a ceramic base fixture. The only difference between yours and mine is that the bell-shaped dome directs more of the heat down towards the floor of the habitat. Without the dome you lose a lot of the heat going upwards. But it should still work.

 

[Vita]

No, that looks like a ceramic base fixture. The only difference between yours and mine is that the bell-shaped dome directs more of the heat down towards the floor of the habitat. Without the dome you lose a lot of the heat going upwards. But it should still work.

Thanks

 

[Lyn W]

Hi Vita, I am in the UK which can be quite chilly all year around - even in the summer this year!
I use an MVB like the Powersun that Yvonne has posted but a different make (Arcadia Mini D3).
It is great as it gives light heat and vital uv rays in one bulb. It is fitted in a ceramic holder with a wide dome. I hang mine so that I can adjust the temp by raising or lowering the height of the bulb above the tort - about 10 inches above shell was recommended to me - but I check it with a temperature gun.
At night I use a ceramic heat emitter which gives just heat but no light as torts need darkness to sleep. This is fitted in another ceramic holder with wide dome, and is attached to a thermostat which keeps temps even. I believe some people just use black bulbs for this, but I don't know if they can be used with a thermostat.
As a novice myself I know getting the right equipment can be quite confusing but the good advice from experienced keepers here like Yvonne Tom and Maggie will help you get things right.

 

[Vita]

Hi Vita, I am in the UK which can be quite chilly all year around - even in the summer this year!
I use an MVB like the Powersun that Yvonne has posted but a different make (Arcadia Mini D3).
It is great as it gives light heat and vital uv rays in one bulb. It is fitted in a ceramic holder with a wide dome. I hang mine so that I can adjust the temp by raising or lowering the height of the bulb above the tort - about 10 inches above shell was recommended to me - but I check it with a temperature gun.
At night I use a ceramic heat emitter which gives just heat but no light as torts need darkness to sleep. This is fitted in another ceramic holder with wide dome, and is attached to a thermostat which keeps temps even. I believe some people just use black bulbs for this, but I don't know if they can be used with a thermostat.
As a novice myself I know getting the right equipment can be quite confusing but the good advice from experienced keepers here like Yvonne Tom and Maggie will help you get things right.

Thank you

 

[Vita]

Is this one good? As I want to get a new light bulb as soon as possible, I am looking for one I can buy in Latvia. Actually this is the only one of this type. Others are so called coil bulbs . Like these:

 

[Vita]

Any advice about this one? Is it good for tortoises?
Arcadia Euro Range Desert 10%+