Light recommendations for Greek tortoise
- Thread starter Giannis
- Start date
tort_luv_5055
Member
Hiya! Welcome to the forum! Its a goldmine of information.
So...heat and UV. Thats a toughie. Let me tell you all I know....
First of all, your tortoise needs UVB. UVA is not good for them, or so I hear. I believe that UVA is the strongest rays of the sun. These rays penetrate all the way through our atmosphere. UVA is what causes sunburns. UVB is the weaker rays. They do not penetrate as strongly as UVA. UVB is the filtered vitamins and minerals that tortoises need for a healthy shell and bone develpoment. So you need UVB, not UVA.
Anyways, these bulbs are a tad pricey. Think 30 to 50 dollars, depending on the brand and size of the bulb. I bought a 10.0 UVB bulb from Zoomed for an 18 inch fixture (20 bucks). ( my enclosure is 2 and a half feet long) But, if you buy a bigger tank, you need a bigger, more expensive bulb. Does that make sense?
I would buy two separate bulbs- one for heating and one for UVB. Buy a standard fixture made for kitchen or bathrooms (SO MUCH CHEAPER THEN PET STORE FIXTURES) for the UVB bulb. Make sure you get the long strip tube bulb. They sell thousands of different fixtures for them. I have a plain white one.
Buy another dome shaped fixture for a 100 watt white bulb. This is will give you a nice toasty basking spot and gradual heat gradient all around the enclosure. Buying the bulb that is both is just so expensive. Its outrageous. (50 bucks lowest) You can also buy a CHE to maintain night temps.
Good luck!!
So...heat and UV. Thats a toughie. Let me tell you all I know....
First of all, your tortoise needs UVB. UVA is not good for them, or so I hear. I believe that UVA is the strongest rays of the sun. These rays penetrate all the way through our atmosphere. UVA is what causes sunburns. UVB is the weaker rays. They do not penetrate as strongly as UVA. UVB is the filtered vitamins and minerals that tortoises need for a healthy shell and bone develpoment. So you need UVB, not UVA.
Anyways, these bulbs are a tad pricey. Think 30 to 50 dollars, depending on the brand and size of the bulb. I bought a 10.0 UVB bulb from Zoomed for an 18 inch fixture (20 bucks). ( my enclosure is 2 and a half feet long) But, if you buy a bigger tank, you need a bigger, more expensive bulb. Does that make sense?
I would buy two separate bulbs- one for heating and one for UVB. Buy a standard fixture made for kitchen or bathrooms (SO MUCH CHEAPER THEN PET STORE FIXTURES) for the UVB bulb. Make sure you get the long strip tube bulb. They sell thousands of different fixtures for them. I have a plain white one.
Buy another dome shaped fixture for a 100 watt white bulb. This is will give you a nice toasty basking spot and gradual heat gradient all around the enclosure. Buying the bulb that is both is just so expensive. Its outrageous. (50 bucks lowest) You can also buy a CHE to maintain night temps.
Good luck!!
tort_luv_5055
Member
Oh yeah, and also, UVB bulbs need to be changed every six months. If you bought the two bulbs together, think 100 bucks a year just for lighting. Yeah.
Check out the Mega Ray bulb by Reptile UV. They claim 6000 hours of usable UV from their bulbs. This claim can easily be verified with a Solarmeter 6.2.
Reptile UV has had their problems over the years, but I'm a believer in their products and research.
Reptile UV has had their problems over the years, but I'm a believer in their products and research.
