Domm

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Hello,

I was wondering if the Powersun bulb really works? Right now I have the UVA/ Heat bulb and then a separate tube light for UVB. With winter coming I need to close the enclosure and cut holes in the lid. I was thinking only cutting one hole for the powersun bulb and then one for the CHE. Will condensing the amount of light fixtures work? He is a three month old eastern hermanns.
 

Minority2

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Hello,

I was wondering if the Powersun bulb really works? Right now I have the UVA/ Heat bulb and then a separate tube light for UVB. With winter coming I need to close the enclosure and cut holes in the lid. I was thinking only cutting one hole for the powersun bulb and then one for the CHE. Will condensing the amount of light fixtures work? He is a three month old eastern hermanns.

I and many others generally do not recommend mercury vapor bulbs such as the powersun because they're not good for tortoises.

1. Tend to run way too hot and cause severe dryness to a tortoise's shell. Very likely to cause pyramiding in growing tortoses if living conditions are not changed to counteract it's effects. The side effect of this can also cause tortoises to stay inactive.
2. Tend to lose uv(B) effectiveness in a matter or months after using.
3. Burning out before estimated life span.
4. Overpriced.
5. A single mercury vapor bulb and lamp fixture is not going to be able to provide sufficient light thorough the rest of an average sized (8ft x 4ft) indoor tortoise enclosure.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Mercury vapor bulbs get really hot, dessicating, and vary wildly in uvb output. They're generally not recommended here.
 

Tom

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Hello,

I was wondering if the Powersun bulb really works? Right now I have the UVA/ Heat bulb and then a separate tube light for UVB. With winter coming I need to close the enclosure and cut holes in the lid. I was thinking only cutting one hole for the powersun bulb and then one for the CHE. Will condensing the amount of light fixtures work? He is a three month old eastern hermanns.
I agree with the previous posters. The system you are using now is better.

There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
  3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
This might help too:
 

Domm

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Wait so his basking light is a mercury vapor I think? Is this bad? Its his heat/UVA bulb, I have the long tube light for his UVB...... This is the basking bulb

1597371469694.png1597371469694.png
 

Tom

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Wait so his basking light is a mercury vapor I think? Is this bad? Its his heat/UVA bulb, I have the long tube light for his UVB...... This is the basking bulb
Yes. That is bad. Its a spot bulb. No spots, no MVBs, no halogens, no colored bulbs.
 

Domm

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So then what bulb should I be using for his basking spot? At the pet store they all look like this one and say mercury vapor? Is there a specific one you use?
 

Minority2

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So then what bulb should I be using for his basking spot? At the pet store they all look like this one and say mercury vapor? Is there a specific one you use?

You don't buy the basking bulb at a pet store. You buy that at your local hardware shop/home depot/online retailer. A regular incandescent flood styled bulb is going to cost around $1.80-2.20 per bulb depending on wattage and size. One of those double reflector garbage basking bulbs on the other hand is about 3-5x that price and is more likely to cause more harm to your tortoise than the incandescent flood bulb would.

An example of a 65 watt version:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002CZ1E4M/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
 

Domm

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I've been told by so many people not to do that.... that the hardware bulbs don't emit the right UVA ..... but I can easily grab one from Lowes, thats what i originally wanted to do and people steered me wrong it looks like....
 

Yvonne G

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You don't want UVA, you want UVB. And unless the packaging specifically says UVB, then it's not the right bulb.

I have found using a fluorescent tube UVB bulb in conjunction with a radiant heat panel works better than the desicating Power Sun bulbs.
 

Tom

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I've been told by so many people not to do that.... that the hardware bulbs don't emit the right UVA ..... but I can easily grab one from Lowes, thats what i originally wanted to do and people steered me wrong it looks like....
The hardware store bulbs do not emit UVA or UVB. That part is correct. You are not using it for that. Its your basking bulb, and for your basking bulb, you don't want something that is going to excessively desiccate the carapace and cause pyramiding. Spot bulbs, UVA emitting bulbs, halogen bulbs, and MVBs all cause too much desiccation and contribute to pyramiding. A low wattage flood bulb set at the correct height gives them their warmer basking area, but minimizes the desiccation damage.

If you need indoor UV, that comes from your HO florescent tube.

If you need ambient heat, that comes from a CHE or RHP set on a thermostat.

If you need more ambient lighting, that comes from LEDs.

See post #4 in this thread...
 

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