Powersun UV Bulb Alternatives?

[Oxalis]

I've noticed the price of the Zoo Med Powersun UV bulb has been rising. Is there a good alternative that is a little less expensive? I had used the Exo Terra Solar Glo but switched over to the Zoo Med product at some point. I like that both products provide UVB, UVA, visual light, and heat. Is it still worth the $50?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

If you check eBay you can find them for about $30

 

[Tom]

I wouldn't use an MVB at all. I'd go with a regular incandescent flood bulb for basking and a HO tube for UV. Add a CHE on a thermostat if you need more ambient warmth. I buy my basking bulbs in cheap 6 or 12 packs. The HO tubes make good UV for three years or more, so says my UV meter.

 

[Oxalis]

I wouldn't use an MVB at all. I'd go with a regular incandescent flood bulb for basking and a HO tube for UV. Add a CHE on a thermostat if you need more ambient warmth. I buy my basking bulbs in cheap 6 or 12 packs. The HO tubes make good UV for three years or more, so says my UV meter.

What is an HO tube? High-output that also has UV?

 

[Tom]

What is an HO tube? High-output that also has UV?

Yes. I like the Arcadia 12% HO tubes, or the ZooMed 10.0 HO tubes.

 

[Oxalis]

Yes. I like the Arcadia 12% HO tubes, or the ZooMed 10.0 HO tubes.

Thanks, Tom. I'll look into for a down-the-road option. I would have to get a new fixture for it but if it's a good setup, I'm happy to look into it. Thanks again!

 

[LaSunshine]

Hi Tom... I’m new to this forum. I have a 2 month hatchling. I have him, for now, in a 20 gallon and an under tank heater. I have a mercury bulb that provides u a, uvb and heat on for ten hours a day.

I read everything that you’ve said and I would like to ask you a question or two.

1. You expressed the solar glow mercury bulb is not your preference. Can you tell me more about why ?
2. When you say flood light and ho 10 light ... I have no idea what you are saying. I’m interested, though , because it sounds like you are able to keep the bulb for longer. Does your method save money? Can you please provide me the names of the lights without abbreviations so I can google it?
3. I really want to provide the best for my tortoise... I especially want to learn more about humidity. I recently added a soaked rag on top of the hide house to provide humidity. Today the humidity varied from 50-80%. Is this adequate?
4. I soak him in warm bath every day for ten min. Is this ok? Too much ?

thank you so much for your advice! I’ve feed him and designed his habitat as you suggested, as much as I could. I would hate to have pyramiding occur or anything else that u have mentioned when they aren’t property taken care of ... your advice is very appreciated.
Thank u
LA

 

[LaSunshine]

I’m sorry but one more... is the uv light hood and bulb the same as a store bought black light, uv light??? They are cheaper than the “reptile” ones. I even have one of those already. Are they similar?

 

[LaSunshine]

I wouldn't use an MVB at all. I'd go with a regular incandescent flood bulb for basking and a HO tube for UV. Add a CHE on a thermostat if you need more ambient warmth. I buy my basking bulbs in cheap 6 or 12 packs. The HO tubes make good UV for three years or more, so says my UV meter.

Why not MVB light?

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom... I’m new to this forum. I have a 2 month hatchling. I have him, for now, in a 20 gallon and an under tank heater. I have a mercury bulb that provides u a, uvb and heat on for ten hours a day.

I read everything that you’ve said and I would like to ask you a question or two.

1. You expressed the solar glow mercury bulb is not your preference. Can you tell me more about why ?
2. When you say flood light and ho 10 light ... I have no idea what you are saying. I’m interested, though , because it sounds like you are able to keep the bulb for longer. Does your method save money? Can you please provide me the names of the lights without abbreviations so I can google it?
3. I really want to provide the best for my tortoise... I especially want to learn more about humidity. I recently added a soaked rag on top of the hide house to provide humidity. Today the humidity varied from 50-80%. Is this adequate?
4. I soak him in warm bath every day for ten min. Is this ok? Too much ?

thank you so much for your advice! I’ve feed him and designed his habitat as you suggested, as much as I could. I would hate to have pyramiding occur or anything else that u have mentioned when they aren’t property taken care of ... your advice is very appreciated.
Thank u
LA

Hi. First I need to know what species we are talking about.

A few general things:

• A 20 gallong tank is too small for any species or any age. By the time you put in the a water and food bowl, hide, and any decorations, there is not enough room to move around. I recommend 40 as a minimum, but bigger is better.
• Under tank heaters shouldn't be used with tortoises. Too dangerous. Heat should come from over head.
• Mercury vapor bulbs have all sorts of problems, the main one being that they cause pyramiding.
• Depending on the species and the season, most tortoises should get at least 12 hours of sunshine. One exception would be if you are preparing a temperate species for hibernation.

Your questions:

1. Mercury vapor bulbs burn out too easily and quickly. Some of them stop producing any UV prematurely. They are finicky and shut themselves off too easily. They are very expensive. The worst problem is that they cause pyramiding by drying out the carapace. I don't recommend they be used over tortoises.
2. A flood bulb is a regular incandescent bulb that you'd buy from the hardware store. "Flood" indicates that angle at which the bulb disperses the light downward and this is indicated on the package. An HO bulb is a "High Output" florescent tube. These are different than standard tubes. "10.0" is one type of HO tube marketed by a couple of companies and the 10.0 number is an indicator of the percentage of light emitted in the UVB spectrum. All of these HO types of bulb can be found at lightyourreptiles.com
3. Humidity needed depends on species. A wet rag is not the solution if you need it higher. A closed chamber accomplishes this in a much better way, by "containing" the warm humid air your desire.
4. Daily is good. I prefer 30-60 minutes.

Pyramiding isn't caused because they aren't taken care of properly. A very healthy, well cared for tortoise can pyramid. Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. This can be because of an open topped enclosure, the wrong bulbs, dry substrate, and anything else that dries their carapace out.

 

[LaSunshine]

Oh my gosh, thank you for all of that.
I have a two month old Sulcata. I appreciate your time and your advice. I’ve read so much about this but, I always get conflicting views without confidence that it was right... until now. Thank you. I am so grateful for your updated info and advice.

 

[Tom]

Oh my gosh, thank you for all of that.
I have a two month old Sulcata. I appreciate your time and your advice. I’ve read so much about this but, I always get conflicting views without confidence that it was right... until now. Thank you. I am so grateful for your updated info and advice.

You are welcome. Keep asking questions. That is what we are all here for.

In my above post, when I said "12 hours of sunshine", I was referring to the indoor lights needing to be on for at least 12 hours. After re-reading it, I realized that may have been confusing. I was referencing that they needed 12 hours of "daylight" from their indoor lighting, not that they need 12 hours of actual outdoor sunshine every single day... Sorry for that.

More about the undertank heaters. I credit Mark W for this excellent explanation. When a tortoise in the wild gets too hot, their instinct tells them to dig down into the cooler earth to keep from overheating. When in our captive tanks, they have these same instincts, and they lack our human powers of observation and rationality. When they feel too warm from sitting over the heating pad, they dig down to cool off. This only gets them closer to the heat source, which makes them feel hotter. They keep doing this and eventually get burned or over heated. They don't posses the logical skill to say to themselves: "Hey. This area is hot. I should look for a cooler area to go rest in.

 

[LaSunshine]

I looked at lightyourreptiles and I didn’t see t10. I only saw t8. Is it a long bulb that connects at both ends of the hood? Or just a shorter bulb?
if there’s any way you can send me a pic of what I need, I’ll buy it, I just don't wanna waste more money on the wrong thing. I already have

Do they get warmth only from the flood light? Do I turn that one off at night? Do I leave t10 HO on over night? Does that give enough heat? How do I keep him warm enough at night?

 

[Tom]

I looked at lightyourreptiles and I didn’t see t10. I only saw t8. Is it a long bulb that connects at both ends of the hood? Or just a shorter bulb?
if there’s any way you can send me a pic of what I need, I’ll buy it, I just don't wanna waste more money on the wrong thing. I already have

Do they get warmth only from the flood light? Do I turn that one off at night? Do I leave t10 HO on over night? Does that give enough heat? How do I keep him warm enough at night?

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 and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
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 like sulcatas or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
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. I like the ZooMed 10.0 HO, and the Arcadia 12% HO. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.

 

[LaSunshine]

Also, if I take my hatchling out to the grass (supervised) for 30 min 5 days a week.., is this a good thing... does this eliminate the need for one of the lights?

 

[LaSunshine]

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 and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. You can mount a fixture on the ceiling, or hang a dome lamp from the ceiling. Go lower or higher wattage if this makes the enclosure too hot or not warm enough. Do not use "spot" bulbs, mercury vapor bulbs or halogen bulbs.
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 like sulcatas or leopards. I like this thermostat: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller. Put the probe in the coolest corner away from all heating elements. You may need more than one heating element to spread the heat out for a given enclosure.
3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. I've been using LEDs lately and they are great, and run cooler than a florescent. This can be set on the same timer as the basking bulb.
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. I like the ZooMed 10.0 HO, and the Arcadia 12% HO. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height. Plexi-glass or screen tops will filter out some or all of the UV produced by your bulb.

 

[Tom]

Also, if I take my hatchling out to the grass (supervised) for 30 min 5 days a week.., is this a good thing... does this eliminate the need for one of the lights?

Yes. No need for indoor UV if your tortoise gets sun that much and that often.

However, "out to the grass" scares me. The tortoise should always be contained in a safe enclosure when outside. Loose in the yard is a recipe for disaster. Loose in a park or courtyard is even more of a risk. Lots of ways to keep the tortoise safely contained:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/cheap-easy-simple-sunning-enclosure.14680/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/simple-sunning-enclosure.104351/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...table-but-safe-outdoor-baby-enclosures.30683/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-enclosures.121732/

Forgive me if you already know about this, but I've seen too many people lose their tortoises to not say something. Even if you are doing it right, maybe someone else reading this thread will catch this tidbit and avoid a disaster.

 

[LaSunshine]

I appreciate your concern and your advice!
What is the least expensive way to effectively provide a habitat indoors for my baby Sulcata? Large glass? Plastic something? ... just until he’s large enough to transition outside?

 

[LaSunshine]

Ohhh radiant panels are also used for heated outdoor houses for tortoises right? I like the idea of being able to use the investment later on as well ... what do you think?

 

[Tom]

I appreciate your concern and your advice!
What is the least expensive way to effectively provide a habitat indoors for my baby Sulcata? Large glass? Plastic something? ... just until he’s large enough to transition outside?

You'll need something around 4x8' to last until your baby reaches 8-10 inches and can live outside full time with a heated house. I think the cheapest way would be to build your own out of plywood.