UVB bulb questions....

[Jennifer Nicole]

So I looked around on the forum but couldn't really find the answer to the questions I have.

So a little bit about my set up. I have an enclosure that is 36x18x12 (please note this is just for the first couple years of his/her life and when it gets warm we will be building it an outdoor enclosure... so it will be outside for a good part of the day and inside at night... again during the warmer months). And it will have a CHE heater bulb thing.

What would be a better set up... A UVB long light (the tube ones)... if so the whole 36 inches across or just half way????
Or one of those UVB/UVA/ Basking all in one bulbs? (would this be enough for the enclosure???)

If you also have any preferences in brands please let me know.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

I prefer the tube UV bulbs with a separate heat source (like a CHE) because then you don't have to worry about balancing the height of the bulb for both UVB penetration and temperature. In an enclosure as small as yours, overheating with a MVB is also a real possibility, so you will likely have an easier time having your heat controlled by a thermostat and your UVB from a fluorescent.

That size enclosure won't last you a few years with a leopard, unfortunately. If things go well, you'll be needing a larger space in a few months.

 

[Yvonne G]

You're going to get different answers because each of us has our own preference and we use what works best in our situations. It's not wrong or right, it's what works best for us individually.

My preference for leopards, russians, sulcatas and desert tortoises is the mercury vapor bulb (MVB). It provides heat and UVB all in one bulb. You can raise or lower the light to get the temperature your looking for.

For rain forest tortoises like Manouria, RF and YF I like to use the tube type fluorescent UVB. Those type tortoises don't really like the bright, hot light from a MVB and the softer light with heat from a different source works best for them.

 

[Jennifer Nicole]

I prefer the tube UV bulbs with a separate heat source (like a CHE) because then you don't have to worry about balancing the height of the bulb for both UVB penetration and temperature. In an enclosure as small as yours, overheating with a MVB is also a real possibility, so you will likely have an easier time having your heat controlled by a thermostat and your UVB from a fluorescent.

That size enclosure won't last you a few years with a leopard, unfortunately. If things go well, you'll be needing a larger space in a few months.

Where I live it is only slightly chilly Nov-Dec... (although right now we are in a weird cold spell) and cold only in Jan- Feb.... it gets up to 115 here in the summer.... so this spring I will be building a whole section in my backyard just for it (with a caged top) so after May it will probably be outside almost all day. The enclosure was a very very very good price so that is why I am sticking with it for at least this year (again during the warmer months its going to be outside the majority of the day but for safety will be inside at night)... my goal is to have an outside "house" for it when it gets maybe a couple of years old? I want it to be outside but I don't want to risk its safety.