Reptile & Amphibian Forums

... for posting your story about bad lighting.

it's irritating how the manufacturers of those lamps can be misleading in the packaging and labeling. i've heard that, besides cat food and dog food, there really isn't any truth-in-advertising regulation covering pet supplies, which i think is sad. but i suppose that to big companies and lawmakers, pets (especially exotics) are just merchandise and not living family members. hell, the stores probably don't care, either... if they sell a bulb that makes animals sick, they'll just expect to sell another animal to replace it.

anyway, point being, because of you sharing your experience, i was educated about my "fake uvb" bulb as well, and this weekend i hooked him up with a reptisun 5.0. since i've only had my tort for a couple of months, i'm confident that any harm i may have done us fully reversible. *crosses fingers!*

i only just now realized where you'd posted about your loss below. it gave me a lump in my throat...

i lost a very cool, mellow, tame pet iguana years ago to mbd, and, at the time, i had no idea why she was sick. not even the vet knew. i fed her right, gave her vitamins, and she was so well-socialized that i was even able to clip and paint her nails with hardly a squirming moment.

now that i look back, i feel terrible that i was giving her plant lights and such, andi think about how, had she had proper light, she would probably still be with me.

my thoughts are with you. *hugs*

***MUAHHH***

Losing Crash sucked big time. i dont feel bad for myself,i feel terrible for him. but hes better off now,i just wish he had his heaven on earth. i wonder if theres something i can do. im definately writing a ton of letter to the bulb manufacturers. i also have a chameleon who got MBD because of this bulb. theyre suppossed to be helping my animals,and all theyre doing is killing them?please. trust me,if i could sue them i would. not even big time,they deserve to pay for what i pay for for the bulbs,my vet bills and the price i paid for the animals. this is disgusting.

i thank you so much for your,and everyone elses,kind words. you helped so much. ill keep popping by the tort forum,eventhough i dont have any torts.

the companies do what they do to make money-- that's the bottom line, and if they aren't held accountable for the damages caused by their misleading labeling and advertising, why should they care? it's pitiful, truly. it's the same mentality behind what you see in so many pet stores-- dead or dying animals, tanks of dead fish.

as mad as it makes me, though, i try to take comfort in the thought that there *are* people out there with much more respect for life. hopefully, for animals' sakes, someday that kind of thinking will be the majority and not the minority.

I thought Spydergirl only had her tortoise since Nov 15. See post on worry over trip home with tort in this forum. The light might be unacceptable for UVA and UVB production but wouldn't cause enough harm in two months to a young or old tortoise to weaken it enough to where it dies. I think the tortoise probably had the shell problem when she bought it.

Yep,i did only get him on the 15th. but when i bought him his shell was nice and firm,i rememebr noticing this when i was cleaning his shell off after a day or two home. im thinking the parasites he had totally wiped him out. im not sure. are you sure that couldnt have been enough time? it does seem a little odd.

No, I'm not sure. But a healthy Tortoise doesn't die that quickly from lack of a UVB light source. Could be a combination of things I suppose. When I first got my cb Redfoot baby 7 years ago I didn't have correct lighting for about 6 months. My Redfoot is over 9" now and quite a character.
Same with my two Russians I've had them for over 7 years. My female Russian was wild caught and my male was a cb baby about a month old. They are all still healthy.
I don't know the answer but I can't believe no UVB for two months alone would kill a tortoise.

I would guess that the parasite load had more to do with it than the lighting situation. As I recall, he was really loaded with worms, and in a very small tortoise like that, a heavy load is going to be more debilitating than in an adult. Not that that excuses the pet supply industry any, but in your particular situation, I think the lighting was not a primary factor.
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.2 Hermann's Tortoises
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

Unfortunately, the herp industry requires a major "buyer beware" attitude. I'd guess that at least 75% of the reptile supplies sold at megastores like Petco are useless at best, if not downright dangerous. Even "reputable" stores that specialize in herps sell their share of junk--including hot rocks, although I hope they don't recommend them to anyone!

The best you can do is as much research as you can, and ask questions, questions, questions. Lighting in particular is a tough one, because labels aren't always clear unless you know what you're reading. It's easy for a beginner to get confused and buy the wrong thing.
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.2 Hermann's Tortoises
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko