Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My girlfriend has three small RES. I have gotten her a new 30 gallon tank (the hatchlings were in a 10 gallon until they grew a lil bit) and an All-Glass matching hood. The problem is, it only has a fluorescent socket. I talked to the pet shop owner and he said I could only exchange it for a more expensive two fluorescent socket version, but no returns. So basically all i can work with are Fluorescent bulbs. I know that I can get nice 30 watt bulbs that give out something like 33% UVA and 8% UVB, but I'm worried thatt hey don't actually give off enough heat. Does anyone know if I can just keep the hood I have, get one of those Reptile Sun 8.0 or whatever bulbs, and that will be enough for them to bask in? Enough heat? Thank you all!

Unfortunately, it seems as though you need another lighting setup. The basking area you set up for your turtles should reach up to 80 degrees. The lighting you have now is not enough. Remember, the turtles are cold blooded animals and need to find other sources of heat to warm them up. So the basking light is very, very important. In addition, if you do have glass in between the tank and the actual light bulb, this may pose a few problems. The glass can actually filter out the good UVA and UVB rays that the turtles need in order to be healthy. Try to find a wire mesh screen. I hope this helps a little bit! Good luck!

I agree with the other poster, buy a screen top. For mine I was able to remove the plastic part of the hood, and the plastic parts that are just hinged on, and place the flourescent fixture part on top of my screen top. I use the flourescent hood from a 20 gallon tank on my 55 gallon tank.
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