Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a red bulb, reptile warming light to turn on at night to keep my turtles warm. I just read on a site not to use the red bulb as they hurt the turtles eyes. Has anyone heard this? They are sleeping at night anyway...it's for warmth only.

Now for basking they need UVA and UVB rays. Can you use regular bulbs(ones you can buy in non-pet stores) and are there bulbs that have both UVA UVB rays? I hate to spend $10 for ome light bulb when I can get one of the same things at a hardware store for $1.99...

I dont use a light at night I just have a water heater like the ones used for fish. I use the heat light during the day with the uv lamp. You can give it d3 supplement if you dont want to use a uv light I think but dont quote me on that. Good Luck

I used a red bulb when mine were babies. I have actually
read that this color is much better than others as it doesn't
seem to disturb the turtles sleep. If you are still concerned
you can buy a ceramic spotlight that puts out only heat but
these are expensive and soon you probably won't need it.

As far as lighting, as long as you have a UVB source, (I
have always used the Reptisun 5.0 and I have kept turtles
for 9 years now) you can use a regular old household bulb
for heat. Just make sure that you use the appropriate wattage
to keep the basking area 85-90 degrees. Also, always use
a fixture that is ceramic and never plastic (where you screw
the bulb in). I learned the hard way but at least there were
no injuries or fire.

$10 UVA (full spectrum) bulbs from the pet store dont put out any UVB which is what you need. You need a uv tube light like a reptisun 5.0 or 10.0 for that in ADDITION to one for heat. Any old bulb from Home Depot will do for heat.

As for the red light at night. I dont think you need it at all if the water is heated properly.

Carole
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www.reptilecare.com

Right now I have my turtles in a long(under the bed type) Rubbermaid container. I have a series of basking rocks and hideouts for them, plants when I can get them. I just have the water deep enough for them to go under and swim around. It worked out great for awhile as the sun would come in most of the day and made it very nice.(They spent most of the summer outside and I brought them in at night.) But the season has changed FAST and we've had a week of snow and a cold blast. I can't really put a heater in low level water. I do have a big metal, clip on light that I put a warming bulb in and I switch it with a UV Repto Light and at night I use the red for warming. I may have to put them back to an aquarium for now.
Oh, tip for everyone...I saw the big metal, clip on type light fixture at a Petco for $39.00 and you can get them at the hardware store for under $10. I had one from awhile back, used to put a warming light in it for my old Lab. Anyway they work great for turtles too. Anyway check out the hardware section for turtle supplies too and save some cash. Thanks for the input everyone!

I use Mega-Ray SB 100-WATT FLOOD LAMP, it provides heat and needed UV. It puts out UV equal to a sunny day. It is not cheap at $40, but is the best at UVB on the market. It out performs everything else. A number of different sites have comparisons of the different bulbs and UVB output.

I agree with many of the other members. You need a heat lamp and bulb for their basking area (I recommend the Zoo Med Basking Lamps which focus the light into a narrower beam in order to provide a more efficient and useful basking spot) and also a UV light fixture. These UV lights can be bought through many herpetological catalogues or at local pet stores; the fluorescent bulb fixtures need to be bought seperately to be installed in the UV light fixture. I recommend the ReptiSun 5.0 fluorescent lamp. These lamps are costly but are extremely necessary for production of vitamin D3 in order for proper absorption of calcium. If this is not provided for the turtles they will not be healthy, happy or stress-free and will develop metabolic bone disease and their shells will not grow properly resulting in deformities. This is a little known but imperatively important aspect to caring for any kind of herp - get them a UV light!

As for this red heat basking lamp, it may not be necessary unless you don't have a submersible water heater to keep the tank at a stable and comfortable temperature for the turtles. You can continue to use it, but as far as I know, it is not necessary, but the UV fluorescent lamp is a must and absolutely essential to the general well-being of the turtles. Hope this helps. Good luck.

_Dennis

I use a night bulb but mine has a silicon type rubber coating the bulb which is black to keep from shattering and it's seems to work fine.