Reptile & Amphibian Forums

can an intelligent person explain to me whether or not alligator snapping turtles need UVA/UBA lighting, AND why... Turtleman says they dont but does not explain why...in my opinion i doubt it will hurt...my common snapping turtle grew 8 inchs in 2 years and i had heavy uv lighting on him daily...

i really dont want opinions... because we all have very strong opinions =) i want the facts...

im setting up a 625 gallon stock tank divided with a pond pump filtering in my basement so i need to know for sure whether or not i need it

I may be wrong, but i dont think i have ever seen a photo of a wild Alligator snapper basking in the sun taking up the uvb rays. They are drainage and ditch turtles often found in water too murky for the sun to penetrate. It wont hurt, but, in my experience, not opinion, they dont need uvb.

AST aren't basking species in the wild they are only known to exit the water to lay eggs. UVB is filtered by water so with just these 2 considerations then you can come to the conclusion that its not needed. If you want to add it ofcourse it won't hurt in the wild they would be exposed to stronger levels than most lights can replicate (even do its filtered as it penetrates the water). I'm sure no one would disagree with their use just that its not needed.

Xavier