An MVB question

[Snapper]

Hey everyone, I was just wondering how long people leave their MVB's on for. I leave mine on for 12 hours/day, but other sources say not to keep them on that long. Should I be turning it off after 8hrs, and leaving another light on for the remainder 4hrs? Thanks for you for your help.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think it depends upon what type of turtle or tortoise you have it on for.

I have mine over a baby box turtle bin and another over a baby Manouria bin. Both of these types live in a more shaded environment, so I only turn the lights on for a couple hours during the middle of the day. If I were using it for a desert tortoise I would probably keep it on longer. I also use an incandescent bulb for 12 to 14 hours each day, turning it off during the time the UV light is on and back on when I turn the UV off.

 

[Snapper]

Well I have a greek tortoise, but I don't know what subspecies.

 

[firework]

Mine is greek too.

I think 8 hours on (165W) covering his most active time should be enough.

 

[Snapper]

Is 8hrs still enough with a 125W bulb? Thanks for your comments guys!

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, depending upon where you are in the world, the sun isn't providing a very strong UV light all throughout the day. If you are at the equator, the sun is shining almost straight down for long periods of time, but if you are way up north, lets say, in Canada, the sun's rays are shining at an angle and the UV probably isn't as strong. In my opinion, you can get by with having the UV light on for 3 to 8 hours per day. My opinion only.

 

[Madkins007]

Wild torts almost never just sit in the sun all day- they thermoregulate in the shade, hide, avoid the heat of the day, etc.

Combine that with the theory, based on other studies, that probably 10-20 minutes every couple days is adequate, and add in the fact that actual use burns out the UVB element in the bulb coat, and I think it makes sense to use UVB in shorter bursts simulating the warm part of the day.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Its of my opinion to offer the MVB as the source of UVB/heat/light for approx. 12-14 hours a day so that whenever the tort chooses to use it, its available. True they need much much less time per day/week than this, but especially for a hatchling I'd hate to have the UVB on for a couple hours in the middle of the day when I'm not home and later find out they never basked under it and have MBD or something. With proper precautions such as buying a good quality bulb (Mega Ray, T-Rex), having it the proper distance such that it never has more UVB output than the sun, and the amount that these bulbs decay from day one, I'm personally comfortable with having my MVB on my tort (Russian, I'd do the same for a Greek) for 12-14 hours a day. As long as your torts is getting some regular sun or MVB bulb time, you could really have it on much less. The MVB does take awhile to warm up, although my tort gets out of bed after its warmed up usually. Having different fixtures and timers overcomplicated it, and I don't have evidence yet that having the MVB on the full day (such as the manufacturer recommends too) is a danger. If anything, it just shortens the life span of your bulb (most are tested to have adequate output after up to a year when using approx. 12 hours a day) to have it on the full day. The cost is pretty insignificant to me. I'm actually planning to replace mine much sooner than a year because of how much my tort perks up with a new bulb, although I haven't got my first couple to last more than 9-10 months each. If someone could show me evidence of why having a bulb on for a full sunlight day which has less output than the sun is harmful to a tort, I would be very grateful to see such info, but I haven't yet seen that (just a handful of people in the online communities which for whatever reasons say to not have them on the full day). Just another one of those theory still in work things (like pyramiding).

 

[Snapper]

Its of my opinion to offer the MVB as the source of UVB/heat/light for approx. 12-14 hours a day so that whenever the tort chooses to use it, its available. True they need much much less time per day/week than this, but especially for a hatchling I'd hate to have the UVB on for a couple hours in the middle of the day when I'm not home and later find out they never basked under it and have MBD or something. With proper precautions such as buying a good quality bulb (Mega Ray, T-Rex), having it the proper distance such that it never has more UVB output than the sun, and the amount that these bulbs decay from day one, I'm personally comfortable with having my MVB on my tort (Russian, I'd do the same for a Greek) for 12-14 hours a day. As long as your torts is getting some regular sun or MVB bulb time, you could really have it on much less. The MVB does take awhile to warm up, although my tort gets out of bed after its warmed up usually. Having different fixtures and timers overcomplicated it, and I don't have evidence yet that having the MVB on the full day (such as the manufacturer recommends too) is a danger. If anything, it just shortens the life span of your bulb (most are tested to have adequate output after up to a year when using approx. 12 hours a day) to have it on the full day. The cost is pretty insignificant to me. I'm actually planning to replace mine much sooner than a year because of how much my tort perks up with a new bulb, although I haven't got my first couple to last more than 9-10 months each. If someone could show me evidence of why having a bulb on for a full sunlight day which has less output than the sun is harmful to a tort, I would be very grateful to see such info, but I haven't yet seen that (just a handful of people in the online communities which for whatever reasons say to not have them on the full day). Just another one of those theory still in work things (like pyramiding).

Thank you very much, your info was very helpful.

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Well, depending upon where you are in the world, the sun isn't providing a very strong UV light all throughout the day. If you are at the equator, the sun is shining almost straight down for long periods of time, but if you are way up north, lets say, in Canada, the sun's rays are shining at an angle and the UV probably isn't as strong. In my opinion, you can get by with having the UV light on for 3 to 8 hours per day. My opinion only.

Thanks for your info. I do live in Canada, so my tort doesn't get any outside any right now; too cold. When the spring comes around again, I hope to let him or her get some outside time as well.

---

Wild torts almost never just sit in the sun all day- they thermoregulate in the shade, hide, avoid the heat of the day, etc.

Combine that with the theory, based on other studies, that probably 10-20 minutes every couple days is adequate, and add in the fact that actual use burns out the UVB element in the bulb coat, and I think it makes sense to use UVB in shorter bursts simulating the warm part of the day.

Thank you for your input. I really appreciate everyones help!

---

Thank you everyone for your help, I really do appreciate it! I was previously thinking of using a halogen bulb for light after I turned off the MVB, but I think I will continue leaving the MVB on for 12 hours. I would prefer to let my tort get some outside rays, but it is WAY too cold right now.

 

[idrial]

As somebody who is researching a new greek tort, I found this thread immensely helpful. Thank you very much.

 

[Snapper]

As somebody who is researching a new greek tort, I found this thread immensely helpful. Thank you very much.

I'm happy to hear someone else could benefit from it.