Help! I was using Coiled UVB light.

[Turtlesfromcolo]

First thing, I wish I would have found this site 9 months ago.I have 3, 7 month old ornate Hatchlings. I have them in a 20 gl aquarium, I've been using the coiled uvb for a few months (no longer using). Their eyes look fine and they eat good, 3 x a week. They mostly only eat red worms & earthworms. I just recently took them off a meal worm only diet, dusted in vitamins n calcium.. I keep introducing greens n fruits, but they aren't interested.. The hot spot is about 85/88, that's positioned above their hides (which they do bask under).. Cooler area is never under 65 and that's at night.. I use a 50 w incandescent light for the heat. I need to replace their uvb light, I don't know what size I should get for their aquarium? I spray down their enclosure 1 / 2 x a day and the humidity stays Around 50 %, It rises after spraying but won't stay maintained. I have a screen lid, a little more then half is covered in foil to keep the heat in. Substrate: is organic top soil, sphagnum moss, I have rocks around their water dish.. How can I maintain humidity level? What Are some signs that their eyes were damaged by the coiled bulb? I feel so awful, it was recommended from a petco employee.. One other thing, how hard should Their shell be by now? I think I'm a worry wort, I've never had Hatchlings... Thank you for any advice, comments and suggestions!! I've enclosed pictures of aquarium and Hatchlings. Lucky, Pebbles & Cheerio!!

 

[Tom]

Not all of those bulbs cause eye damage. Sounds like you are okay. They are also not an effective UV source.

Are you getting your babies out for some sunshine? That is the best UV source. I nice tub with leaf litter, plants and a sturdy screen top will work. Watch temperature closely and try to keep it at last half in the shade on warm days.

You can use a long 10.0 UV tube, but it needs to be no more than 10-12" from your turtles to do any good.

 

[wellington]

Don't panic. You would have seen signs if their eyes were damaged and even if they were, it usually corrects itself once the bulb is not used any more. Don't feel bad, there are a lot of people that will still use them even knowing they could damage eyes. Also, for some reason, not all animals have a problem with them. The screen top though will block a lot of the UVB so be sure there is no screen between your Boxies and the UVB. I would also not let the temps get too low with a higher humidity. Humid and cold makes them sick, at least tortoises. I can't help you much with Boxies, maybe @Yvonne G can fill in more

 

[Yvonne G]

Your habitat is well-planted, giving the babies lots of shade and this enables them to get out of the harsh light.

The bottom left picture shows a baby that is starting to grow a deformed shell. This is sometimes caused by no UVB and a poor diet. Here's a nice diet sheet for box turtles:


Box turtle food



In food processor:
1 head of Collared Greens
1/2 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 green bell pepper
2 yellow crookneck squash
8 large strawberries

I microwaved til cooked, then mashed-
2 sweet potatoes
1 butternut squash

I mixed all this, then added-
1 22 ounce can of Alpo Beef Chunks in Gravy
2 tablespoons calcium carbonate
1 tablespoon Reptile Vitamins with beta carotene


And here are a couple more:

BOX TURTLE JELLO



Yams (slightly cooked, then mashed Pedigree can puppy food (not too much)
Thawed peas & carrots Meat*
Fruit*


Put in food processor & mix until it forms a very thick paste. They eat it voraciously, as do the adults. I also feed soaked Reptomin and live foods.


*Meat – beef liver, chicken parts
*Fruit – strawberry, peach, banana, mango, etc.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOX TURTLE BRITTLE


1 Ripe canteloup or honeydew 1 cup mashed fruit/berries*
1 can low cal dog food or cooked 2 cans snails thoroughly rinsed
ground turkey 1 ½ cups chopped leafy greens*
2 tsp RepCal calcium with Vit. D3 2 tsp RepCal Herptivite multivitamin

Mash the banana and/or berries and add chopped melon. Add low cal dog food or ground turkey and mix thoroughly. Add snails, chopped greens, calcium powder and vitamins. Mix thoroughly and freeze in individual meal-sized portions.

*Greens – dandelion, endive, escarole, collard, swiss chard, bok choy, romaine lettuce
*Fruits/berries – banana, pear, apple, strawberry, blue berry, raspberry, mango, kiwi

Be strong. don't give in. What I do is to take the babies out and soak them in warm water while I'm preparing their food. Then I place the babies around the food and quickly step out of their sight.

(I would like to give credit where credit is due, but I have long since forgotten who gave me these recipes. I think I got one of them from @terryo and the other may have come from maryattheturtlepuddle.com)

 

[Turtlesfromcolo]

Not all of those bulbs cause eye damage. Sounds like you are okay. They are also not an effective UV source.

Are you getting your babies out for some sunshine? That is the best UV source. I nice tub with leaf litter, plants and a sturdy screen top will work. Watch temperature closely and try to keep it at last half in the shade on warm days.

You can use a long 10.0 UV tube, but it needs to be no more than 10-12" from your turtles to do any good.

Yes, I do take them outside and let them swim, as often as the weather permits. A few times a week. I also soak them 2 x a week indoors. We just built an outdoor enclosure but it quickly attracted ants, so I brought them back indoors. I'd like to leave them outside during the summer. Thank you for the advice!!

 

[Turtlesfromcolo]

Your habitat is well-planted, giving the babies lots of shade and this enables them to get out of the harsh light.

The bottom left picture shows a baby that is starting to grow a deformed shell. This is sometimes caused by no UVB and a poor diet. Here's a nice diet sheet for box turtles:


Box turtle food



In food processor:
1 head of Collared Greens
1/2 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 green bell pepper
2 yellow crookneck squash
8 large strawberries

I microwaved til cooked, then mashed-
2 sweet potatoes
1 butternut squash

I mixed all this, then added-
1 22 ounce can of Alpo Beef Chunks in Gravy
2 tablespoons calcium carbonate
1 tablespoon Reptile Vitamins with beta carotene


And here are a couple more:

BOX TURTLE JELLO



Yams (slightly cooked, then mashed Pedigree can puppy food (not too much)
Thawed peas & carrots Meat*
Fruit*


Put in food processor & mix until it forms a very thick paste. They eat it voraciously, as do the adults. I also feed soaked Reptomin and live foods.


*Meat – beef liver, chicken parts
*Fruit – strawberry, peach, banana, mango, etc.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOX TURTLE BRITTLE


1 Ripe canteloup or honeydew 1 cup mashed fruit/berries*
1 can low cal dog food or cooked 2 cans snails thoroughly rinsed
ground turkey 1 ½ cups chopped leafy greens*
2 tsp RepCal calcium with Vit. D3 2 tsp RepCal Herptivite multivitamin

Mash the banana and/or berries and add chopped melon. Add low cal dog food or ground turkey and mix thoroughly. Add snails, chopped greens, calcium powder and vitamins. Mix thoroughly and freeze in individual meal-sized portions.

*Greens – dandelion, endive, escarole, collard, swiss chard, bok choy, romaine lettuce
*Fruits/berries – banana, pear, apple, strawberry, blue berry, raspberry, mango, kiwi

Be strong. don't give in. What I do is to take the babies out and soak them in warm water while I'm preparing their food. Then I place the babies around the food and quickly step out of their sight.

(I would like to give credit where credit is due, but I have long since forgotten who gave me these recipes. I think I got one of them from @terryo and the other may have come from maryattheturtlepuddle.com)

Thank you so much for the recipes.. I'll start cooking, I'll add some worms hopefully that will attract them to it.. They have perked up a lot since I took that bulb out, I think it was too bright. I've enclosed another, more recent picture, of the turtle you mentioned his/her shell.. In this pictures, he's on the right.. Do you still see a problem, in person he has a beautiful shell.. Or would a side angle be better..?

 

[Yvonne G]

Thank you so much for the recipes.. I'll start cooking, I'll add some worms hopefully that will attract them to it.. They have perked up a lot since I took that bulb out, I think it was too bright. I've enclosed another, more recent picture, of the turtle you mentioned his/her shell.. In this pictures, he's on the right.. Do you still see a problem, in person he has a beautiful shell.. Or would a side angle be better..?

View attachment 175325

In this picture I don't see what I was seeing in the other picture. These look perfectly normal.

 

[Eric Phillips]

Cute lookin group right there and their enclosure looks great!

 

[Turtlesfromcolo]

In this picture I don't see what I was seeing in the other picture. These look perfectly normal.

Great!! That's so good to hear. Also, how often should I feed these mixtures & live foods to them? I've been told feed them only 2/3 a week..

 

[Yvonne G]

I feed my baby box turtles daily more than they finish off. They go back to the food all throughout the day. At night I clean it all up and then start fresh the next day.

 

[Turtlesfromcolo]

Not all of those bulbs cause eye damage. Sounds like you are okay. They are also not an effective UV source.

Are you getting your babies out for some sunshine? That is the best UV source. I nice tub with leaf litter, plants and a sturdy screen top will work. Watch temperature closely and try to keep it at last half in the shade on warm days.

You can use a long 10.0 UV tube, but it needs to be no more than 10-12" from your turtles to do any good.

Thank you