High UV index from bulb

[lkroland]

Hi. I am new on the forum and new to tortoises. We have two Hermann tortoises and have them in an open box. So when reading a post for newbies here you can see we have already messed up. I am now building a closed enclosure and preparing to separate them, but this post is about something else, more serious.

The store sold us a 125W Exo Terra Solar Glo bulb and we've had that hanging over the box about 30-40 cm above ground. We live in Norway and its cold here, and the lamp had to be that close to get a good basking temperature. It also seemed correct based on the info on the box. After reading the intro post, I bought a Solarmeter and measured the UV index. The meter shows a UV index of 30 at a distance of 34cm from the bulb. I needed to lift it to about 80 cm to get a better index of about 5. First question is if this really can be true, but I have moved the poor tortoises away from the light and will fix them a different solution.

If it is true, I thought maybe I should warn other newbies that might be in the same situation, and also thank those here who insist that one needs a solarmeter despite the cost.

One of the tortoises has been in the hide a lot, possibly realizing that the light was dangerous. They have also been walking around with closed or squinting eyes. They don't seem to have become blind, but I have no idea if they will have long term issues.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Is that an MVB bulb?
If so. They're very difficult to regulate. They give off wildly different levels of UVB and only in a small area and they can be very desicating to an enclosure and to a tortoises carapace.
We generally reccomend T5 HO UVB strip florescent lamps. They're very reliable and do a good job of broadcasting useful UVB.
A CHE can provide heat both night and day and can be paired with a thermostat

 

[lkroland]

Yes, it's an MVB bulb. I have already ordered one of the ones you mentioned after reading the for-newbie-post, so moving forward I expect I won't have the same problem.

 

[Ink]

Tortoises shouldn't be kept in pairs. They are solitary animals. Welcome to the forum.

 

[lkroland]

Tortoises shouldn't be kept in pairs. They are solitary animals. Welcome to the forum.

Yes, I realize that now. Hence my opening statement about already messing up and that I am preparing to separate them, but that the post was about something else. Thanks for the welcome. Lots of great content here.

 

[Ink]

Yes, I realize that now. Hence my opening statement about already messing up and that I am preparing to separate them, but that the post was about something else. Thanks for the welcome. Lots of great content here.

Sorry I missed it.

 

[Tom]

Hi. I am new on the forum and new to tortoises. We have two Hermann tortoises and have them in an open box. So when reading a post for newbies here you can see we have already messed up. I am now building a closed enclosure and preparing to separate them, but this post is about something else, more serious.

The store sold us a 125W Exo Terra Solar Glo bulb and we've had that hanging over the box about 30-40 cm above ground. We live in Norway and its cold here, and the lamp had to be that close to get a good basking temperature. It also seemed correct based on the info on the box. After reading the intro post, I bought a Solarmeter and measured the UV index. The meter shows a UV index of 30 at a distance of 34cm from the bulb. I needed to lift it to about 80 cm to get a better index of about 5. First question is if this really can be true, but I have moved the poor tortoises away from the light and will fix them a different solution.

If it is true, I thought maybe I should warn other newbies that might be in the same situation, and also thank those here who insist that one needs a solarmeter despite the cost.

One of the tortoises has been in the hide a lot, possibly realizing that the light was dangerous. They have also been walking around with closed or squinting eyes. They don't seem to have become blind, but I have no idea if they will have long term issues.

Hello and welcome to you. I'm sorry the correct info got to you too late, but I'm glad you found it. Hopefully the damage was minimal.

Are you getting those UVI readings with a Solarmeter 6.5? I have had MVBs (many years ago) that gave off very high UVI readings of around 12.0 from about 18 inches (46cm) away, but I've never heard of anything as high as what you got. I didn't know the meters could go that high. For comparison sake, the highest readings I can get here in Southern CA with a clear sky, mid day in summer, with the meter pointed directly at the sun with no obstructions of any kind is about 8.1. I only run my indoor Arcadia 12% HO tubes for about 3 hours mid day, and set the height to get a reading of 3-4 UVI for tortoises. For bearded dragons, I run them for 5-6 hours mid day and set them for a reading of 5-6 UVI. I've never heard of 30. Wow. That's pretty horrendous. I hate to imagine the damage that might have happened if you did not possess a meter to check it...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yes, it's an MVB bulb. I have already ordered one of the ones you mentioned after reading the for-newbie-post, so moving forward I expect I won't have the same problem.

You're not alone.
I have a box with at least 6 of them in my garage that I bought for my Chameleons. Then tested them and quickly swapped them out for T5.
They cost so much that I still haven't thrown them away. I'm hoping that one day I can use them on another project.

 

[lkroland]

Thanks for comments. It is the 6.5R, yes. The back says its scale goes to 200. If it showed UV-index times 10 then it would have been more correct. I sort of hope there is something wrong with the meter or my understanding. I will try to test outdoor UV, but we have a snow storm outside so it will take a few days.

I will send the bulb to a different store from the one I bought it, and they will do a UV reading also.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for comments. It is the 6.5R, yes. The back says its scale goes to 200. If it showed UV-index times 10 then it would have been more correct. I sort of hope there is something wrong with the meter or my understanding. I will try to test outdoor UV, but we have a snow storm outside so it will take a few days.

I will send the bulb to a different store from the one I bought it, and they will do a UV reading also.

Thank you for the info. I look forward to your meter test when the sun comes back out. Even here in mild Southern California, I get very low UV readings mid day in winter, so don't be surprised if you are at zero or near zero even in full sun this time of year there where you are.

 

[jaizei]

Thanks for comments. It is the 6.5R, yes. The back says its scale goes to 200. If it showed UV-index times 10 then it would have been more correct. I sort of hope there is something wrong with the meter or my understanding. I will try to test outdoor UV, but we have a snow storm outside so it will take a few days.

I will send the bulb to a different store from the one I bought it, and they will do a UV reading also.

Since it decreased to 5 when you raised the bulb, I doubt it was an error with the meter. A UVI of 30 from a new MVB is not unbelievable.

 

[lkroland]

I have now rebuilt to closed vivarium using an Arcadia 12% HO tube for UVB and floodlight bulbs for heat/basking. The UV reading is 3-4 now, so setup and UV meter seems good. Tortoises seem like they were unhurt, and are walking around more now.

Built a closed enclosure, but struggling a bit to get high enough humidity. At least it is much better than the 20% our house is. The hot areas measure lower humidity than the cooler, but that might be natural?

One of them has a slightly soft plastron, but I guess that is not related and I hope it'll be OK. He's eating well, but haven't seen anything coming out. Am soaking them 30 mins daily.