I need advice and ASAP about lighting (i know how vital it is but hopefully im not too late)

Turtlemomof2

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Im afraid my turtles may be suffering and on the verge of letting go. I didn't know about the importance of ubv lighting until a couple months after housing my turtles. Luckily they were in hibernation so I think that's what has saved them so far. I feel terrible.. so please I'm only asking for help- not judgement. I know I can go to a pet store and get exactly what I need but the funds are an issue at the moment. But I'm going to post an image of a bulb I got at home depot (store credit) in hopes that it provided the same thing that a reptile ubv light provides. Please any advice is so appreciated and I'm desperate for answers. I live my little guys and I want to make sure they are completely happy.. and as I said, time may be of the essense.

Here's the bulb I got.. it's a grow light for plants. I dunno if it has the same properties as the light my turtles NEED.1581803849851211135087.jpg15818040481031924399926.jpg15818041446791456188375.jpg15818042550481761400682.jpg
 

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Maggie3fan

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If nothing else, take them out in the sun for a little bit everyday until you can geet a light...
 

Tom

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What species of turtles are we talking about? Where and how are they hibernating? At what temperature?

They can go months with no UV at all. Turtles in particular get D3 from their food, so this shouldn't be an issue. There is no bulb sold at a hardware store that produces the UV spectrum needed for our reptiles.

If there is something wrong with your turtles, it has nothing to do with lack of UV for a couple of months. Lets see if we can figure it all out.
 

VegasJeff

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If nothing else, take them out in the sun for a little bit everyday until you can geet a light...

This. They don’t need much sun. Take them outside in a box where they can get sun for 20 minutes. Make sure they have something they can crawl in or under to get away from the sun when they get hot.
 

Turtlemomof2

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Turtlemomof2

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Location (City and/or State)
Kansas City, MO
What species of turtles are we talking about? Where and how are they hibernating? At what temperature?

They can go months with no UV at all. Turtles in particular get D3 from their food, so this shouldn't be an issue. There is no bulb sold at a hardware store that produces the UV spectrum needed for our reptiles.

If there is something wrong with your turtles, it has nothing to do with lack of UV for a couple of months. Lets see if we can figure it all out.
Thank you for your feedback. And thank you for caring about my turtles too and wanting to get down to the bottom of this with me, its so appreciated. I'm not 100% sure but I believe they are both ornate box turtles.. well at least one of them. My smaller, younger guy has a more rounded, smooth shell. I'm afraid I don't have a thermometer yet to test their habitat. And I'm also afraid they've been exposed to some colder temperatures than expected of a caretaker, such as myself. My heat has been shut off, I'm running heaters off my electricity to keep my home warm. But it can get cold depending on more severe low degree nights here in kc. But I have always had a incandescent light bulb on them. At 75 watt (but uses only 53 watts) the brightness being at 1050 lumens in soft white. Is this an appropriate bulb to use to provide heat for my two turtles? And how far should the bulb be from the top of my turtles? Sometimes I feel like it is bothering them. In regard to the ubv situation.. are they better off with nothing rather than the use of this plant uva bulb or, I also have a UV light that's a 10w and gives off a blue color in light.. if its only a UV light is that not beneficial to my guys? I would like to know between all those options what is a better alternative if any, and also id like to know if the use of either mentioned are actually harmful to my turtles. I'll take pictures of what I'm talking about, and my turtles. To continue, when turning the heat light off at night I have kept a very small space heater outside the tank facing the basking area and when I touch to test, it seems to be keeping the sand warm through out the night. I've been using just sand but the other day I got some peat moss and orchids bark..? Would I want to use these together or individually with some sand mixed in? And in the mean time before i change there subtrate out, should i mist the sand daily to give it some moisture?
I'm mostly worried about my bigger guy. I've thought he was dead on two occasions. When I first got him he was so active and rambunctious. But recently I've noticed him very lethargic, almost seemingly weak. His eyes seem to be puffy and sometimes it appears like he's crying. And last night he was appearing to be what I would describe as yawning several times. When he's acting this way I usually go put him in the sink to submerge in water. But now I know to not use tap water.. and have been using spring bottled water for their bath and drinking water. I feel awful exposing these things bc it makes me feel like I'm not doing something to keep them healthy, but I'm desperate to know what i need to change. I also suppose that they may not be getting enough protein. I've fed them mostly veggies but on occasion i feed them worms. Im anxiously awaiting your reply in hopes that you don't question my love for my turtles :( ty.
 

Turtlemomof2

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Also there's sand deep enough for them to burrow but they really don't. They've been hibernating under the hideaway I've provided for them.
 

Turtlemomof2

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If nothing else, take them out in the sun for a little bit everyday until you can geet a light...
It can be quite cold outside but luckily in MO there are random sunnier warmer days. How long can they stand to be in weather if it's not above 50 degrees? I do want them to get some sun but I don't want to put them out in harsher conditions if I don't have an idea of what they can stand and for how long.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Your turtle is acting lethargic lately because he's not warm enough and trying to brumate. They either need to be kept awake at the proper temperatures or brumated. Get rid of the blue light you have they're no good. Just use a regular incandescent bulb till you get a proper uvb light. Also get rid of the sand. It's not a suitable substrate as it can cause impaction. Orchid or Cypress bark is better. I'd suggest a ceramic heat emitter to keep your turtles warm day and night. I got mine here for $8
You can also get this uvb light from chewy or show them this ad at Petco and they'll price match it.
Walmart has florescent fixtures that you can use too for it just throw away the bulb that comes with it.
 

Maro2Bear

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One other point, other than poor lighting, heating, substrate & nutrition, is that it seems like you are using “low wattage” type energy saving LED lights. I’m basing this on your info - “ At 75 watt (but uses only 53 watts) the brightness being at 1050 lumens in soft white. Is this an appropriate bulb to use to provide heat for my two turtles?”

LED type energy saving bulbs don’t really put out much - if any - heat. You want to use regular “old fashioned“ light bulbs to provide heat (if thats what you are trying to do). Other posts above provide you with some optimal ways to provide heat & light.

Lots of info on Box Turtles - https://www.tortoiseforum.org/forums/american-box-turtles.98/
 

Yvonne G

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Thank you for your feedback. And thank you for caring about my turtles too and wanting to get down to the bottom of this with me, its so appreciated. I'm not 100% sure but I believe they are both ornate box turtles.. well at least one of them. My smaller, younger guy has a more rounded, smooth shell. I'm afraid I don't have a thermometer yet to test their habitat. And I'm also afraid they've been exposed to some colder temperatures than expected of a caretaker, such as myself. My heat has been shut off, I'm running heaters off my electricity to keep my home warm. But it can get cold depending on more severe low degree nights here in kc. But I have always had a incandescent light bulb on them. At 75 watt (but uses only 53 watts) the brightness being at 1050 lumens in soft white. Is this an appropriate bulb to use to provide heat for my two turtles? And how far should the bulb be from the top of my turtles? Sometimes I feel like it is bothering them. In regard to the ubv situation.. are they better off with nothing rather than the use of this plant uva bulb or, I also have a UV light that's a 10w and gives off a blue color in light.. if its only a UV light is that not beneficial to my guys? I would like to know between all those options what is a better alternative if any, and also id like to know if the use of either mentioned are actually harmful to my turtles. I'll take pictures of what I'm talking about, and my turtles. To continue, when turning the heat light off at night I have kept a very small space heater outside the tank facing the basking area and when I touch to test, it seems to be keeping the sand warm through out the night. I've been using just sand but the other day I got some peat moss and orchids bark..? Would I want to use these together or individually with some sand mixed in? And in the mean time before i change there subtrate out, should i mist the sand daily to give it some moisture?
I'm mostly worried about my bigger guy. I've thought he was dead on two occasions. When I first got him he was so active and rambunctious. But recently I've noticed him very lethargic, almost seemingly weak. His eyes seem to be puffy and sometimes it appears like he's crying. And last night he was appearing to be what I would describe as yawning several times. When he's acting this way I usually go put him in the sink to submerge in water. But now I know to not use tap water.. and have been using spring bottled water for their bath and drinking water. I feel awful exposing these things bc it makes me feel like I'm not doing something to keep them healthy, but I'm desperate to know what i need to change. I also suppose that they may not be getting enough protein. I've fed them mostly veggies but on occasion i feed them worms. Im anxiously awaiting your reply in hopes that you don't question my love for my turtles :( ty.
Hi "Mom": It's pretty important for you to know what kind of turtles you're taking care of. With turtles and tortoises it's not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing. Each species requires it's own special care. So please post pictures of your two little guys and we'll help you I.D. them so you can give them the care they require (and so we can give you our best answers and help).

Puffy eyes and "yawning" are both signs that something is wrong. Until we can get more info from you, soak this turtle daily in warm water and keep him warm (80-85F)to help him fight off whatever is bothering him. It would be best to set him up by himself until he's better. A small hospital tank (10 or 20 gallon aquarium) would be good for a while. And if your tap water is good enough for you and your family to drink, it's ok for your turtles.
 

Maggie3fan

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It can be quite cold outside but luckily in MO there are random sunnier warmer days. How long can they stand to be in weather if it's not above 50 degrees? I do want them to get some sun but I don't want to put them out in harsher conditions if I don't have an idea of what they can stand and for how long.

I can be quite a dumbass sometimes. I automatically think about Sulcata...you are talking about freakin box turtles. Lordy...they are the easiest to care for. I have 15 box turtles. In the winter they are kept in tort tables in the house. In the good weather here they are in an outside pen with a swimmin hole and water turtles.
In the box turtle indoor housing I use homemade tort tables, black stock tanks and aquariums. Orchid bark for substrate, roller paint pans for water, frisbees for food, used up UVB flood type bulbs from the tortoises or 100 watt incandescent bulbs for daytime heat. For nighttime heat I use CHE's, black lights or none. At night, box turtles like to be cooler than warm. They normally will move away from the heat at night. This tort table has 2 lids. It's been pretty cold here so I started covering them up at night. They are fed, night crawlers, meal worms, slugs, goldfish, guppies, zuchinni, lettuce, and veggies. Yours, imho, need more protien. Oh....and they LOVE berries...
I hope this helps along with the other good advice. Stay here and please keep us posted. Please forgive the pyamiding, both are rescues and the Eastern box turtle is also blind.

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Maggie3fan

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I sometimes have trouble with the Forums new software and my old computer.

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Blackdog1714

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I can be quite a dumbass sometimes. I automatically think about Sulcata...you are talking about freakin box turtles. Lordy...they are the easiest to care for. I have 15 box turtles. In the winter they are kept in tort tables in the house. In the good weather here they are in an outside pen with a swimmin hole and water turtles.
In the box turtle indoor housing I use homemade tort tables, black stock tanks and aquariums. Orchid bark for substrate, roller paint pans for water, frisbees for food, used up UVB flood type bulbs from the tortoises or 100 watt incandescent bulbs for daytime heat. For nighttime heat I use CHE's, black lights or none. At night, box turtles like to be cooler than warm. They normally will move away from the heat at night. This tort table has 2 lids. It's been pretty cold here so I started covering them up at night. They are fed, night crawlers, meal worms, slugs, goldfish, guppies, zuchinni, lettuce, and veggies. Yours, imho, need more protien. Oh....and they LOVE berries...
I hope this helps along with the other good advice. Stay here and please keep us posted. Please forgive the pyamiding, both are rescues and the Eastern box turtle is also blind.
You feel bad-I am the Conducter of this Train!!!!
 
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