Has anyone ever dealt with a tortoise with sensitivity to white basking lights? I have a russian who was a foster/adoption that I don't really have any backround on, he came to me with a bunch of issues. One being really bad bi-literal eye infections. The infection has been cleared up for months but every time I reintroduce the white basking light his eyes swell up and he gets drainage from his eyes. I am currently using a red basking bulb, which he has no problems with. He tolerates the uva/uvb bulbs fine. I have talked to the vet and he thinks it might be retinal damage or something similiar. I was hoping to be able to use a Mercury vapor bulb with him but I am starting to think this isn't going to be a posibiltiy.
light sensitivity
- Thread starter Breezy
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What type of uv bulb are you currently using?
Breezy said:
I have used coil lights and MVBs with no effects on my tortoises' eyes. If I were having the troubles you've described, I would do two things. First, I would make sure there is a lot of plant cover in the enclosure, so that the tort can control his exposure to the lights better. The other thing I would do, and only after his eyes have been good for at least a week, is try a low-wattage incandescent bulb, such as a 40 watt, to see if the tortoise can tolerate that. If he can tolerate 40, then try a 60.
Be very careful about putting him outside in the sun. If his eyes are damaged and sensitive, the light of the sun could be too much for him.
First to answer cowboy_Ken, I have 2 Zilla Slimline Desert Fixtures with Repti-Glo 10.0 Desert 18"(15 watt) T8 flourescent tubes for the UVA/UVB lighting and have a 150 watt Exo Terra Heat Glo Infrared basking spot lamp for his hot spot. The "basking spot" in his habitat gets to about 97, the cool end ranges from 74-77 depending on the house temp. Thanks Edna he (Darwin) has a half log on the cool end of his habitat and a woven willow tunnel through the middle that allows broken light through, but I will be adding in some more plant cover. He will quite happily lay on the flint tile in his basking spot as long as I have the red bulb in. I will work on adding in the gradually increasing incandescent bulbs. Thank you both for your help.
It does sound to me like there was eye damage that may be permanent, If you want to use an MVB bulb I would definitely go with the Powersun, but that may not work. with the UVB bulbs you have now you shouldn't need a MVB.
Mostly the MVB where for me, I love the ease of just one light and one cord and less electricity. Have you ever heard of these symptoms with light sensitivity? My vet is a little baffled and he is not very cooperative for eye exams! I was really hoping someone would reginize the symptoms and have an idea of what was going on or what might have caused it. I am just worried that there is something I could be doing to fix his eyes and am not doing it! I am very happy about all the good ideas about how to help him be more comfortable. Thank you everyone
I have heard of coil UVB bulbs causing eye dammage, which is my first thought on what happened to your Russian. There are eye drops that have Beta-Caratene (spelling?) in them that might help. Personally I think I'd try and make sunglasses for him. 
Just kidding.
Just kidding. Thanks I'll look into the eye drops!
Does anyone have any thoughts on infrared basking bulb vs ceramic heat emitter?
If it is eye damage due to the spiral compact fluorescent bulbs, it might be only temporary. It has been likened to snow blindness. After a time of rest the eyes should be normal again. In my opinion, this tortoise doesn't need UVB right now. They can go a while without it. Just use the red bulb or a CHE for heat and let his eyes rest.
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