lighting..need your opinion

[geekinpink]

Uv bulbs and other lighting needs are very hard to find in my country. I manage to find a Uv light... it's purple and emits very little light, like a night glo. The shop I bought it from kept telling me it's too warm to leave overnight and I thought I'd ask people's opinions here.

Uv bulb is only 60 watts, I have been turning it off at night and turning on a regular bulb 40 watts at night, but I think it's screwing up my torts, sense of day and night. I wonder if it's ok to leave the uv light at night instead? It emits very little light.

~philippines - tropical weather - very humid - except during monsoons

 

[Yvonne G]

I doubt if the dark light is emitting the UVB rays that your tortoise needs to help his calcium work.

You should not have a regular light turned on at night. They need the darkness for their mental well-being, just like we do. It probably doesn't get cold enough at night to need a light, does it? What is the night time temp in the tort habitat?

Can you order the UVB light from an online source? I don't know the rules for shipping out of the country.

 

[DeanS]

Try to order the Zoo Med Powersun. It is a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) that has the greatest UV output...excellent for aiding in the assimilation of Calcium (and other nutrients) and the prevention Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD). 100 Watts should be fine...160 Watts would be even better. A Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) would serve quite well at night!

 

[geekinpink]

no, it's a reptile UV bulb, i forgot if it's zoomed or another brand. It emits purple light.

I turn on the light(regular bulb) at night during monsoon or after a rainy day...if the room tempt goes under 26 deg celcius. I was advised before to use a 10 watts regular bulb at night...but her nose was always runny in the morning, but when I switched the bulb to a higher wattage, her nose isn't runny in the morning anymore, I thought maybe that was the reason ( or was it a coincidence?)

I didn't know about turning the lights off at night...which makes sense because they are not nocturnal :/ I cannot find any ceramic heater here so I thought i'd use the uv light bulb since it does not emit much light but I'm concerned about the temp...what effect would it give if her enclosure is kept warm at night... is it bad for them? Or it just screws up their night and day as well?

the MVB bulb available on pet stores are different from MVB available on hardwares right?

Oh and she soaks under the sun everyday for a few hours

 

[jobeanator]

uva+uvb is key i believe in any tortoises growth, and its defently required for stars when they are so young. as said before, id reccomend buying a zoomed powersun bulb. try looking on ebay for them, you can usually get some for good prices. my star needs it for proper shell growth and it also aids in digestion for the tortoise.

 

[coastal]

We can ship to you and sell the zoomed product line. The 160w powesun is the way to go if you want heat/uv combo in one. See the link: CLICK HERE

 

[bettinge]

Both LLLReptile and Reptile UV say they ship international. Reptile UV's Mega Ray has a very good reputation, I just purchased the EB60 bulb I linked to! With international shipping costs, I would really consider the EB (external Ballast) as it should produce more UVA & UVB for longer and there is no filiment to break like there is in the SB (self ballast) bulbs. Basically, it should be the cheaper bulb in the long run.

http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-eb-60-watt-flood-uvb-lamp-kit.php
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/uvb-fluorescent-lights-mercury-vapor-bulbs/

 

[geekinpink]

the 160 watts won't be too warm/hot for my tort with out weather? It's usually 30 deg celcius and above here.

@coastal - is it uva/uvb bulb?

thanks for the links, It's very expensive for me though but, if i understand correctly, these bulbs last a long time right? Like a year?

My enclosure is about 4ft by 5ft bookcase type, open top...160 watts might be too much right?

 

[Kristina]

no, it's a reptile UV bulb, i forgot if it's zoomed or another brand. It emits purple light.

What you have sounds like the lights they sell for nocturnal reptiles. They do not actually emit UV in the usable range for D3 production, but make nocturnal reptiles' color look pleasing. "UV" does not necessarily mean "UVA and UVB" in the correct amount.

No light that is suitable for D3 production will emit that low of an amount of light.

To be honest, if your tortoise is getting outside and getting sunshine every day, you don't need a UV light. She is getting what she needs from the sun, which is better than any UV light on the market.

26* Celsius is 78.8 degrees Fahrenheit, for those that don't know. That is plenty warm enough to not need a heat source at night, in my opinion. I don't have Stars, but all of my tortoises are kept at room temperature at night, and my house is 68-72* F, or 20-22* C.

 

[DeanS]

I'm saying this more and more now...go on ebay search for Zoo Med Powersun...it's way cheaper on ebay than any store...though I do recall someone saying they found one on Amazon for 43 and change...free shipping!

 

[geekinpink]

I did ask some people on ebay, I've ask about 3 people selling and shipping worldwide, but they have bad experiences with Philippine post, I've had a lot of bad experience with our post too, broken products, lost, or delay. That's why it's my last option to buy online but it seems to be my only option right now...but..

@kyryah - I think you have a point- she gets about 3hrs of sunlight everyday if the weather permits. It's just when storms come or monsoons is where I worry because there's no sun, or if there is sunlight, it would be very windy. So i think i need back up?


~ also you guys are right, the "uv" light seems to be just a bulb for nocturnal viewing, I called the pet store and the owner said it's not a UV light! I wanted to punch the guy that sold it to me! He told me it's all i needed when I got my tort. Thank god for this forum, i followed the instruction to let her bask in the sun. - so embarrassing!

 

[Kristina]

How long are the monsoon seasons? Are we talking weeks or months or days????

Even daily sunlight is not 100% necessary. 20 minutes to an hour 2-3 times a week is plenty to stave off MBD. If they have to go a few days to a couple of weeks with no sun, it isn't going to hurt.

It wouldn't hurt to have a back up, but I would just take my time and find the cheapest source possible. Right now I have no reason to think that you have to hurry up and supplement UV.

 

[SILVERSTAR]

IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT HEAT LIKE ME,BCUZ I LIV IN SO CALI AND WINTERS TO GET A LIL BIT COLD SO I GOT A LIL UNDER TANK HEAT FOR COLD NITES I HAVE THE SMALLEST ONE ZILLA MAKES AND IT WORKS FINE FOR CHILLY NITE,THERE WONT BE A RUNNY NOSE AFTER A WEEK OF WARM NITES....