Lighting

[Manetamer]

For the UVB lighting do you use the kind that goes over a fish aquarium? I do not have a tortoise yet. I am doing all my research first (plus working on my husband)!

 

[wellington]

What kind of tortoise are you looking to get? Some use the Mercury vapor bulbs, that give heat, light and UVB. Some use the Florescent tube type that gives off light and UVB, no heat. Never use the coil type bulbs, they have been know to cause eye problems.

 

[Manetamer]

What kind of tortoise are you looking to get? Some use the Mercury vapor bulbs, that give heat, light and UVB. Some use the Florescent tube type that gives off light and UVB, no heat. Never use the coil type bulbs, they have been know to cause eye problems.

I am looking at cherry heads

 

[Tom]

Fish tank lights generally do not produce UV as the water would filter it out anyway.

Talk to some other cherry head owners to figure out which lighting strategy will work best for you. Many people like a long tube type florescent for light and UV and then use a ceramic heating element set on a thermostat to maintain ambient temps.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm pretty sure Mark talks about RF lighting at the Tortoise Library

 

[Michael Twohy]

I don't know, I use the mvb (mercury vapor bulbs) type, and its nice because you only need one light they're expensive, but in the long run its worth it because they last a long time.

 

[mikeh]

Fish tank lights generally do not produce UV as the water would filter it out anyway.

Talk to some other cherry head owners to figure out which lighting strategy will work best for you. Many people like a long tube type florescent for light and UV and then use a ceramic heating element set on a thermostat to maintain ambient temps.

While some percentage of uva/uvb does get reduced by water surface reflection and impurities, good amount of uva/uvb does penetrate to certain depth of water.

OP: you can certainly use aquatic fixture/hood with removed glass cover, but the bulb-tube has to be a specific reptile UVB type.