Question about fluorescent bulbs

[Carol S]

Hi:
I just bought a ZooMed Power Sun 100W bulb for my 6 1/2 month old Russian Tortoise. I had been using a Repti Sun 10.0 UVB tube fluorescent. He is now housed in a very large under-the-bed plastic container. He needs more light in the cool end of his enclosure as it seems too dark. I was wondering if a regular household curly-shaped fluorescent bulb would be okay to use. As of right now I don't need a bulb that puts out any heat as that end of his enclosure is around 70 degrees. My other choice would be to buy a regular fluorescent tube bulb and use the fluorescent fixture that I had been using before. Which do you think would be the better choice or do you have a better suggestion? Also how much light is best to have at the cool end? The PowerSun makes the other end of the enclosure very bright.

Thank you for any information.

Carol

 

[chadk]

How about a normal 40 watt household bulb?

 

[Carol S]

My husband built a really nice wood/screen cover for the enclosure so what I use will have to sit directly on the screen. I tried the 25 watt ZooMed bulb, but it made the cool end way too hot. Is fluorescent bad?

Thanks,

Carol

 

[Crazy1]

Carol, a regular florecent bulb would be fine I would steer clear of the spiral bulbs especially the UVB ones. Here is a site that tells you all you could ever want to know about lighting http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-summary.htm

 

[tortoisenerd]

What about a household bulb for light, but hung higher above the enclosure as to provide light but not the heat that goes with it?