tropical or desert UVA lamps?

Adrienk619

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I have an Iberian greek tortoise and I am expanding his enclosure. Currently, he has a a t5 ho 24watt desert UVA fluorescent bulb. I need to purchase UVA and UVB lights for the expansion area.
Since my tortoise is more of a tropical tortoise, should I buy tropical lighting with lower wattage?
 

Markw84

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I have an Iberian greek tortoise and I am expanding his enclosure. Currently, he has a a t5 ho 24watt desert UVA fluorescent bulb. I need to purchase UVA and UVB lights for the expansion area.
Since my tortoise is more of a tropical tortoise, should I buy tropical lighting with lower wattage?
The designation for tropical or desert is simply marketing. It is normally either a 6% UVB bulb or a 12%. The height you mount the bulb above tortoise level is the controlling factor. A 6% bulb needs to be lower to give a proper UVI level while the 12% bulb can be mounted higher to give the same UVI level over a greater area.

I would stick with the 12% bulb you have now. You probably don't need another UVG bulb. I like to have UVB over about 1/3 of the enclosure - so plenty of room to get away from the UV. For example, in an 8 ft enclosure, I will use a 3 ft UVB on one side of the enclosure only. Sometimes just a 2 ft fixture. So, you probably are good with the one fixture you already have. Without seeing exactly what you are talking about for an enclosure and the brand of bulb currently used, we can't be sure, but wanted to give you a general idea of what I like.
 

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