Uvb lighting bulb strength?

TaylorTortoise

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Hello,
How strong does the bulb wattage need to be for a 3.4-5 inch russian tortoise? I currently have a 60 watt UVA lamp but Im going to get him a new light bulb today. I put the light right ontop of the screen. So it’s pretty close to him while basking.

image.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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You'll need to replace that light fixture too. Get one with a ceramic base and a 10" dome.

Your tortoise doesn't need UVA, he needs UVB.

The tortoise's shell is alive, with blood feeding the living tissue. If you have the light too close it will burn and disfigure the tortoise. I believe the instructions that come with most lights tell you not to have it any closer than 12" from the tortois's shell.

What tells you if you have t h e right size light for the size of your enclosure is the temperature, measured at different locations all over the floor of the habitat. You may need more than one fixture.
 

TaylorTortoise

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You'll need to replace that light fixture too. Get one with a ceramic base and a 10" dome.

Your tortoise doesn't need UVA, he needs UVB.

The tortoise's shell is alive, with blood feeding the living tissue. If you have the light too close it will burn and disfigure the tortoise. I believe the instructions that come with most lights tell you not to have it any closer than 12" from the tortois's shell.

What tells you if you have t h e right size light for the size of your enclosure is the temperature, measured at different locations all over the floor of the habitat. You may need more than one fixture.
Hello there, I just went out and bought my turtle the powersun light bulb to replace the UVA temporary bulb. Why do I need the ceramic base 10” dome?
 

TaylorTortoise

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Does this work? Also can we look at the light if we can see the brightness or do I need a bigger dome for that reason? My eye feels weird from glancing at the light! Is it safe for us to look inside the enclosure with the light on?
 

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TaylorTortoise

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Would this one work? My boyfriend thinks the 10” one will be way too big
 

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Tom

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Hello,
How strong does the bulb wattage need to be for a 3.4-5 inch russian tortoise? I currently have a 60 watt UVA lamp but Im going to get him a new light bulb today. I put the light right ontop of the screen. So it’s pretty close to him while basking.
Only your thermometer can answer this question. Put a brick or a rock directly under the heat lamp and let it cook for an hour or two. Then, temp it with your temp gun. or put your digital thermometer under the lamp on top of the brick and wait a couple of hours. Adjust the heat of the bulb up or down to get the correct temperature under it.

If you run a MVB in a small or deep dome fixture, it will burn it out prematurely and in some cases it won't work at all because the built-in safety mechanism will keep shutting it off.

Don't use the clamp on those fixtures. The clamps always fail eventually which can brea your expensive bulb and drop glass into the enclosure, or even worse, burn your whole house down, starting with the tortoise and its enclosure first, if the bulb gets close enough to the wood. Hanging the bulb from over head makes this much harder to do. ZooMed makes a lamp stand, or you can make your own with wood or PVC.

That water bowl is a flipping drawing hazard for tortoises. You should remove it ASAP and replace it with a terra cotta plant saucer. More than one member here have come home to find their tortoise upside down in one of those. In two cases the tortoise was dead, and the other cases, they found them in time.
 

TaylorTortoise

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Only your thermometer can answer this question. Put a brick or a rock directly under the heat lamp and let it cook for an hour or two. Then, temp it with your temp gun. or put your digital thermometer under the lamp on top of the brick and wait a couple of hours. Adjust the heat of the bulb up or down to get the correct temperature under it.


If you run a MVB in a small or deep dome fixture, it will burn it out prematurely and in some cases it won't work at all because the built-in safety mechanism will keep shutting it off.

Don't use the clamp on those fixtures. The clamps always fail eventually which can brea your expensive bulb and drop glass into the enclosure, or even worse, burn your whole house down, starting with the tortoise and its enclosure first, if the bulb gets close enough to the wood. Hanging the bulb from over head makes this much harder to do. ZooMed makes a lamp stand, or you can make your own with wood or PVC.

That water bowl is a flipping drawing hazard for tortoises. You should remove it ASAP and replace it with a terra cotta plant saucer. More than one member here have come home to find their tortoise upside down in one of those. In two cases the tortoise was dead, and the other cases, they found them in time.

What do you recommend for a size/fixture? For my bulb??

Can the powersun bulb ubv cause damage to human eyes if I can see the light from laying down in my bed? That worries me I can see the bottom of the bulb and curious if that can cause eye damage to humans
 

TaylorTortoise

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Only your thermometer can answer this question. Put a brick or a rock directly under the heat lamp and let it cook for an hour or two. Then, temp it with your temp gun. or put your digital thermometer under the lamp on top of the brick and wait a couple of hours. Adjust the heat of the bulb up or down to get the correct temperature under it.

If you run a MVB in a small or deep dome fixture, it will burn it out prematurely and in some cases it won't work at all because the built-in safety mechanism will keep shutting it off.

Don't use the clamp on those fixtures. The clamps always fail eventually which can brea your expensive bulb and drop glass into the enclosure, or even worse, burn your whole house down, starting with the tortoise and its enclosure first, if the bulb gets close enough to the wood. Hanging the bulb from over head makes this much harder to do. ZooMed makes a lamp stand, or you can make your own with wood or PVC.

That water bowl is a flipping drawing hazard for tortoises. You should remove it ASAP and replace it with a terra cotta plant saucer. More than one member here have come home to find their tortoise upside down in one of those. In two cases the tortoise was dead, and the other cases, they found them in time.


“If you run a MVB in a small or deep dome fixture, it will burn it out prematurely and in some cases it won't work at all because the built-in safety mechanism will keep shutting it off.”
What do you mean by this? If a small or deep dome fixture doesnt work.. then what even does work for the bulb?
Is the picture I provided an okay fixture for the bulb? I got an 80 watt bulb
 

Tom

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I recommend and use this one:

Take the guard wire thingies and the clamp off and hang it from that little hanger.

The bulb will not damage your eyes unless you look at it from very close up. Like a few inches and for a long time.
 

TaylorTortoise

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Im confused what you mean? I want a fixture that I cant see the lighting at all. And that is good for a 80 watt powersun bulb that I just purchased.
 

TaylorTortoise

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I recommend and use this one:

Take the guard wire thingies and the clamp off and hang it from that little hanger.

The bulb will not damage your eyes unless you look at it from very close up. Like a few inches and for a long time.

Can you post a picture of yours so I can see? Did you make yours homemade?
 

TaylorTortoise

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My MVB burned out prematurely I believe. I went out this morning and bought a 5.5” fixture deep dome and the bulb stopped working. I have no idea what fixture or lamp to get my tortoise now. It’s expensive trying to figure it out and I dont have the money to waste. Please help. All I have is a uva heating 60 watt right now working.
 

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