Habitat - Indoor :: Too much UV ? + Some other q's

[stavros]

Some time ago I got a slider. I hadn't had one before so I read several articles on what it needed and ate, as it is important to me that he gets well taken care of. Up to now i have used a regular infrared heat lamp over his basking area, which is a flat stone. In addition i have used a repti glo 8.0 . Over the water a regular tube.
It was time to get a new uv tube. This time, in addition to a new 8.0, i got a 2.0 to have over the water area. I figured he would appreciate that, but will it be too much uv? The tubes are on automatic timers so they stay on for about 12h a day.

Also from what i read the heat lamp should be on all the time, and since it gives light i was thinking about getting one of those ceramic heat lamps so his tank is totally dark at night. Or don't they bother? The red heat lamp is 150w but dimmed to get the correct temperature over the basking area so it doesn't give max light.

He seems to be happy, swimming around and basking in between. No problems with the appetite either. He likes to sleep under water in the darkest place in the tank.

[TheComputerGremlin]

The heat lamp/bulb doesn't need to be on 24 hours a day. You want to mimic the outdoor conditions, and some people on the board even turn off their water heaters at night so the temps drop encouraging sleeping. I personally leave the water heater on, but turn off all bulbs. I think reptiles, like lizards and snakes, need the constant heat source, but the turtles don't.

As for the UV lights, I don't think they are additive, so an 8.0 and a 2.0 is fine, they won't equal a 10.0, it will just cover a greater area. I'm not familiar with th 8.0, it might be too high, but if it's not hurting his eyes and it's far enough away, I guess it's fine.

[stavros]

Thanks! I will connect the heat lamp to the timers as well. The reptiglo 8 is about 12 inches from the basking area.