Habitat - Indoor

I have been reading the general care section on the website and it said mercury vapor bulbs have UVA/UVB and a heat source. Right now I have a bulb that I got from walmart that said "heat lamp" I'm not sure the watts, I also have another bulb that I got from petsmart that said "UVA/UVB".

I have two females one 6-7 inches and one 8-9 inches they both bask at the same time in the same area.

I am changing bulbs tomorrow. I have Target, Walmart and Petsmart nearby and whatever the price is fine.

What are the ideal bulbs to use for them? The UVB/UVA bulb I got a while ago and needs to be changed and I can't remember what brand or anything. Is there a specific brand or label I should look for?

Reading about the mercury vapor bulb sound really good if it provides all 3 or more UVB/UVA than other bulbs, I can keep the heat one. It's pretty warm and big but if I had a bulb that does all three it would be nice and add more space.

I am interested in knowing the ideal watts and brands and also what labels to look out for, I prefer to get them at Petsmart. I googled it and alot of different bulbs came up, I saw Flukers and Solar-Glo, Power Sun. If the box says "mercury vapor bulb" would it be safe to say that it includes UVA and UVB sources?

I have my turtles in their outside pool mostly in the day but it's been getting really cold and cloudy so they will back inside for a while.

I just read the post that Janearo posted. So does UVA come from any heat bulb? Would your typical light bulb marked "Heat Lamp" be sufficient?

Most light bulbs, like a regular incandescent, will produce some UVA but not UVB. A UVB bulb will produce UVA. If you go with a fluorescent UVB lamp and a regular light for basking, you're all set.

I bought a 125watt mercury vapor bulb Exo-Terra "Solar Glo" from petsmart today during a break at work. When I got home, I was so excited and I read the instructions carefully. One of my light fixtures was ceramaic so I plugged it in just to see what it was like and it turned on, then turned off, turned back on and I took the bulb out, it was smoky black on the base of the bulb. I read the light fixture carefully. It could handle up to 300watts. This bulb is only 125watts. What could have happened?

So the lady at petsmart told me I can return it at any time, I'm going in the morning to exchange it and show them the lamp I used also to see what other light fixtures they sell because according to these instructions this bulb is supposed to be hanging vertically as well.

Yes, the bulb should be pointed straight down. You also shouldn't turn it back on right after turning it off... you need to wait several minutes.

Oh, no the bulb did that on it's own, I turned it on once to check it out and then by itself started turning on and off. I returned it and was able to exchange it. My turtles are still being weird about it. Have you ever used them and if so, how do you have it set up?

Return it and try to get a refund. The Solar Glo has a very spotty record and the only MVB alternative is the ZooMed PowerSun. It's not the best, but it's better than the Solar Glo. Many people are sticking with the fluorescent UVB bulbs.

+1 that solar glo bulb is a total POS.

Habitat - Indoor :: Ideal lighting and question about mercury vapor bulbs

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