Equipment Review and Discussion :: Lights

[TurtleGirl08]

I am just starting a tank, and I am getting 3 turtles. I love the color pink and thats the color of my gravel, i will get a picture up soon. Well here's my question... I dont have alot of extra money and I need a light for my turtles, I want to get a heat lamp but do you have to get a heat lamp from the pet store, or can you buy one at walmart? are they the same?? and what about the bulbs, do I have to get them at the pet store, and then get the heatlamp at walmart?? or if anyone has any other idea's for light uses, let me know. Thank you,

[TurtleGirl08]

Thank you for answering my question... I am sure i will have alot of them but anyways if you have any idea's on things to put in the tank for them to hide under, get on top of etc. Let me know. Thank you!

[TheComputerGremlin]

Hi, so first off, NO GRAVEL. I hate to spoil your pink dreams, but gravel is a big no-no. Turtles may eat the gravel, and it gets impacted in their little bodies, and you have to take them to a herp vet for possible surgery, and they may die! You can use large river rocks, though, or maybe find very large glass drops that are pink.

As for lights, a budget friendly heat light is a regular old incandescent buy them in packs of four for like nothing light. I think you use a 75 watt bulb, but check based on how close the lamp is to the basking area.

However, you *need* to spend good money on a UVB bulb. The compact 5.0 ones at the pet stores are like $10, and it's money well spent. If the turtle doesn't get enough UVB, they will be vitamin deficient!

And ask away, we love answering questions!

[flyjawn]

wow 3 turtles! you must have a mighty big tank!

are you planning on keeping them all together or are separating them into their own tanks...

sorry to tell you this but turtles shouldn`t have gravel in their tanks because they can eat it and it can become impacted. anything you put in their tank should be larger than their head. (keep in mind they will get bigger quickly).

you don`t need a heat lamp persay, a regular 60 watt lightbulb will do the job. but you do need a UVB lamp too...

good luck! take the time to read all the info on this site and you`ll learn alot!

[marisa]

For a heat lamp, you can use a regular incandescent light bulb. Use whatever wattage that will get the basking area temp in the range of 88-90F. You need to check the temp with a thermometer.

[LOBO]

how big is the tanks or tank u r using? i hope u relize how much work 3 turtles will be. i had a hell of a time just setting up my 55 gal tank for ONE turtle. its gonna be one turt at a time for me for as long as i have turts.

[erinemcgreevy]

I think it would be more cost effective to get an mvb, that way you get both heat and uvb, also the mvb last twice as long as the tube/compact uvb bulbs.

[marisa]

It would depend on how big the tank is. If the tank is much less than 50-gallons, a MVB would give off too much heat for the tank.

[LOBO]

yes mvbs r very dangerous with how hot they get. i was going to get one but changed my mind and just got a heat/florecent combo dome. it doesnt get exsessively hot and u get heat and uvb.

[TurtleGirl08]

Thanks for answering my questions guys, The "gravel" i got is called turtle pebbles i bought it in the turtle section at petco. I just call it gravel. It is made for turtles so its okay. So i worded that wrong! As for 3 turtles yes i have 3, they were given to me by a friend that could no longer care for them. But he never had a heatlamp or anykind of light on them, and he has had them for 4 years and they have done just fine so should I still get one now?

[octpusgirl8]

Ok two things: fisrt off, just because something is marketed towards turtle owners it doesn't mean it's good for or even safe frot turtles. It's only ok if the pieces are bigger than your turtle's heads. Second, just because they haven't died doesn't mean they're healthy and happy. Turtles meed heat and UVB rays for basking, it's necessary for them to digest and metabolize thier food. Read up on the habitat section on www.redearslider.com.

[LOBO]

yes u should still get that stuff. the fact that they wer eok for 4 years without it just means they r lucky. they might still be sick and unhappy.

and anything that is smaller then your turtles head is dangerous for them because they try to eat anything that comes in their tank. i've heard others post about this "turtle pebbles" and u still shouldnt have it in the tank. companys put things on packages in order to sell them. a name doesnt nessessarily means its ok for that animal.

[ashleygamergirl]

what kind of turtles are they?

[TurtleGirl08]

Thanks for all the information. I will work on getting it set up.