Equipment Review and Discussion :: my turtle does not like Mega-Ray

[chiuhui]

I bought two Mega-Ray SB 100 watt Self-Ballasted Flood UVB Lamp and customize the lamp rack.


Mega-Ray from USA to Taiwan.

package was very well






drill a hole every 3cm to regulate the distance.







Also customize her almanac





Unfortunately, my turtle does not like it.
It can't raise enough temperatures enticing her to bask.
After ten minutes basking (distance: 14 inches above the carapace of my turtle) the temperatures just raise only 3 degrees C.
I think my turtle is too smart that she could recognize the different with sunlight and bulbs since the bulbs can't provide the same basking warmth.
She angered and urinated , after I forced her to bask under the bulb several times.

Therefore I still taking my turtle to enjoy some sunlight on holiday.

[octpusgirl8]

Try lowering it some more, as close as 12 inches from the turtle. I have the same bulb, and i have to keep it pretty close during the winter, since i keep my house cooler in the winter. Next time i think i'm going to buy the 160 w version. If you got 2 you could try returning one and getting the bigger vresion, as long as your lamp can handle it.

[chiuhui]

160 watt need more distance, so I don't think it will be better.
Even close as 12 inches from my turtle, her carapace still can not feel warm.
Bask in the sun different with bask under the bulbs.
Sunlight could warm her body, so she glad to bask.
But the weather does not always be a sunny day and I must to work.
Therefore I hope she could bask whenever she wants.
I don't know why oher turtles accept to bask bulbs.
I don't know if my turtle enjoy the sunshine before, so she does not like unlike substitute.

[SpotsMama]

I use a 100 watt T Rex MVB flood, which is, I believe, comparable to yours. Spot's basking platform is an in-the-tank type and my aquarium is a rectangular box (unlike yours), so I have to keep the water level rather low (2/3 full) to prevent Spot from standing up on the platform and escaping. I keep the bulb 14" from the platform. I also use a homemade cover which has walls about 2" tall.

A picture is worth a thousand words:



Because the light bulb is very close to the top of the rim of the cover, and there's a lot of wall height before the level of the basking platform is reached, much of the heat from the bulb that would dissapate in a setup like yours is, in Spot's setup, captured and held in the tank. Therefore, his platform gets nice and toasty. It measures in the low 90's and Spot loves to bask there.

I previoiusly tried a Powersun bulb in the same setup and it wouldn't heat the platform sufficiently and Spot wouldn't bask like he should.

Can you think of some way to capture the heat from your bulb over the basking platform? I think that's the problem. All the heat that the bulb's putting out - and it is considerable - is dissipating away.

[chiuhui]

SpotsMama, Thank you for your analysis.
It was originally the heat can not be held since my tank is a open condition.
It's not easy to change the setting of her tank.
Therefore I must put her in other place to bask.
It's too bad, my turtle can't choose if she want to swim or bask because of she can not bask in her tank.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Because your set up is so open you could probably put the lamp a little closer without it harming your turtle. I'd try that to see if it warms it up. Either that or find some way to close it up a little.

[N4784N R4613]

Because your set up is so open you could probably put the lamp a little closer without it harming your turtle. I'd try that to see if it warms it up. Either that or find some way to close it up a little.

No, never go past the recommended distance with a MVB bulb. It may not feel warm, but if you were to put a MVB closer then the recommended distance, there would be more UVB rays on the dock, then the sun itself produces! Which is dangerous, and can cause UVB poisoning.

Here is a link on the UVB output of the Mega Ray MVB's...

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercvapournarr ... uvmegarays

[chiuhui]

Because your set up is so open you could probably put the lamp a little closer without it harming your turtle. I'd try that to see if it warms it up. Either that or find some way to close it up a little.

Because your set up is so open you could probably put the lamp a little closer without it harming your turtle. I'd try that to see if it warms it up. Either that or find some way to close it up a little.

No, never go past the recommended distance with a MVB bulb. It may not feel warm, but if you were to put a MVB closer then the recommended distance, there would be more UVB rays on the dock, then the sun itself produces! Which is dangerous, and can cause UVB poisoning.

Here is a link on the UVB output of the Mega Ray MVB's...

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercvapournarr ... uvmegarays

I read the article and the web-site of Mega Ray MVB's before I bought the bulbs. So I will not abbreviate the distance.

[marisa]

I believe there is a slight range that the Mega Ray can be placed in and still be safely used if the space has good air circulation...