I have a baby painted turtle in a 55 gallon tank. What are some of the better lights for UVB?

Answer 1

light it up brother

Answer 2

In general the mercury vapor bulbs are the best. They put out heat as well as UVB, and are supposed to have UV output the equivalent of 20 or so fluorescent bulbs. Arcadia is the best from what I've heard... There's also Powersun, and something by T-Rex along the lines of "Active UV Heat" or something like that. Probably a few other brands as well... Mercury vapor bulbs are also rather expensive, ranging from 35-90-ish bucks apiece. As far as fluorescents go, the higher the UVB% the better. No one brand is really that much better than the other. Reptisun 8.0 or 10.0 are good, as is the Desert 7% by (I think) ESU

In response to post below:
While I have heard some people claim that UVB light is not necessary, I do NOT agree. Vitamin d3 is naturally synthesized in the skin of reptiles when exposed to UVB rays, and is needed for the proper metabolizing of calcium. To refuse UVB access and provide only dietary d3 is NOT the same thing. First of all, it is far too difficult to provide the exact amounts needed, and overdosing is just as dangerous as a d3 deficiency... Also, d3 obtained through diet (and digested) and d3 synthesized in the skin are metabolized/processed differently, and the animal may end up with a different form of the vitamin than they need in the end... It's much safer and easier on the animal to just provide the proper lighting and let their bodies synthesize/metabolize naturally.

Answer 3

I use a Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulbs. I choose to use the long bulbs instead of the screw in style because they give a larger erea of light that my turtles need. I own red eared sliders, eastern map and russian box turtles and they all have Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulbs. I find that they give a consistent amount of UVB during there life of use and I have used some of the cheaper ones and I always go back to Reptisun 10.0 Bulbs. Hope this helps

Answer 4

UVA and UVB light is used to process vitimine D-3 in reptiles, and in some other animals, however, it is not nessisary for them to have access to the UVA or UVB rays AS LONG as you substatue a diet heavy in D-3. for your little water turtle i would sugest Nutrafin Max Turtle Gammaris Pellets, i use them in my own animals, and in my breeders, i do not offer UVB lights only UVA lights through bulbes covered in Neoydium to simulate natural sun light. just too keep there cycle regular. also offer small whole foods like guppies, or more common Rosey Red feeder fish (sold at petsmarts) there live and there pretty swimming in the tank untill they are eaten.

Answer 5

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/guidetolighting.htm