Choosing a UV lamp for your red-eared turtle

An ultraviolet lamp for the red-eared turtle and other representatives of this family is an indispensable element that must be installed in an aquarium. Without it, it is impossible to ensure the normal life of reptiles, so you should take care of this type of lighting in advance.

Features of keeping turtles

Turtles like to be under a UV lamp for a long time.

It is important to understand that during life in the wild, turtles bask in the sun for a long time, benefiting from this and ensuring normal metabolic processes and the absorption of useful trace elements. Sunlight is a spectrum, and not all types of radiation are needed by a turtle, which simplifies the choice of lighting equipment.

If the turtle is a waterfowl, it should be kept in an aquarium with a land area to create conditions close to natural. At the same time, it is necessary to select the optimal size of the container, as well as to ensure that the water temperature is suitable for a particular type of turtle.

Lamps are needed for both waterfowl and land turtles.

UV lamp for red-eared turtles - a must-have item that should be purchased with the rest of the equipment. But at the same time, a number of features must be taken into account so that the light bulb gives an effect and provides the correct radiation spectrum. Not all options are suitable, when choosing, you need to take into account a number of recommendations.

The effect of ultraviolet light on turtles

It is worth understanding how light affects pets and what indicators of ultraviolet radiation the equipment should have to ensure the best effect. You need to remember the following:

1. For a turtle, UVA and UVB rays are the most important. As for the first option, it is in all ultraviolet lamps and accounts for approximately 30% of the radiation. This is an indicator that is sufficient to ensure a normal microclimate. Under natural conditions, this radiation produces a tan, it does not penetrate the skin and is practically safe.
2. UVB rays are much more important for animals, so when choosing, you need to pay attention to their proportion. For adults aged 7 years or more, the indicator should be minimum 5% (in the marking, this is indicated by 5.0 or 100). UV lamp for tortoise and small aquatic species must have about 10% radiation of this type (10.0 or 150). For sick and pregnant individuals, the level should be about 12% (UBV 200).
3. It is recommended to place the lamp a little higher than required at first, and then lower it gradually to achieve the desired level of UV radiation. Therefore, it is best to use an adjustable bracket for mounting equipment, this will allow you to find the ideal position easily and quickly.

An example of how the distance from the lamp to the surface changes the indicators of ultraviolet radiation.

For turtles, efficient absorption of vitamin D3 is especially important in order to get enough calcium into the body. And this vitamin is synthesized only when the turtle is in the sun or under a spectrum that is as close to natural as possible.

Do not believe those who claim that you can replace ultraviolet radiation with vitamin complexes or special nutrition. This helps to endure the lack of sunlight, but does not solve the problem.

The lamp cannot be replaced by vitamins and nutrition.

Types of UV lamps

It is best to use ultraviolet fluorescent lamps for reptiles. This option is ideal for its characteristics and is easy to purchase at pet stores or large retail outlets that sell electrics. The variety cannot be called inexpensive, but without ultraviolet light, turtles will develop much worse and become sick more often. As for the types, there are two of them and the first one is T5 or T8 type pipes. They have the following features:

1. Most often, mounts for them are placed at the bottom of the aquarium lid. There is nothing complicated in installation, the main thing is to accurately determine the distance so that the lamp can be freely inserted and removed from the seat. If you make a mistake, you will have to rearrange one of the mounts.
2. An improved option is a lamp with a reflector. It takes up more space, so it may not be suitable for small aquariums. But this solution directs the light flux in one direction, which significantly increases the efficiency of the lamp and significantly reduces light loss due to scattering.
   Reflector lamps are much more efficient.
3. Tubular lamps are divided by power. Depending on this indicator, the length also changes: 15 W - 45 cm, 20 W - 60 cm, 30 W - 90 cm and 40 W - 120 cm. Everything is simple here: the longer the length, the higher the level of ultraviolet radiation and the more efficient the lamp . At the same time, it is necessary to study the characteristics of the equipment on the packaging, since the indicators for different manufacturers can vary significantly.

To reduce radiation losses and direct light in the right direction, it is necessary to make the simplest reflector of their dense foil. It is placed under the lamps and slightly bent so that the light is collected only in the aquarium and does not scatter to the sides.

The second type of fluorescent lamps for turtles is products for a standard E27 base. They have their own characteristics:

1. Installing such a solution is much easier due to the fact that a simple cartridge can be bought everywhere, and often it is at hand. But it is best to choose a ceiling with a reflector so that the light flux is directed to the desired area. Ideally, it should be adjustable.
2. Such lamps do not distribute ultraviolet along the entire length of the structure, but direct it to a separate area. Therefore, it is very important to choose a suitable place to install the lamp so that it gives the greatest effect.

Options for the cartridge are easier to find on sale.

Some believe that this option is enough to heat the surface. In fact, it is better to do heating separately, for this you can use different systems, including special lamps.

Lamp operating time, location, whether harmful to humans

The use of ultraviolet bulbs has a number of features that need to be studied in order to avoid mistakes. It is important to remember the following here:

1. The life of the light bulb is from 3 to 12 months. This does not mean that it will fail very quickly, during this period the fluorescent composition burns out and the ultraviolet waves change their length, turning into useless for turtles. Moreover, if the conditions are unfavorable (differences in humidity, temperature, shock, etc.), then the lamp life will be reduced even more.
2. It is necessary to select the height of the location according to the table, which is on the packaging with the lamp or on a special leaflet. Different models have different indicators, so you should deal with this if you bought a different lamp than before.
3. The spectrum emitted by lamps for turtles is completely safe for humans and does not adversely affect health. You can stay indoors with an aquarium for an unlimited time, there will be no harm.

Tubular lamps last longer and better tolerate adverse effects.

After watching the video, it will become clear which lamp is best for turtles.

Choosing a UV lamp for a turtle is easy if you follow a few simple guidelines. It is necessary to give preference to products of well-known companies and change equipment at least as often as recommended by the manufacturer, and even better a little more often.