There are mixed views on the importance of UVA light. Alongside this, turtles living in the wild would be exposed to UVA rays every day. So, if you want to replicate their natural environment as closely as possible, we recommend providing UVA light. Calcium is an essential mineral for turtles, and forms an important part of their diet. It helps them to maintain strong bones, keep their shell strong and healthy, and to carry out many important bodily functions.
In order for turtles to process and utilise calcium, they need a vitamin called D3. In cases of severe deficiency, death is an unfortunate but probable consequence. Without the ability to absorb the essential calcium, their bones and shell will become weak. This means they can become damaged more easily, causing infections and ultimately death. This is where it is key to do your research. You will need to purchase and set up a separate UVB light.
Like most animals, turtles prefer having some sort of set light cycle aka they need a distinctive difference between day and night. This can be accomplished manually by switching on and off the lights at generally the same time every day. Too much variation can mess up their sleep and feeding schedule.
The preferred method of setting up a light schedule is through the use of timers. Timers switch your light on and off every day automatically at the pre-set times meaning you no longer have to do it yourself. They are also very useful if you travel or are out of the house a lot. I recommend running your lights for hours per day. Your aquarium heater should keep the tank warm enough during the night without the need for any type of light.
Here are a few tips to keep you and your turtle safe. Make sure any hinges, hooks, or clamps are capable of supporting the weight of your light. Your first move should be unplugging any live wires. The same thing can happen to humans. Electricity and water are the perfect combination for a bad accident. There we have it — everything you need to know about turtle lighting. If you have any questions regarding your turtle setup, feel free to send us an email!
Good luck. How about showing how to mount a light on a large tank setup. No one seems to have anything that works over 55 gallons, and turtles need larger tanks than that. I am trying to find a night time viewing light for my 75 gallon aquarium. Hi Sierrah, generally I do not recommend using night time viewing lights for turtles. I was confused from all these videos and articles on how to set the lightings and everything but once I seen and read this it cleared up everything for me and I now have the information that I need to care for my turtle!
If Hello, thank for your question. I do not recommend using a CFL light for turtle tanks. Absolutely brilliant who ever put this together really helped me a lot with my turtle. Thank you so much. Make sure all fixtures are mounted very securely 8. Never look directly into turtle lights 8. Never work with live wires 9 Quick Review. One or the other is perfectly fine.
If you decide to go with a compact UVB light for your turtle, try not to use a mirror-like reflector as this increases the chance of eye problems. Instead, use a reflector with a satin or white painted interior.
A warm basking area allows turtles to regulate their body temperature based of their position in the tank. Most turtle owners love them because they replace the need of using two types of lights. However, Mercury Vapor Lamps come with some disadvantages too. Here are the downsides of these lights:. Most turtle owners these days often go for the compact UVB lights. The compact UVB bulbs are squiggly shaped. You need to screw them into the socket. However, the manufacturers redesigned these bulbs and now they are the most popular choice for turtle owners.
Some turtle owners prefer the tubular ones than the other. It will over concentrate the UVB onto the basking area. You can go for a metal or white painted interior with the compact UVB bulb. If the bulb is too much powerful, your turtle will show eye irritation.
So, you need to replace the UVB bulbs at 6 months or 1-year interval, depending on the bulb. Heat lamps produce light and heat at the same time. Incandescent lamps are a popular choice for heat lamps. There are also halogen heat lamps. Some of these lights come with reflectors to increase the concentration of the heat. The heat lamp should be directed to the basking area at a perfect distance. Set up the lamp in such a way that the temperature of the basking area is at least degrees warmer than the temperature of the water.
The warmest part of the basking area should have a temperature between 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. You can increase the range to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit if the turtle is sick. The perfect way to set up the heat lamp is to make a nice temperature range in the basking area. This way, the turtle will choose its preferred temperature. The warmest part of the basking area should be the high end of the temperature range. On the other hand, the coolest part will indicate the low end of the range.
This way, the turtle can regulate its body temperature easily by moving on the basking area. Never ever try to guess the temperature of your turtle habitat. Temperature is a very crucial thing for turtles. You need to know the exact temperature of the water and the basking area.
I have been using them for years and they never gave me wrong results. When measuring the temperature, do not remove the cover of the turtle tank if you have any. Covers can control how much light and heat are entering into the turtle habitat. So, removing them will give you a false reading on the thermometer. When we are handling with lightings for turtle, we need to take some precautions beforehand. Here are the safety precautions we need to take:.
These viewing lights do not have any special purposes like UVB, heat etc. They are just for viewing the turtle tank. In other words, the viewing lights are for us, not for the turtles. I like daylight lamps for viewing purposes. They are better than soft white or warm white lights. Plants also prefer the daylight lamps more. Daylight lamps are available in many shapes. I like the LEDs as they are very cheap and practically last forever. I have also seen many people using night lights on their turtle tank.
It is not a requirement at all. You can only get one if you want to observe what your turtles are doing at night. Night lamps are basically dim lights with very low intensity.
In some cases, night lights are good for hatchlings as they produce some heat throughout the night. Moreover, most hatchlings sleep on the warmest part of the basking area. So, I prefer to use blue night lamps for my turtle tank.
I have also seen many owners using an infrared heat lamp as night lamps.
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