Adopted turtles... don't know what they are, can anybody help?

[MarkS]

The compact bulbs have been known to cause problems, many tests have been done to show that they produce too high intensity of a beam and can harm reptiles. While we think UVB is great, too much of it too directly, can be very harmful. They ARE different then the long tube flourescent bulbs.

Do you have a link for these tests?

[AkHerps]

There's a couple out there, you can just google compact flourescents and they pop up, many bearded dragon care sheets also worn against these, but give me a bit, I'll find them.

[AkHerps]

Recent tests (2007) have shown that some brands of compact lamp now produce very intense UVB light at close range. We strongly advise caution when placing a new lamp in the vivarium

One study..http://www.uvguide.co.uk/compactlamps.htm

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/v...c.php?p=707674

Just something else, we aren't the only people who know it's not good.

[anatess]

Okay, I'm confused. I researched the hood I got and it is exactly this:

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Zoo-Med-...=2&category=22

Now, it came with these bulbs:
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products...cent_bulbs.php

and
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products...o_lighting.php

They're all designed for reptiles, so I don't know how they can sell those as reptile lighting if they are harmful to reptiles.

[Beardedragon]

Whoa. They came to me in the 10gal tank they've been living in. I moved them to the 20L thinking they need more room. I didn't realize they're going to be big. I have a 55 gal... I guess that won't be big enough either. Hmmm...

Yeah, what's up with the compact fluorescent...

Go ahead and set up the 55, I think they will be fine in that.

Here is an Article I wrote that describes exactly why the are bad, and what they do.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=83658

And trust me when I say they are bad. Im not just talking about what I have read or heard, its from personal experiance and treating sick animals from it.

As far as why can they sell that if its bad, look at 80% of the crap petstores sell.

[Beardedragon]

That doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why would there be any difference at all between a compact fluorescent and a long tube fluorescent? They're the same thing except one is more compact.

I am not actually sure what the difference is, maybe the Material? I just know the main difference is how much UV they put out and how fast it puts it out.

I wish I had saved an email be and a friend had a year or two back, he had a UV meter and tested all of his bulbs ( He was a bearded dragon breeder, and this helped him know when his MVB bulbs reached the end of their life so he did not have to stay to the normal one year and throw some out earlier than he needed to)

With every MVB bulb you get, you are supposed to let it have an hour burn out period when you first get it, because in the first out it pours out way to much UVB, and then starts giving out its normal amount. Essentially he said Compact bulbs keep pouring out UVB for the first month like that, some actually not even being able to produce hardly any UVB after that.

You would be heart broken to see a Lizard or a Turtle with PKC, their eyes are swollen, they are lethargic, and hardly eat. Very luckily the healing process starts as soon as the bulb is removed. One tortoise I had was 100% better after just a week with no medical attention, and he was a pretty severe case.

He was actually half way healed by the time I took this video, before he looked half dead.

YouTube - New tortoise

[AkHerps]

Many things that are designed for reptiles work, but that doesn't mean they are safe.

Rawhide for dogs is VERY unsafe. If pieces are ingested without being chewed they expand inside the dog and cause blockages and deaths. Dogs should get bully sticks, not rawhide.

That little tortoise is adorable! xP

[Beardedragon]

Many things that are designed for reptiles work, but that doesn't mean they are safe.

Rawhide for dogs is VERY unsafe. If pieces are ingested without being chewed they expand inside the dog and cause blockages and deaths. Dogs should get bully sticks, not rawhide.

That little tortoise is adorable! xP

Notice how he closed his eyes tight shut when I picked him up, poor thing

[MarkS]

Well that certainly puts a stop to some of my plans. Is this a certain manufacturer that this problem can be attributed to or is it all of them? One of my favorite sites is www.reptileuv.com they have a lot of good info, I remembered that they do sell compact florescent's but then when I looked back again it's only full spectrum and not ones that put out any UV and they recommend that they be used in conjunction with one of their mega ray flood lamps for the UV needs. The more I read about lighting for turtles the more I'm beginning to realize that it's hard to keep turtles with just one type of light source. Most places seem to recommend multiple bulbs of different types for different jobs.

[Beardedragon]

Well that certainly puts a stop to some of my plans. Is this a certain manufacturer that this problem can be attributed to or is it all of them? One of my favorite sites is www.reptileuv.com they have a lot of good info, I remembered that they do sell compact florescent's but then when I looked back again it's only full spectrum and not ones that put out any UV and they recommend that they be used in conjunction with one of their mega ray flood lamps for the UV needs. The more I read about lighting for turtles the more I'm beginning to realize that it's hard to keep turtles with just one type of light source. Most places seem to recommend multiple bulbs of different types for different jobs.

I would just go with the MVB bulb, it basically is a compact bulb ( In the fashion of what makes them appealing to people who do not want Tubes) but actually works great. Costs more, but is worth it. My turtles/torts where under them and did great.