Thanks very much for letting me know, much appreciated. Please let me know if you need any info re the new design.

Good luck and enjoy.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

I contacted Zoo Med and this is their reply. I’ll be re-designing my enclosure for mercury vapor UVB and heat. Thanks for your help.
————————–
Dear Lee,

Thank you for contacting us. We are no longer manufacturing the T-12
size lamps. The T-8’s are the new standard and are more energy
efficient. Please make sure your T-8 reads this (F17T8) on the etching
of the bulb.

If this is the etching and are still having trouble with than it may be
necessary to upgrade to a fixture that has electronic ballast and can
run T8 lamps.

I am unsure as to which suppliers, if any, still have T12’s available.

Please let me know if you have further questions or comments.

Kind regards,

Rita Zarate
Dir. Customer Service
Zoo Med Laboratories, Inc.

Thanks for your interest in our blog. Unfortunately, we also carry only the T-8 bulbs; try ZooMed directly – please write back if have trouble reaching someone there.

However, neither bulb is very effective at 3 feet, even 2 is a stretch; 12 inches or less is ideal. If you cannot raise the basking site close enough to the bulbs, than a mercury vapor bulb would be your best choice. It will add heat, but how much will depend upon cage material/ventilation, ambient room temperature, etc.; You might want to take some readings with a less expensive bulb of the same wattage first, just to get an idea of what to expect.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

I have a one year old, 3 foot, water dragon in a cage that is 5 feet tall. I built the cage using a number of basking lamps and night-time heat lamps to maintain the appropriate temperatures. When I built the cage I installed a ReptiSun 10.0 UVB 24″ T-12 bulb so it would reach as far down as possible into the cage, including the basking areas. Now a year later I can’t seem to find the ReptiSun 10.0 UVB 24″ T-12 bulb anywhere, only the T-8. Does ReptiSun no longer sell the T-12 bulb, only the T-8? Do I need to redesign my lighting to use Mercury Vapor Flood lights instead in order to reach 2-3 feet into the cage? If I do this, then I need to change my basking light arrangements because the Mercury Vapor will give off too much heat, right? I like the fluorescent because it doesn’t give off heat, but if I can’t find the T-12 anymore, do you recommend any more options other than going with the flood light?

Thanks,
Lee

Glad to hear that the information is useful to you, thanks.

One or 2 Zoo Med 10.0 lamps would be fine, especially for adult turtles.

Re ventilation, concern is mainly for the day geckos…watch that condensation does not buildup and remain. If that happens, a small computer fan for a few hours each day might be useful.

Map turtles might be quite difficult to keep with other herps…filtration will be important (feed them outside the tank if possible) and they may stress the lizards if they decide to wander; the parasite transmission problem I mentioned is especially troublesome when you mix animals from different continents – more likely that animals will lack immunity/ability to fight. Again, this does not always happen, but should be kept in mind.

There are a number of treefrogs and a few terrestrial species that mix well with day geckos, but not with turtles…most will try to latch on to even large specimens, and maps will not instinctively avoid the toxic species (almost all frogs, not just poison frogs, produce powerful toxins)…I have a many notes of various turtles dying after consuming even relatively benign species, such a as gray treefrogs. Holds true re geckos also, but its easier to find suitably sized frogs that will not be attacked.

By the way, not trying to discourage you, I’m known in some zoos for always pushing mixed exhibits, have put land crabs in turtle/snake exhibits, whirligig beetles with water snakes, fiddler crabs with mudskippers and so on, but it is a great deal of work and worry.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Thanks for the tip on ventilation. In lieu of the plexi glass access panel I will replace it with a 24″x6″ screened panel. If this is not enough ventilation I was thinking of installing a computer fan in the hood area to create more air movement. I’m not sure how you know if you have enough ventilation…then there’s maintaining humidity.

I have 2 adult map turtles (4 years) and I was planning some day geckos. I’m not sure regarding fecal testing.. the geckos or my turtles. I was thinking maybe adding a painted turtle as well. Any suggestions on frogs to the mixed exhibit.

Thanks again for your help.

Chester

Thanks for your interest in our blog.

I always try to provide UVA for diurnal lizards, especially day geckos, and turtles, but if you cannot arrange enough space, the lack of it would not likely be critical.

Heated water might be enough to warm the air for the nighttime, depending upon the species you keep and the ambient room temperature.

One concern with keeping turtles and lizards together is the placement of basking sites in relation to the UVB lamps. The lizards will be able to get close (6-12” is ideal for florescent lamps) but the turtles will be a good deal further away. This may not be a problem if you keep adult turtles, but you’d need to go with a small species in your set-up…perhaps Geoemyda spengleri or similar. Another option that I’ve used in mixed exhibits is to remove the turtles at night and place them in a shallow container with the light positioned close overhead. There are some concerns with disturbing the day/night cycle – I’ve used old fashioned “blacklights”, which are not sensed by reptiles.

Keep in mind air circulation as well – if using an aquarium hood, this will likely be a problem, as even species from humid habitats fare poorly if kept in stagnant air (fungal problems in lungs, on skin). Replacing the back plastic panel with screening has worked well for me with Ranid frogs, may be enough for your situation as well.

You’ll need to think carefully about species selection – turtles, lizards and fish together are very difficult in a small enclosure.

Turtles often carry microorganisms that are benign to themselves but deadly to snakes and lizards. It is not always a concern, but fecal tests beforehand would be useful.

Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Please take a look at the Zoo Med Slider Hoods, which seem to fit the requirements that you have set out. Please note that the Halogen Lamps which fit this hood will supply UVA only, so you’ll need to relay upon a quality fluorescent, such as the Zoo Med 10.0, for UVB.

If you wish to use a powerful UVB Producing Halogen Bulb, I believe you’ll need to set it within a Dome Fixture.
Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.