What wattage for turtle's UVB light?

Question

We have a yellow bellied slider ( 8 months old ) she lives in a 40 gallon aquarium.

When we first got her we purchased her aquarium, filters etc from the local pet shop. They sold us a 100w basking light and an aluminum globe for the bulb. We set it all up but she wouldn't sit under it. When i checked i realised that the globe was way too hot and the water was heating up also.

The next day we returned the bulb to the petshop. They told us the following. " Well this bulb is way to strong for your turtle. You were making turtle soup!!! You probably killed your turtle!" Then they told us that the globe only holds a 50 watt bulb and we would have had a fire on our hands soon had we not realized. They then refused to take back the bulb. WHen I pointed out that THEY had told us which globe/bulb to buy, they exchanged the bulb for a different wattage.

Now today I went back to get a UVB light for turtle. ( we used to take her outside on the balcony for sunlight, but there is construction going on now so we can't take her out )

The petshop owner told us all she had was a 100 watt "Solar Brite Exotic Pet Buld" . She said that our globe is ok for a 100 watt and that we should just suspend the light a little above the aquarium so it's not too strong for our turtle.

This is the opposite of what we were told just a few months ago. I'm confused and don't want to do something that might harm our turtle or cause a fire...

What kind of wattage is needed for a UVB light? Is 100 w too strong?

I would just go to another pet shop but we live in Key West and there is only one petshop...

Answer 1

dont ask the stupid petshop owners, they have no idea what the are talking about, and 100 wats is wwaaaaaayyyyy too strong, you should get like a 50 watt basking bulb, and then a seperate UVB bulb that is a strip light, 15 watts.

you 100% need to buy a basking lamp+bulb, you buy them separatly, then s***w the bulb in ( 50 watts) and shine it on the basking dock over a mesh hood( cut a hole out of it and place the light there!). This is very important, you need a uvb light. It is a long thin light, you need to get the actual lamp+ the long skinny bulb. Reptosun 5.0 is the best bulb( together costs $55). Shine that onto the basking dock as well. Turtles need these together because they use the uva for heat, so they stay warm ( the basking site should be 90-95F, not colder) and they need the uvb rays to metabolize calcium and vitamin d3 for a stronger shell ( like you need it for your bones!)  

Answer 2

i would go with repti glo 5.0 ...10.0 are usually for dessert reptiles