Can I Use a Regular Light Bulb for My Turtle? The Real Answer

If you are just getting a turtle then you might have heard that you need a special kind of light bulb for your turtle. And like most new turtle owners you might be asking yourself: can’t I just use a regular light bulb? The answer to this question is not quite that simple, but here is the short version.

Can I use a regular light bulb for my turtle? In some situations, you can use a regular light bulb to replace the bulb for the heating lamp, but you can’t use a regular bulb instead of a UVB light bulb.

Turtles usually need two light bulbs, one that provides UVB light and one that provides heat. So let’s take a closer look at each one of them and see why the heat bulb can be replaced in some situations, while the UVB one is irreplaceable.

UVB Light

Let’s start by talking about what UVB light is, and why turtles need it.

What is UVB Light and Why Turtles Need It

UVB light is a light spectrum of the UV light that plays a very important role in the life of most reptiles, and that also includes turtles. UVB light plays a vital role in the production of Vitamin D3 which is essential for the calcium in the body.

Without UVB light turtles ( as well as humans and many other species ) wouldn’t be able to get the proper amount of calcium which can lead to improper bone growth, metabolic bone disease, softshell, shell rot, and many other bad things.

Difference Between UVB and UVA Light

When choosing a light bulb you have to be careful not to confuse UVB light with UVA light. UVA light helps regulate behaviors such as feeding, diurnal movement, mating, and similar activities. And while all those things are good, this is not the kind of light bulb that you want to get for your turtle.

How to Choose a Good UVB Bulb (Tube VS Compact )

The first and most important thing that you have to do when buying UVB light is to make sure that on the box it says something like: “ This bulb produces UVB wavelength light” or something similar to this.

I’ve seen light bulbs that had UVB written big on the box, but if you read the box carefully it says that it doesn’t produce UVB light, and it’s just a name. This doesn’t happen very often, but just to be safe it’s better to read the box if you have the chance.

Now let’s talk about the two different forms in which you can get the UVB light.

Bulb Light

Bulb light, sometimes also referred to as “compact light” is one of the two options. They look like most normal white light bulbs and they are usually easy to find and not very expensive.

The problem with them is that they can sometimes cause photo-kerato-conjunctivitis.

Photo-kerato-conjunctivitis is basically a problem with the eyes that can occur due to overexposure to UVB light. There have been very few cases reported, and in the last few years, I didn’t hear anybody say that they had this problem with their turtle. Maybe it’s something that no longer happens due to the advances in technology. But besides those few cases of

Photo-kerato-conjunctivitis, where there is no problem with them.

Tube Light

Tube lights are what most people would recommend you to get, and I also agree with that. The biggest advantage that they have over bulbs is that they are completely safe, there are no known problems like in the case of the bulb with photo-kerato-conjunctivitis.

They can be a little more expensive than the bulbs but not by any considerable amount, in general, the difference is around 3 or 5 dollars. So overall I would call the tubes the better choice.

My Favourite UVB Light

I’ve used a lot of different types of bulbs and tubes over time to light my turtle’s basking area. Here are some of my favorite bulbs and tubes that I’ve used.

The bulbs that I’ve used are the Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 UVB Mini Compact Fluorescent. My turtles had no problem while I was using those bulbs, so in my experience, they are completely safe. And here is the Lamp Fixture that I used, the cool thing about this lamp fixture is that it allows you to place the lighting and the basking bulbs in the same fixture so you don’t have to get two different ones.

I was completely happy with this setup, and my turtles had no health problems. The only reason I changed this setup is that I was moving and I took that opportunity to change things up for my turtles as well.

At the moment I am using the Zilla Slimline Tropical 25 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture with the Zilla UVB Fluorescent Bulb, and I am really liking this setup, and so do my turtles. The only thing that you have to be careful of when you get this setup is that you have to make sure that you have a good place where to put it because it won’t be as easy to place as a bulb setup. Other than that I can just say that this tube UVB light is working great.

The Heat Lamp

Now that the UVB light part is covered it’s time to move to the heating part.

Why Do Turtles Need Heating Light ?

Turtles are cold-blooded reptiles so the temperature of their body depends on the temperature of the environment. So the simplest answer to this is to warm up, this answer might seem too simple at the first glance but in reality, the only reason pet turtles need a heating lamp is to warm up, the light from the UVB light usually takes care of the rest of their needs.

How to Choose a Good Heating Light/ Heating Lamp

The thing that you have to look for in a good heating bulb is durability. You don’t want to have a bulb that will go out after only a couple of days of usage. Another important thing that you have to choose is the power, and the power of a light bulb is given by the wattage.

How to Choose the Wattage

Most heating light bulbs usually have 50, 75, and 100-watt options to choose from. And you can choose the right options by taking into consideration the following things: The size of the basking area, the number of turtles that will be using it, and the size of the turtles.

If you have just one turtle and a relatively small basking area then you will probably need the 50 watts light bulb. But if you have 2 big turtles and a medium-sized basking area then you can go with the 75-watt option. And if you have more than 3 turtles and a big basking area you will definitely need a 100 watt light bulb. In case you have 5+ turtles and a huge basking area then you will find even more powerful bulbs on the market, or you can just buy multiple 100-watt bulbs.

More watts mean more power, and more power means more heat. So basically when you are choosing the wattage of your bulb you are choosing the amount of heat that will be produced.

If you choose a bulb that is too powerful for your turtles, you can easily solve the problem by placing the bulb farther away from the basking area. Unfortunately, this trick doesn’t work too well if you want to place the bulb closer. Even if you put the bulb millimeters away from your turtle it still won’t be able to produce the needed heat in some cases. And placing the bulb too close can be dangerous and unhealthy for the turtle.

Here are the distances that you should put your heat bulbs away from the basking area ( they are not exact, but they will give you a basic idea ):

If you have a 50 watt bulb you should place it between 6-8 inches away from the basking area.
If you have a 75 watt bulb you should place it between 7-9 inches away from the basking area
If you have a 100 watt bulb you should place it between 9-11 inches away from the basking area.
If you have a 100+ watt bulb you should place it between 11-14 inches away from the basking area.

Turtle Basking Temperatures

Now that you know how to choose a heating light let’s talk about what temperature your turtle needs in the basking area.

For most turtle species the basking area should be 10 degrees Fahrenheit ( 5 – 6 degrees Celsius ) warmer than the water. Generally, a good basking area temperature is between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

And here is a list of the most common pet turtles and their ideal basking area temperatures:

Florida Box turtle: 85-95 degrees fahrenheit
Eastern Box turtle : 85-90 degrees fahrenheit
Ornate Box turtle: 85-90 degrees fahrenheit
Red Ear Sliders turtles: 80-90 degrees fahrenheit
Map turtles: 80-90 degrees fahrenheit
Painted Turtles: 80-90 degrees fahrenheit
Mud turtles: 85-95 degrees fahrenheit
Musk turtles: 80-90 degrees fahrenheit

When Can You Use a Normal Light Bulb Instead of a Special One

If you live in a really hot area, you might be able to replace the heating bulb with a normal one. Since all light bulbs emit some heat, they will still be able to heat your turtle, even if not as much. But if your turtle didn’t need that much extra heat from the start, then a normal light bulb could be fine. But my overall advice is to always use a bulb that is specially made for this role.

My Favourite Heating Light

I am a long-time user of the Exo Terra Swamp Glo Basking Spot Lamp. Depending on your needs you can choose between the 50, 75, and 100-watt options. Those bulbs will last a long time and they will produce enough heat for your turtles. Because I had no problems with them I didn’t feel the need to try too many other options since those bulbs worked great for me and my turtles.

For the lamp fixture, I use this one that allows me to put both the light the UVB bulb and the heating bulb in the same place. Right now I am using both slots for two 75 watt heating bulbs and it still works great.

Conclusion

So the UVB light is Irreplaceable, but in some situations, the heating light bulb can be replaced with a normal light bulb. But overall I would say that it’s simpler and better to use special light bulbs instead of regular ones.

So this should cover everything you should know about turtles and light bulbs. But in case you have any questions left, you can always leave them in the comment section, and I will do my best to answer them as soon as possible.