Hi shell fans,

Its that time again!

So lets re-cap…

• We aquired and resealed our tank !
• Then we presented it with a cabinet and overhead canopy!
• Followed by the internal decor !

So whats next ….Ed,

You cry..

Well Harold…

We are going to add lighting in various forms , for various reasons inside our turtle pad!

So let me explain , inside my turtle set ups i have a three lighting system.

I will explain each lighting application one step at a time!

• For the daylight effect, i use a 24″ Life-Glo 40 W fluorescent tube.

• For the nighttime i use a 24″ Blue Antnic 40W fluorescent tube.

• Last but not least a 40W R50 spotlight .

Daylight :

Daylight to a freshwater turtle is not just about being able to see where the hell its going..

Really..Ed ?

Yes Really.. Harold  ( Doris is on holiday , Harolds the stand in)!

You see the bone structure of a terrapins shell is made of a substance known as kerotin which  relies heavily on calcium like any bone structure for foundation and strength!

The only natural way for a freshwater turtle to obtain this important ingredient , is from the suns rays !

The sun synthesizes calcium from the part of its spectrum known as Vitamin D12 , which is in part the reason why freshwater turtles can be seen basking on rocks in the wild for hours on end to daily receive the vitamin source .

without this vitamin supply be it natural sunlight or another scorce , the turtle would develope a fatal disease known as Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) also known as Softshell !

This condition happens when the shells make up breaks down through the lack of calcium which in  turn gradually degrades down to a rubbery hardness ,in due  course killing the turtle!

The second reason is to charge up their energy levels as these semi aquatic creatures are cold blooded they need a heat source for energy .

Eds..FACT : Believe it or not the shell is not just protection from predators, the sections of the shell known as Scutes are actually solar panels, and at some times the turtle will actually extend its rear limbs at the right angle to deflect the suns rays onto the Scutes basicilly funneling the sun in turn generating energy!

For this purpose fortunately in a turtle semi-aquarium there is a  lighting product on the market  that actually reproduces this calcium scorce in the same way as the sun in the form of a fluorescent tube and the one i reccommend is branded LifeGlo !

LifeGlo is the only one i have personally used and is specificially made for reptiles , although it is expensive around £15 ($25) from any good reptile equipment supplier!

The LifeGlo is a must have because your turtles health and well being depends on it , and is why you should replace it every six months as the tube loses the essential vitamin D12  properties !

As i have said if you can`t afford any of the essential equipment , go buy a dog etc..

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS, PERIOD!!!

Eds..TIP : So your tank is 48″ long !

No worries , you dont`t need to buy a 36″ tube , a 24″ tube will suffice and of course is a few £/$ cheaper!

Night time :

For the night time , my fluorescent tube of choice , is the Arcadia Blue Atinic you can purchase for around £10-12 ($28-30) !

Again size 24″

Although i must admit its not a nessessity , i reccommend it to simulate a day/ night affect for the turtles body clock to make it feel more natural in its surroundings !

Heres a picture showing you the lighting effect each has ..

The top is the Life Glo..

The bottom is the Arcadia Blue Atinic, and i also added and mounted these to a chrome finish enhancer on both tubes to reflect a sharper lighted finish to the tank !

Spotlight :

This is just a spotlight fitted over the basking platform ( I will explain all about the platform feature on a later post) !

This is merely used as an heat source when the turtle/s want to bask on dry land out of the water !

For this i use R50 40W spotlight bulbs you can purchase at all good D.I.Y stores etc..

Eds..POINTER : This may not sound a warm enough heat scorce , BUT considering that a spotlight is focused and the turtle/s is/are cold blooded i think you will find it is  so..

DON`T USE ONE OF AN HIGHER WATTAGE !

Heres an example Ed..pic..of our JERRY

I will briefly explain that you will of course need to purchase two light units to operate the fluorescent tubes as these need they act like ignition switches for the tubes see the EG..Pic below..

Now to round this all off lets show this fanfare of lighting off on autopilot, with the use of timers so when the LifeGlo and spotlight go off the night light comes on ..

Ed.. do turtles have a pilots license ?

Oh yes…Harold they go to the same flying school as pigs !

Just grab a look at the EG pic Harold …you fool..

Aud WAH-LA, here endeth your lighting lesson !

Now i`m going to practice my new party trick , im going to swim amongst one hundred red bellied piranhas wearing nothing but an elephants liver and a pair o speedos !

Its the best diet i know..

Next post is all about a neat FREE photo editing software called Picasa 3 presented by none other than Google, so dig out them thar old pic`s grandpa and lets have a dabble ?

Do stay tuned TTFN….Ed.

Hey Guys, Hope you enjoyed the classified information on my latest post here at the "The Ed Files"! NOW, you are about to get your hands on the best life changing information that I will only truly EVER offer here and its *free* JUST....
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Technorati Tags: Aquarium Lighting, Terrapins, Turtlekeeping, Turtles

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 9:33 am and is filed under Eds Turtle Tips, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.