You may feel a little hesitant about a light bulb that costs a lot more than the general premises but it s a long term investment.
What does a uvb bulb do.
Uvb output declines by 80 90 at 18 inches.
One causes premature aging the other is more prone to causing sunburn dna damage and skin cancer.
In recent tests the zoo med 5 0 and 10 0 bulbs were found superior to several other models please see this article.
Now modern cfl uvb bulbs come in 100 150 and 200 models with each model progressively emitting higher uvb levels than the model below it.
Do a simple math problem like this you will spend 100 to invest a dozen bulbs or invest only a uvb bulb worth 30 a year.
So if you want a long lasting high quality adequate producing uv bulb check out either the zoo med combo pack or the mega ray mercury vapor bulb.
In the past compact fluorescent uvb bulbs came in the same 3 strengths that linear fluorescent bulbs do.
The highest uvb levels occur within 6 inches of the bulb.
Not just any bulb from either of these two companies will do though as you need a bulb that will produce the right amount of uvb light for turtles.
Make sure that uvb bulbs are used during the day and turned off during the night to mimic daytime and nighttime.
Uvb 100 bulbs are approximately equivalent to the former 5 0 bulbs while uvb 150 bulbs roughly.