Advice with UVB? (Health related I swear)

[silentstormcc]

Hello again,

My sweet girl is 2 years old about and I have learned that she was never given a UVB light.
Due to my massive amount of research, I instantly bought one the moment I found out she needed one for her precious little bones!! I read that they are not entirely necessary.. (Not sure how true that is) but basically, since she is 2 and has never had one, should I ease her into having the bulb on? Or can I go straight into the lights on when the suns up and off when its down?
I am really trying to save her poor bones.. I am a worried mommah!
MOST STRESSFUL WEEK OF MY LIFE.
Also, I think this belongs in this forum? It is health related.. hehe.

 

[CooperDragon]

UVB is absolutely necessary for their health. The UVB is a critical component of natural sunlight which they depend on. She is lucky to have gotten along without it for so long. Which bulb did you buy? The brand and type makes a difference in output and how far it should be mounted from the basking area.

 

[silentstormcc]

UVB is absolutely necessary for their health. The UVB is a critical component of natural sunlight which they depend on. She is lucky to have gotten along without it for so long. Which bulb did you buy? The brand and type makes a difference in output and how far it should be mounted from the basking area.

Yeah.. im so stressed out about it all of the time because I have only had her for a week and I seriously love her so much and I would die if something happened to her. I bought her the Zoo Med ReptiSun® 10.0 High Output UVB Fluorescent Bulb 17 Watts, 24-Inch
She has a 40 gallon tank, right now it is just sitting on top of the screen because I was a dummy and bought the wrong command hooks. Ill stop by and get the correct ones after work, would it be okay to mount it across the back wall at the top?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah that will work. Does your fixture have a reflector? That helps redirect more light down over the basking area. With that T8 bulb it should sit about 6-8'' above the basking area for best results.

 

[silentstormcc]

Yeah that will work. Does your fixture have a reflector? That helps redirect more light down over the basking area. With that T8 bulb it should sit about 6-8'' above the basking area for best results.

It does not have a reflector, but if it will help my girl ill invest in one. I have done so many upgrades to her tank.. it was an absolute mess when I got her.
One last question! I got her a hammock and she absolutely loves this thing, will I need to relocate it? With the placement of the light it will be almost 3 inches below it, is that way too close to her when she hangs out in it?
Also, is there a way to tell if she is getting too much uvb? Or is there no such thing?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah I would move it further away. No closer than about 6'' because it can be visually intense. I like to provide between about 3-5 UVI in the basking area to mimic late morning sunlight. They can handle more but they tend to hide during the highest sunlight of the day from what I've read. You'll get around 3UVI at 6'' with a T8.