BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

What do you guys use for heating and uvb? Like are there any brands you recommend? Thanks.

Very good guide (for UV lighting and heating for a BTS) is here


Choose the 5-6%UVB tube (T8 or T5) depending on the size (height of the viv) and the distance from the basking spot to the tube , and if using a reflector hood (will focus / double the UV) and if mounting ontop a mesh lid or under it (mesh will block about 30% the UV). See

from http://www.arcadia-reptile.com/fluoresc ... d3-forest/
and if your BTS is a species who requires more intensive UVB


For babies and juveniles I use 100L tubs converted to become rearing tubes and use Exo Terra 26W UVB150 bulbs mounted under the lid in Exo Terra Nano Hoods. In my adult BTS vivs I currently have a 26W UVB150 in NanoHood & a 80W Philips par38 incandescent spot and will soon be upgrading to 6%UVB T5 in a 24in reflector hoods. My BTS are easterns.

Living In BTS territory , I don't bother with more than a 40 - 60W incandescent for my basking globe, and often in summer I turn off the basking globe , but do have the UVB globe running.

Choosing a brand of UV light : not all UVB compacts and tubes and MVBs are created equal or as well , many shops sell their own brand (Zilla, All Living Things, Reptile-One, Nat Geo , Natural Selections (in green boxes) which are cheap Chinese clones made very cheaply using very poor quality quartz glass and cheap phosphors ==> very poor UV spectrum produced incl UVC band and bad parts of the UVB band.
I'd be looking at Zoo Med, Arcadia or Exo Terra and giving the other brands a very wide berth.

I have my baby BTS in a 40 gallon breeder using a 100w Mega Ray mercury vapor bulb, gets the basking area to around 98-100. I know that you can use a much cheaper bulb than a mercury vapor bulb (my bulbs cost $45 each) because a BTS doesn't require UVB, but I like to provide it anyway and a mercury vapor bulb is the easiest way for me to do that with my setup.

tbets wrote:I have my baby BTS in a 40 gallon breeder using a 100w Mega Ray mercury vapor bulb, gets the basking area to around 98-100. I know that you can use a much cheaper bulb than a mercury vapor bulb (my bulbs cost $45 each) because a BTS doesn't require UVB, but I like to provide it anyway and a mercury vapor bulb is the easiest way for me to do that with my setup.

Who told BTS do not require UVB ?
.... especially when young and growing .

All species of BTS require UVB to thrive and be healthy , some species of BTS as much as 10% UVB.

My Eastern BTS require 5% UVB.

kingofnobbys wrote:

tbets wrote:I have my baby BTS in a 40 gallon breeder using a 100w Mega Ray mercury vapor bulb, gets the basking area to around 98-100. I know that you can use a much cheaper bulb than a mercury vapor bulb (my bulbs cost $45 each) because a BTS doesn't require UVB, but I like to provide it anyway and a mercury vapor bulb is the easiest way for me to do that with my setup.

Who told BTS do not require UVB ?
.... especially when young and growing .

All species of BTS require UVB to thrive and be healthy , some species of BTS as much as 10% UVB.

My Eastern BTS require 5% UVB.

There have been several posts discussing this debate which can be found here: viewtopic.php?t=23314

Many breeders/owners don't supplement it and their skinks have been fine. I personally do provide it as it doesn't hurt to provide it as well as utilize calcium with D3 in it.

tbets wrote:

kingofnobbys wrote:

tbets wrote:I have my baby BTS in a 40 gallon breeder using a 100w Mega Ray mercury vapor bulb, gets the basking area to around 98-100. I know that you can use a much cheaper bulb than a mercury vapor bulb (my bulbs cost $45 each) because a BTS doesn't require UVB, but I like to provide it anyway and a mercury vapor bulb is the easiest way for me to do that with my setup.

Who told BTS do not require UVB ?
.... especially when young and growing .

All species of BTS require UVB to thrive and be healthy , some species of BTS as much as 10% UVB.

My Eastern BTS require 5% UVB.

There have been several posts discussing this debate which can be found here: viewtopic.php?t=23314

Many breeders/owners don't supplement it and their skinks have been fine. I personally do provide it as it doesn't hurt to provide it as well as utilize calcium with D3 in it.

Scanned through it , lots of claims , no hard facts.
Seen similar discussions regard UV for BTS here in Australian MBs too , didn't think too much of the unsubstantiated claims by the no UVB advocates there either.

Will just say , if you hope to get away without providing UV (A and B) to your skink by giving calcium powder fortified with large amounts of VitD3 , be careful of causing vitamin D toxicity and causing a buildup of calcium in your skink's blood (hypercalcemia).
Hypervitaminosis D3 is potentially serious condition. It occurs when too much vitamin D3 is ingested.

Best source of VitD3 is via metabolisation of dietary calcium and exposure to UVB.