musk turtle basking

[toby1352]

hi there i am just wondering whether it is possible to heat a musk turtles basking area with anything other than a heat lamp? I am going to be making the basking area in a kind of beach design by building up the gravel at one end of the tank if that helps
Many Thanks, Toby

[AnythingWithAShell]

Why don't you want to use a lamp? It's all you should use really, the lamp is supposed to mimic the sun with light and heat from above.

[Graham]

What do you mean by a heat lamp, a ceramic, spotlamp....?

[toby1352]

Basically I wanted an alternative to a heat lamp or ceramic bulb because I am using a fish tank. Do you reckon it would be possible to use a mat or an aquarium water heater? Cheers

[AnythingWithAShell]

How would you use a water heater to heat the dry area?

We all use tanks (at some point anyway) for our turtles, you just get a clamp on lamp holder to mount the bulbs.

[toby1352]

i thought that i may would in the same way as a heat rock? similar to a radiator in the respect that they could lie next to it and it would give off heat. Do you reckon this idea would work?

[Graham]

No it won't, you need to use a lamp or a ceramic (and a lamp), can I ask why you'd want to use a mat or a heated rock instead, what would be the advantage of that?

To stimulate natural behaviour turts really need a high light level, so even if you could use a mat or a rock you'd still need a lamp as well, and of course you still need a source of UVB whatever you use for heat.

[AnythingWithAShell]

Sorry, definitely not a good idea

I'm getting the idea you don't want to have to/can't see how to clamp anything onto the sides of your tank? Can I ask why? Do you have a lid on the tank, and is this what's causing the confusion over how to heat the dry area? If so you need to remove the lid anyway, it aids a build up of humidity which is dangerous for turtles. Turtle enclosures need to be open topped anyway, so using the clamp on lamps with suitable bulbs is how to provide the correct conditions

[toby1352]

ok thats great thanks for your help what i was going to do was lift the lid slightly to allow air but it is going to be easier to remove it completely. Can anyone recommend what bulb and clamp to put it in? Also what is the best way to put out the uvb within the tank a tube light or clamp lamp style? any recommendations?

thanks for your help so far, Toby

[Graham]

Either get yourself two small Clamp Lamp holders and use one to hold a 60W spotlamp and the other to hold a 10% compact UVB, or else use a single Mercury Vapour or Metal Halide lamp which provides both heat and UVB, and mount it in a purpose made holder suspended over the tank.

Obviously the lid needs to be removed for either option, not just because it's easier though, it's essential to avoid high humidity.