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Indian/Sri Lankan Star Tortoise (G. elegans)

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Burmese Star Tortoise
(G. platynota)

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Angulate Tortoise
(C. angulata)

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Not all reptile light bulbs provide UVB. Read the product info on the package carefully!

UVB Readings

w. Solarmeter 6.2

UVB reading outside on a sunny spring day at 8 a.m. summertime (daylight savings time, DST) in the southern half of USA using the Solarmeter 6.2 digital UVB meter. The Solarmeter 6.2 measures UVB in microwatts per square centimeter (µW/cm²).

Outdoor UVB readings - Spring

Morning readings for that day. Sunny:

• 8:00 a.m. - 30 µW/cm²
• 9:00 a.m. - 97
• 10:00 a.m. - 165
• 11:00 a.m. - 234
• 12:00 noon - 289

Afternoon readings for the same day. Sunny:

• 1:00 p.m. - 291 (highest)
• 2:00 p.m. - 283
• 3:00 p.m. - 233
• 4:00 p.m. - 154
• 5:00 p.m. - 70
• 6:00 p.m. - 21

The highest UVB reading for that spring day was 291 at 1 p.m. DST.

Outdoor UVB readings - Summer

Morning readings for that day. Mostly sunny, but cloudy when noted:

• 7:00 a.m. - 9 µW/cm²
• 7:30 a.m. - 20
• 8:00 a.m. - 35
• 8:30 a.m. - 68
• 9:00 a.m. - 94
• 9:30 a.m. - 160
• 10:00 a.m. - 191
• 10:30 a.m. - 102 (cloudy)
• 11:00 a.m. - 127 (cloudy)
• 11:30 a.m. - 120 (cloudy)
• 11:45 a.m. - 246 (sunny w. clouds)
• 12:00 noon - 202 (sunny w. clouds)

Afternoon readings for the same day. Mostly sunny, but cloudy when noted:

• 12:30 p.m. - 346 (sunny w. light clouds)
• 12:45 p.m. - 356
• 1:00 p.m. - 356
• 1:15 p.m. - 360 (highest)
• 1:30 p.m. - 348
• 2:00 p.m. - 327
• 2:30 p.m. - 305
• 3:00 p.m. - 275
• 3:30 p.m. - 232
• 4:00 p.m. - 191
• 4:30 p.m. - 152
• 5:00 p.m. - 109
• 5:30 p.m. - 72
• 6:00 p.m. - 47
• 6:30 p.m. - 23
• 7:00 p.m. - 12

Indoor UVB readings - Reptile bulbs

Active UV Heat MVB (5 mos old)

UVB reading under a 100W 5-month-old T-Rex 'Active UV Heat' mercury vapor bulb (MVB). When new, my MVB's have provided readings +/- 300 at the same distance. Note: This bulb is not same product as the newer 'UV Heat' bulb.

Reptile basking bulb

UVB reading under a 75W reptile basking bulb. This one is Zoo Med's 'Repti Basking Spot Lamp'. This type of basking bulbs provide light, heat, and UVA. But no UVB.

ReptiSun 5.0 fluorescent bulb (1 yr old)

UVB reading under a one-year-old Zoo Med 'ReptiSun 5.0' linear (long) fluorescent bulb. Fluorescent UVB bulbs should be replaced every six months or so, if you use them as your main UVB source. I use Mercury vapor bulbs for indoor UVB. These fluorescent bulbs just provide additional light to the enclosures (and a bit of UVB too).

Read more about reptile heat & UVB bulbs and the Solarmeter device on the lighting & heating page. For Solarmeter 6.2 links, see the housing links page.