Caution: Please make note!

[DeFishy]

Hi everyone, I have just recently heard of a very real threat to the health of chameleons. And that is the compact florecent UVB bulb. I do not make this claim lightly, (I will post the link below), but there have been an increasing number of reptiles getting permanently blinded by these bulbs. If you know of any who have been affected please report it. I do not know how it works personally, but I feel that it is important to at least pass on the information so that people with more experience then I, can evaluate this and make an informed decision.

The link is:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

 

[Lizardlover]

Bocajan's male veild had a compact UV for a part of his life and she says he is partially blind...you can read her blog about it

 

[Julirs]

Always good to say it again, but this has been well known for several years and is well documented on this forum.
They are dangerous.

 

[summoner12]

Glad you found it!

Hi everyone, I have just recently heard of a very real threat to the health of chameleons. And that is the compact florecent UVB bulb. I do not make this claim lightly, (I will post the link below), but there have been an increasing number of reptiles getting permanently blinded by these bulbs. If you know of any who have been affected please report it. I do not know how it works personally, but I feel that it is important to at least pass on the information so that people with more experience then I, can evaluate this and make an informed decision.

The link is:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

Glad you found it!

I post a link to the UV Guide very often. I hope you have a chance to read the entire site..... I am working on it

There is a lot to learn and I encourage anyone who has not been to the site to take a look

There is a good article on how screen blocks UV and shows the effects.

 

[chamlove]

What is the right type of bulb you should use? I am a new Chameleon owner sorry if it seems like a stupid question.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

You want to use the long (linear) flourescent UVB tubes. My recommendation is to use the Zoomed Reptisun 5.0.

What you are trying to avoid is using the CF ( compact flourescent ) spiral UVB bulbs.

 

[summoner12]

Here is the link I mentioned above.

Link

 

[desultadox]

lol, I was hoping this was an ancient thread resurrection. I guess it can't be said enough though.

 

[Clifford]

Are ALL the compact brands bad? Ive used the ReptiGlo 5.0 CFL, without issue.

 

[Lizardlover]

YEEES! all CFLs are bad

 

[Syn]

They are all (well, most) bad. If you read that link it'll show why.

 

[BocaJan]

I will mention again that my adult male grew up with a compact spiral bulb and he now can't see to shoot. He has to cup feed because he can't catch a cricket.

DON"T USE COMPACTS

 

[summoner12]

"They" are ALL bad if you use them wrong... be it a linear or CFL. If you use a 10.0 linear tube on an animal that can't get far enough away it would be 'bad'. You can use a CFL with some distance, and be "ok". BUT BUT BUT BUT, this isn't to say people should buy them. They are 'bad' and they have killed chams. would you want that above your animal? I don't, so I don't use them anymore.

 

[lex]

Are there the same concerns with the MVB bulbs?

 

[summoner12]

Are there the same concerns with the MVB bulbs?

Yes.

Check out the UV Guide about MV lamps. There has been a change in the new PowerSun lamps from ZooMed...

MV lamps are really not good for chams unless you have a way to meter the output of the lamp by using a SolarMeter 6.2. These lamps output a lot of heat and a LOT of UVB. Chams don't need as much as these lamps can provide. These are more for a large setup... say your making a free range.