halogen vs spot light?

[chowser]

hello everyone,

just had a question about this small halogen bulbs with the two prong input. i am thinking about switching from my normal spot light to these small halogens. im just wondering if anyone uses them or have used them in the past. do they make a difference or should i just keep the spot light i like them because they are smaller and would make everything less bulky. i would like to have a light that spreads across the cage instead of just a small focused spot light. here is a link for what i am looking at and talking about.

http://www.petco.com/product/108318/Zilla-Halogen-Day-Blue-Light-Bulbs.aspx

any advice comments or opinions appreciated

thanks
chris

 

[dom1959]

save a little money up and email "light your reptiles".
tell him your set-up and cham and he will make it real easy.
i just got mine today and the difference is unreal.
my chams colors seem more vibrant and i can tell the plants at the bottom are def getting better light!

 

[chowser]

what lights did u get?
thanks for the info

 

[babyjoe]

Didn't know you could use halogen bulbs on your set up.they would give a great light and closer to natural light than an incandescent.what would the life span be like.and id imagine you'd have to be careful handling it like a car bulb

 

[crocky]

I tried one of the small halogen bulbs on one of my bearded dragon enclosures. I ended up taking it back. It got twice as hot as a regular light bulb at the same wattage. That was the biggest down side. I ended up using a 45 watt floodlight from reveal for their cages, I still had to dim it but worked much better. I use just a regular household bulb for basking on my Cham cage.

For better spread I am going to switch my UVB to a double T5 set up when the bulbs are due to be changed and get some arcadia bulbs

 

[babyjoe]

Good point crocky.I hadn't thought of the heat.its because their gas filled.I'm sure if you had plenty of overhead clearance they would give a great light.but with a regular sized enclosure it just wouldn't be practical

 

[dom1959]

this was the set-up todd suggested...

What most folks really like are the 24" Double Bulb HO (high out-put) T5 (Skinny, High Power) Fluorescent fixtures.
They come with one "6.5" daylight Plant Bulb and one Arcadia 6% UV Bulb.

The Arcadia bulbs are fantastic and last at least one year. They are the best in the world.

This way you are combining the long lasting High Out put UV bulb AND a FULL SPECTRUM Day-light bulb.

It is all in one well made sleek black fixture. 24" Long x approx. 5" wide x 2.5" high.

 

[chowser]

thanks everyone!!