Mercury Vapour Bulbs, Opinions please

[BigR]

I'm looking for opinions about mercury vapour bulbs. I'm picking up supplies for my new enclosure today and will need lights in about a week.
My biggest problem is that my local exotics shop has stopped carrying UVB tube lights, (except some cheap chinese knockoff brand for fish) and is trying to get customers to switch to the mercury bulbs. I can get Zoomed mercury and regular spotlights.
So should I go with mercury vapour bulbs or place an order from lllreptile for some Zoomed 5.0s?

Enclosure will be 2'x2'x4' and will house a veiled

 

[Cainschams]

I would just place the order at lll. You can get two for what you would pay for one at a petshop. You will be set for a year on that cage and have no fuss seting up a whole new lighting system.

 

[BigR]

sounds good. Any idea what wattage to get? Enclosure will be screen on one side and the door, sealed off on the other 2 sides. Dimensions will be 2 x 2 x 4. Ambient room temp will be 65

Thanks in advance

 

[MWheelock]

Wow! You are probably going to get a lot of differing answer to this question....

Personally, I would stay with the fluoro tubing as a seperate element from the basking light.

I think that the MV, the coiled light, and fluoro tubes can all be good, though there are issues with the first two that can cause problems. As research becomes better, these items may be less of an issue, but up to this point I will only use fluoro tubes.

MV- can be great for big cages, but I worry that the burn rate at least in the begining of the life of the bulb can be problematic. Manga had MV bulbs for a year and a half and worked great. The third bulb (same type and wattage of a reputable company) burned his head significantly without change in placement or his habits. I think that chameleons seek out UVB, but sometimes have to choose between temp and ultraviolet radiation (too hot and getting UVB or too cold and not getting UVB.). If you seperate the lighting and the UVB, they can get what they need.

As far as the coiled tubes, I worry that they emmit too narrow a beam which may allow for more limited UVB than the Owner thinks they are providing.

Like I said, though, as products get better, this may change. I would want research from an independent third party to assess before I change. I'm always surprised at what information "some dude" that a pet store will tell you without any documentation backing up what they're saying.

Good luck,
Matthew

 

[sandrachameleon]

MVs are great for big rooms. But the bulbs run HOT and if water hits the bulb it can explode.

Order the tube lights. You might want to look for a Canadian supplier. When I looked into ordering from lll it seemed frightfully expensive.

 

[Electric]

He won't find one for that 13.99$ price LLL has got that's for damn sure, trust me I've looked. If you were to order from there, I say stock up on them so you won't have to order cross-border too often. Better yet, buy a ton and sell them like 30$ flat on local classifieds sites, you'll be cheaper than everywhere else and make a few bucks.

I ended up buying a zoomed from a big al's fish store, cause nowhere else carried them, only exo terras. I paid an arm for it though, like 47$ after tax.... I never would have paid that much if it weren't for the uvguide.uk site's info.

 

[Todnedo]

I have heard really good reviews from cham. owners about this bulb and company.
http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-100-watt-flood-low-lamp.php

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I agree with everyone who recommends sticking with the repti-sun tubes.

I just got a shipment of new tubes from LLL this week.
Shipping was fast and I got the 3 I needed for 48 dollars and change (including shipping), one of which was a 48".
The reptile store here charges about $50 for a 48" Every retailer I have checked out increases the $$$ with the size of the tube.
I can't imagine shipping would be that expensive to Canada.
This was my first order from them and I don't anticipate buying my tubes from anyone else.

-Brad

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