UV and Windows

[Justin Carl]

I use to be a glazier(cut glass) and in my training i was told that UV light cant penetrate the glass. It had something to do with the molecular consistency of the glass. the molecuels in the glass are the opposite of the wavelenth of UV light, therefore it is neutralized. so no UV can go into the widow. Is this true? so that would mean that natural light by your widow cant supply any UV for your cham.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

That is correct.
Glass and plastic both block most of the uv/uvb rays.
This is why it's recommended that any clear plastic or glass cover on your hood fixture be removed.

-Brad

 

[Justin Carl]

ok i just wanted to double check. thanks!

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

You might be wondering how the UVB gets out of our fluorescent "glass" tubes! It's actually a high quartz content material. An example of a plastic-like material that does not pass UVB is acrylic like Plexiglas. There are many other plastic materials that do pass UVB with levels that may be as efficient as something like 70-80-90%. I was just playing with a piece of corrugated plastic material the other day that someone wanted to use for an outdoor greenhouse-like structure and found that it passed quite a bit of UVB. Lots of the other plastics that I tried didn't pass any UVB.

One scary example is the Zilla UVB tube that killed some chameleons. It just happened to use a plastic lens that was very efficient at passing UVB . If it hadn't been so good, none would have died from Over Exposure .

 

[Justin Carl]

very interesting

 

[Marc10edora]

Where can I get the kind of glass used for outdoor greenhouses? I plan on making my own greenhouse in about 2 years. That way I can try and let my chams live out there all year round, even in the winter.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

Examples of materials that pass UVB:

http://www.spartech.com/polycast/solacryl.html

See the "Results" section that talks about plastic film materials for UV transmission.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFile.../krizek/ASPSIPKrizekP&P81(5)1047-10512005.pdf

 

[Thomas]

The top of my glass terrerium is made of "diamondglass" It's safe.

 

[bucky]

Where can I get the kind of glass used for outdoor greenhouses? I plan on making my own greenhouse in about 2 years. That way I can try and let my chams live out there all year round, even in the winter.

Hmmmm...good idea. I wish I had the space for that lol

 

[joefarah]

Is there such a thing as too much UV then? I heard you talking about chams dying from over-exposure....

I have a Reptisun 10.0 bulb over my new panther hatchlings. Is that too much UV???

 

[kinyonga]

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/uvinviv.htm
Scan down and read the part titled...
"The Dangers of Overexposure to Ultraviolet Light"
If you click on the blue numbers in this section it will lead you to more information.

 

[joefarah]

I read that article and Yikes!

Well, I do have a 10.0 sitting right on top of the screen. The hatchling chams can almost touch the bulb!!! Shoot shoot shoot! I just paid almost $60 for that bulb because its winter and i can't bring the little hatchlings out for some real sunlight.

What about the fact that the light has to pass through fine mesh first? Does that cut down the UVB that makes it into the enclosure? Is a 10.0 passing through screen like a 5.0?

Also, reptisun or zoomed? Is there a difference and if so, which is best?

Thanks a million Lynda and others!

- Joe

 

[Canopy Chameleons]

I read that article and Yikes!

Well, I do have a 10.0 sitting right on top of the screen. The hatchling chams can almost touch the bulb!!! Shoot shoot shoot! I just paid almost $60 for that bulb because its winter and i can't bring the little hatchlings out for some real sunlight.

What about the fact that the light has to pass through fine mesh first? Does that cut down the UVB that makes it into the enclosure? Is a 10.0 passing through screen like a 5.0?

Also, reptisun or zoomed? Is there a difference and if so, which is best?

Thanks a million Lynda and others!

- Joe

The UVGuide compares brands as well. Just do some searching around the UV Guide site, you'll find everything you're looking for.

 

[joefarah]

Will do - thanks!