UVB in Regular CFL Lights?

[fungusfriends]

Hello fellow Cham lovers, I am new to the forums as well as owning a V-Cham. I was wondering, do normal CFL lights (from HomeDepot) provide enough UVB rays? I hate spending $40 on a single bulb at PetCo when you can buy 4 bulbs for 5 bucks at walmart

 

[JaxyGirl]

Hello fellow Cham lovers, I am new to the forums as well as owning a V-Cham. I was wondering, do normal CFL lights (from HomeDepot) provide enough UVB rays? I hate spending $40 on a single bulb at PetCo when you can buy 4 bulbs for 5 bucks at walmart

Hi welcome to the forum Unfortunately the bulbs you're talking about do not contain enough UVB. If there isn't enough UVB your cham can get metabolic bone disease (MDB) which is a horrible check out this thread and you'll see what it looks like https://www.chameleonforums.com/sick-veiled-48951/
What you want to get is a 5.0 UVB linear tube style florescent bulb many here use a Zoomed Reptisun. Unfortunately, as a cham owner you can't skimp because chams are pretty fragile when it comes to their needs.
But, for your basking spot you can use a dome light that you get at wallmart or home depot and use a regular incandescent house hold bulb usually between 40-75wats. Hope this helps

 

[KCcham]

If you are worried about the price of the bulb, you can save a lot by buying one from amazon. I think I got my 4' one for less than $20. Several years ago I tried to skimp my way thru, and it came back to bite me bad! MBD is a terrible thing!

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy James,

Here's a win-win! You can support one of our site sponsors and get what is probably the best price too! LLL Reptile sells the Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 18" linear tube currently selling for $14.09 It's considered to be a safe and effective UVB source for chameleons when positioned approximately 8" to 10" away from the basking spot.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/-/zoo-med-18-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/

 

[carol5208]

Another brilliant post by Dave Wheldon! One I can finally understand without having to get a dictionary out! lol!!!

 

[JaxyGirl]

Yay Dave!! That's a really good buy thanks for the info