UVB lightning Questions

[Marniecat]

Hello! I'm in the process of overhauling a lot of my chameleon's husbandry, as I know a lot more now than I did when I got him 2 years ago, and got some faulty advice on the chameleon subreddit back then. I made an account to specifically ask about lighting. I've been using a T8 5.0 alongside supplementation with no problem but it pretty much seems like most keepers use T5 HO instead. Should I make the switch over or do I not need to if what I'm doing is working?

Some other questions if I do switch over:
- Is there any differences between Arcadia 6% and Reptisun 5.0? The Reptisun hood + bulb is literally half the price of the Arcadia from the listings I'm seeing.
- Is it safe to have it sit directly on the top of the cage or should it be elevated?
- How often should the bulbs be replaced?
- I'm assuming supplementation is going to change alongside lighting since t5 is stronger, what dusting schedule do you use with the T5?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Hello! I'm in the process of overhauling a lot of my chameleon's husbandry, as I know a lot more now than I did when I got him 2 years ago, and got some faulty advice on the chameleon subreddit back then. I made an account to specifically ask about lighting. I've been using a T8 5.0 alongside supplementation with no problem but it pretty much seems like most keepers use T5 HO instead. Should I make the switch over or do I not need to if what I'm doing is working?

Some other questions if I do switch over:
- Is there any differences between Arcadia 6% and Reptisun 5.0? The Reptisun hood + bulb is literally half the price of the Arcadia from the listings I'm seeing.
- Is it safe to have it sit directly on the top of the cage or should it be elevated?
- How often should the bulbs be replaced?
- I'm assuming supplementation is going to change alongside lighting since t5 is stronger, what dusting schedule do you use with the T5?

Thank you in advance!

My experience is I think that the Arcadia lighting is a much higher quality UV lighting than using Reptisun bulbs. Once I switched to Arcadia lighting I did not and have not considered returning to the Reptisun lighting. I would make use of a UV meter to decide when bulbs should be replaced.

As far as how to position bulbs elevated or placed ontop of an enclosure is something you should decide. I would base your decision based on lighting distance from perches and the UV light intensity of you bulbs. When keeping a terrarium with live plants lighting placement and intensity is a consideration too.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[nightanole]

Uhhh

Arcadia and reptisun are the same, from the same german factory. Arcadia does not have a dedicated light bulb factory, and neither does reptisun, they farm them out. Both have roughly the same 6 phosphor formula with one dedicated to just UVB. Both have a recommended replacement schedule of 1 year. Ive ran both with a meter, i cant tell the difference, both have the same readings and both age at the same rate. They should be around the same price unless arcadia is "imported" and reptisun is a normally stocked item. But yes sometimes the hood+bulb combos are a great value. Just make sure its a T5HO, and not a T5 or a T8. Arcadia also makes a combo(ProT5), so look around.

As far as sitting it on the top, you have to tune in a bit. There are a few light guides for making sure the basking zone hits your levels. But the bulb is putting out 4x more UVB vs your current setup.

And you have stumbled upon the conversion. You cant use a T8 supplement schedule from 15 years ago. The D3 dosage is drastically lower, but the "dust with calcium every feeding" rule remains.

 

[elizaann2]

Some other questions if I do switch over:
- Is there any differences between Arcadia 6% and Reptisun 5.0? The Reptisun hood + bulb is literally half the price of the Arcadia from the listings I'm seeing. I use Arcadia which should be changed every 12 months, Reptisun is the other commonly used UVB light, I do not remember how often that one is recommended to be changed, out but I think it might be 12 months as well. You can't go wrong with either one though.
- Is it safe to have it sit directly on the top of the cage or should it be elevated? If you have the arcadia 6% or the Reptisun 5.0, then yes they can sit on the top of the enclosure, just make sure your top branches are about 9 in inches below the UVB light to get a general reading of 3.0 of UVB.
- How often should the bulbs be replaced? Every 12 months, I strongly recommend getting a solar meter to help you read your UVB output.
- I'm assuming supplementation is going to change alongside lighting since t5 is stronger, what dusting schedule do you use with the T5? Yes, supplementation is plain calcium dusted on every feeding. Repashy LoD (with vitamin D) dusted on the 1st and 15th of every month. If you have a montane species you would give D3 only 1x a month.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. You’ve already got great info…I just wanted to say hi and give my 2 cents. I prefer the Arcadia ProT5 hood and bulbs. While there may or may not be a difference between the bulbs, I have multiple chameleons and the Arcadia hoods are able to daisy chain together, which is so helpful. Having had some members migrate over from Reddit, do ask as many questions as you need and if you want to do a husbandry review, just ask.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Uhhh

Arcadia and reptisun are the same, from the same german factory. Arcadia does not have a dedicated light bulb factory, and neither does reptisun, they farm them out. Both have roughly the same 6 phosphor formula with one dedicated to just UVB. Both have a recommended replacement schedule of 1 year. Ive ran both with a meter, i cant tell the difference, both have the same readings and both age at the same rate. They should be around the same price unless arcadia is "imported" and reptisun is a normally stocked item. But yes sometimes the hood+bulb combos are a great value. Just make sure its a T5HO, and not a T5 or a T8. Arcadia also makes a combo(ProT5), so look around.

As far as sitting it on the top, you have to tune in a bit. There are a few light guides for making sure the basking zone hits your levels. But the bulb is putting out 4x more UVB vs your current setup.

And you have stumbled upon the conversion. You cant use a T8 supplement schedule from 15 years ago. The D3 dosage is drastically lower, but the "dust with calcium every feeding" rule remains.


View attachment 362761

Hi and welcome. You’ve already got great info…I just wanted to say hi and give my 2 cents. I prefer the Arcadia ProT5 hood and bulbs. While there may or may not be a difference between the bulbs, I have multiple chameleons and the Arcadia hoods are able to daisy chain together, which is so helpful. Having had some members migrate over from Reddit, do ask as many questions as you need and if you want to do a husbandry review, just ask.

I think Arcadia and Reptisun are from different factories. The Arcadia bulbs are to my knowledge produced from an Asia company. The bulbs are not the same. I prefer the Arcadia Bulbs hands down. That is the word I got from Todd at "Light Your Reptiles". My Arcadia lights had Chinese on the box I recall.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[nightanole]

I think Arcadia and Reptisun are from different factories. The Arcadia bulbs are to my knowledge produced from an Asia company. The bulbs are not the same. I prefer the Arcadia Bulbs hands down. That is the word I got from Todd at "Light Your Reptiles". My Arcadia lights had Chinese on the box I recall.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

They literally say made in Germany. Ive been buying from Todd since 2013.

 

[Gloriawood]

Some other questions if I do switch over:
- Is there any differences between Arcadia 6% and Reptisun 5.0? The Reptisun hood + bulb is literally half the price of the Arcadia from the listings I'm seeing. I use Arcadia which should be changed every 12 months, Reptisun is the other commonly used UVB light, I do not remember how often that one is recommended to be changed, out but I think it might be 12 months as well. You can't go wrong with either one though.
- Is it safe to have it sit directly on the top of the cage or should it be elevated? If you have the arcadia 6% or the Reptisun 5.0, then yes they can sit on the top of the enclosure, just make sure your top branches are about 9 in inches below the UVB light to get a general reading of 3.0 of UVB.
- How often should the bulbs be replaced? Every 12 months, I strongly recommend getting a solar meter to help you read your UVB output.
- I'm assuming supplementation is going to change alongside lighting since t5 is stronger, what dusting schedule do you use with the T5? Yes, supplementation is plain calcium dusted on every feeding. Repashy LoD (with vitamin D) dusted on the 1st and 15th of every month. If you have a montane species you would give D3 only 1x a month.

I use reptisun and when I was first learning about them, I was told to change reptisun every 6 months and Arcadia every 12. I’ve been changing mine every 6. However, I’m also not as experienced as many here are.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

They literally say made in Germany. Ive been buying from Todd since 2013.
View attachment 362780

Okay. I have got a specific memmory of Todd when he was calibrating my Arcadia lighting equipment that the Arcadia Lights came from China. Possibly that they were made in Germany and distributed from China. My Arcadia boxes are long gone meaning not going to compare boxes today.

My Arcadia bulbs are over a year old and doing great with the UV meter readings. They have lasted much longer than the my Reptisuns. I recalled that Reptisuns were at one time produced/distributed from San Luis Obispo, CA.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich