Uvb, the sun, mercury vapor bulbs

jaglon53

jaglon53

Member
HI Everyone:)
I have a few questions about uvb the sun and MVB. So if we are putting a Cham outside in an enclosure and the UVB reading is around 225 why does everyone frown on Mercury vapor bulbs if it has an output of around 125 at 12inches? I got a response before that in the wild a chameleon has so many places to hide and in his/hers cage they do not. So if we are putting our chameleons outside in the sun IN there cages it would seem to me that the 8.5 radius in my dome that reflects the light in my cage would be perfect because i am using a 24x24x48in cage and that is only covering 8.5in. If we are putting our chams outside in smaller enclosers or bigger the sun is covering a lot of the cage(depending on how much shade) with high levels of UVB unlike the MVB I am using. Does anyone have any imput to help me wrap my brain around this? I would really appreciate because I posted a similar question before and only got 1 response so all opinions or facts or any feedback would help so much.
Thanks
 
I think as long as you have it towards the back of the cage or front, or a corner then your chameleon can choose to go under it when he needs to. I have heard the Mercury Vapor bulbs were the new thing and are good to use. Just a few things I have read. Me, I am just sticking with the Reptisun 5.0 tube. If ain't broke, then don't fix it!!! My chameleon is outside in the sun just about everyday of the year. The cage I have provides plenty of shade, so he is not forced to be in the sun if he chooses not to. I think maybe the negative feedback you got before was not about the area in which the bulb is emitting the UVB, but more so using the mercury vapor bulb. Most people on here are sold on the Reptisun 5.0's because no one ever has any issues with these.
 
jaglon53 said:
HI Everyone:)
...if we are putting a Cham outside in an enclosure and the UVB reading is around 225 why does everyone frown on Mercury vapor bulbs if it has an output of around 125 at 12inches? ...
Click to expand...
Howdy Alexander,

The whole UVB topic has a lot of pitfalls and areas for discussion that can get a bit too technical for many of us :eek:. Just when you think you know what type and what brand is safe and effective, out comes news that a manufacturer's MV or linear or CFL or MH has had a change made in its manufacturing process that has unknowingly/accidentally produced a product with dangerous spectral content, for example. Sometimes it's an error that has made the product only less effective rather than downright lethal. Unfortunately, many of the UVB product manufacturers supplying the pet industry have relied more on luck than science in their production processes :(. This has left the consumer to rely on resources like the UV Guide UK (http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ which is in the process of a another big data update), or groups like the UVB Meter Owners (http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/) who share their experiences.

So getting to your question :)o) as to why if 225uW/cm2 of sunlight is safe then why isn't only 125uW/cm2 of MV UVB relatively safe too? As good as the Solarmeter 6.2 is, it doesn't tell us the spectral breakdown (energy vs. wavelength plot) of the spectral content of what is being produced by a particular UVB product. The meter's somewhat bell-curved shaped response curve (http://www.solarmeter.com/images/SM60graph.gif) lumps the energy across 250nm-330nm (~295nm is what we like the most for D3 production) into one digitally displayed reading ex: 225uW/cm2. This weighted, lumped measurement is usually fine for comparing a UVB source with a known safe spectral content with another of the same brand and type. It's usually perfect to compare one Reptisun 5.0 linear tube with another Reptisun 5.0 linear tube and it's best at comparing measurements of the same tube over time to watch its aging rate. We often know that a particular brand and type of UVB source is safe because Dr. Baines of UV Guide UK has measured batches of them with a spectrometer and knows it produces safe spectral content. We also know, for example, that ZooMed hasn't broken the recipe for the linear tubes since they went into production in Germany many years ago. The same can't be said for their chinese made CFLs which did have a phosphor formula problem several years ago that was subsequently resolved in 2009. Similar issues have been discovered with a number manufacturers' mercury vapor and metal halide UVB products. Two brands of MV might both measure 100uW/cm2 at 12" but may also have dramatically different UV Index (UVI) readings. This means that the unsafe one likely produces spectral content in the UVB region below 295nm where it is even more biologically active per uW/cm2 (think sunburn). For example, one UVB source might produce 200uW/cm2 of UVB at 12" but have a UVI of 18.5 :)eek:) while another MV produces 200uW/cm2 at 12" might have a much safer UVI of 4.9. If I recall correctly, a UVI of 18.5 would probably produce a sunburn on human skin in just a matter of a few minutes. A Solarmeter 6.5 measures UVI and in conjunction with a Solarmeter 6.2, can help with sorting out these issues - or just follow the UV Guide UK :). You could also just buy your own ~$2K spectrometer like Dr. Baines' :eek:.

For example, here's a post about this topic: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/message/7325.

Bottom line: Your MV may be one that is perfectly safe and effective but the next one that you buy that is from the same mfgr and the same exact model may not be :(.

Here's something that I wrote on the subject last year: http://www.chameleonnews.com/10JulWeldon.html

The ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 linear tube UVB source is certainly far from a perfect solution but it has a great track record for not outright killing chameleons :).
 
Ive used the self ballasted mecury vapor lights ever since they where available..always had healthy chams(ive been using the powersun uvb bulbs )
 
sdheli420,
Have you ever tried Mega ray MVB's? I was looking at there low uvb 100 watt.
I currently am using the Powersun 100 watt as well. Just curious if anyone else uses Mega ray bulbs.
 
jaglon53 said:
sdheli420,
Have you ever tried Mega ray MVB's? I was looking at there low uvb 100 watt.
I currently am using the Powersun 100 watt as well. Just curious if anyone else uses Mega ray bulbs.
Click to expand...

havent tried them yet..i may give them a try..i have used others before..but the powersun is the only one ive been able to get around 14 months of use before the uv range gets low..(then i use them for the indoor plants)..
 
jannb said:
I'm using several of them. Here's some info on them.
http://www.reptileuvinfo.com/html/mega-ray-narrow-flood-report.htm
http://www.reptileuv.com/
Click to expand...

Are you using the mega ray or powersun? I have been using the mega ray 100watt low for about 2 months. The major difference in just the lighting aspect of it is that the mega ray is very bright. When I used the powersun I would also have at least 1 2.0 for extra light. The mega ray you dont have to and also the MR is such a quality form of light my cham never looked better. If ur using the MR are you using the lower uvb output one or the regular?
thanks
 
Powersun VS Megaray UVB

Looking for comments on the pros and cons of MR bulbs. I have always used Powersun however they do tend to lose their UVB over time and burn out quickly. MR site does say they last longer than competitors and offer better UVB life and lumens. Has anyone found this to be true. Although Powersun is great about honoring their warranty, it is still a pain to send back bulbs that burn out before their time.

Thanks in advance to posts
 
jaglon53 said:
Are you using the mega ray or powersun? I have been using the mega ray 100watt low for about 2 months. The major difference in just the lighting aspect of it is that the mega ray is very bright. When I used the powersun I would also have at least 1 2.0 for extra light. The mega ray you dont have to and also the MR is such a quality form of light my cham never looked better. If ur using the MR are you using the lower uvb output one or the regular?
thanks
Click to expand...

I've use some Mega Ray bulbs for years....as you can see this thread is old. I use the lows on babies and females and the regulars on adult males. I only have free ranges......never used them on a cage.
 
Not for chameleons, but I've been using MR for years for my Bearded Dragon (RIP) and my current basilisk. Even through the bad SolarRaptor issue. Glad that their good quality bulbs are back. I don't have a meter, so I just replace the bulb every year.

I'm interested to see if others are having the same good luck with chameleons. I was considering one for my future setup until I started to read that the reptisun 5.0 tube is best.
 
falconut said:
Not for chameleons, but I've been using MR for years for my Bearded Dragon (RIP) and my current basilisk. Even through the bad SolarRaptor issue. Glad that their good quality bulbs are back. I don't have a meter, so I just replace the bulb every year.

I'm interested to see if others are having the same good luck with chameleons. I was considering one for my future setup until I started to read that the reptisun 5.0 tube is best.
Click to expand...

I prefer Reptisuns, but I tend to have montane species that don't necessarily want the more intense UV. Also, Reptisuns are on the conservative side...and have a good record and are not as touchy to deal with. Just my experience.
 
The Mega-Ray is back on top for the best Mercury Vapour bulb on the market.
I have customers that use these bulbs for all types of Reptiles which includes Chameleons, if you need an questions answered then please let me know :)
 
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