Your UVB Fluorescent Tube Brand/Strength of choice?

[froggysan]

There are a lot more options out there than there used to be for providing artificial UVB to Reptiles and Amphibians and the like.

Putting CFL, Mercury Vapor, and Metal Halide bulbs aside for a moment, I was wondering what your UVB fluorescent tube of choice is?


The brand's that I'm aware of are generally the Exo-Terra Repti Glo 2.0/5.0/10.0, the ZooMed ReptiSun 2.0/5.0/10.0 and 5.0 Iguana, and lastly Zilla's Tropical 25 and Desert 50.



Near as I can figure anything marked 2.0 UVB is pretty much NOT a UVB producing bulb, just a full spectrum spectrum bulb with some fancy specs and a high price-tag.



So we're not trying to compare tangerines to clementines, let's say we compare only 48" (four feet) bulbs.


What are your thoughts? Preferences? Experiences?

 

[beeze]

My choice would be Reptisun 5.0

 

[SliK JiM]

Its not a tube, but megaray MVBs are my choice. In the long run they'll be cheaper and they produce the best quality UVB around!

 

[Dunnigan]

Its not a tube, but megaray MVBs are my choice. In the long run they'll be cheaper and they produce the best quality UVB around!

Be careful with these, make sure they are far enough away from the chameleon that the UV is not overpowering, i beleive that, depending on wattage, they need to be at least 12" away from the basking spot.

I have used both Reptisun and glo, 5.0 and 2.0. I have noticed that the reptisun is much brighter than the glo's.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I only use Zoomed Reptisun 5.0

get em here for cheap...... http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/-/zoo-med-48-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/

 

[SliK JiM]

Be careful with these, make sure they are far enough away from the chameleon that the UV is not overpowering, i beleive that, depending on wattage, they need to be at least 12" away from the basking spot.

I have used both Reptisun and glo, 5.0 and 2.0. I have noticed that the reptisun is much brighter than the glo's.

They certainly do! I'm using the 160W so it needs to be 18" above at least! But, having said that, I don't use it for basking (and it's not really meant to be used by a chameleon for basking anyway as some species don't require a great deal of UVB intensity ~ furcifer pardalis roughly requires a max of 35uW/cm^2 for 12 hours a day) The closest branch to it (the bulb face) is 30" away straight down. I use the bulb to give a good deep penetration of UV into the enclosure. Just inside the mesh at the very top I get 50uW/cm^2 at the highest intensity, and the bottom, with nothing in the way is around 5uW/cm^2 (in a 4ft enclosure). It's produces a good amount of heat to get the ambient temperatures spot on, so I only need to use a 40w bulb to create a good temperature for the basking site! Which is pretty good for the uk as it is always cold! The levels I have are for my yemen chameleon. If I had a panther, I'd definitely use a 100W bulb to lower the maximum intensity.

I've attached a picture, so you can see what the 'rough' UV penetration is like for the bulbs, but obviously, each is subject to some slight variation and your mesh will reduce it significantly, so it's always best to check it yourself if you can!

 

[Dunnigan]

Jim, you are awesome. That is a great reference for people using these bulbs...

 

[SliK JiM]

Thanks! But it comes on the box! It was more for the people who might think about buying one!

 

[Paul R]

Reptisun 5.0

 

[Myerz77]

Reptisun 10.0

 

[Grizz]

before i got my mega-ray i used the reptisun iguana. i think it was 7.0 but im not shure.

 

[Paul R]

before i got my mega-ray i used the reptisun iguana. i think it was 7.0 but im not shure.

Thats a 5.0. The only difference is that it is more reflectant than other uvb as it is a few nanometres shorter in wave length so its more reliable for forest terrarium

 

[Paul R]

That wave lenghth can cause eye damage, do your chams eyes look wrinkley or swollen?

 

[Paul R]

before i got my mega-ray i used the reptisun iguana. i think it was 7.0 but im not shure.

I agree with you though that the iguana light is very useful with tropical species

 

[Docility]

i use exoterra 5.0 reptiglos, but will be replacing them after 6 months with zoomed 5.0's

DONT use a Zilla. im pretty sure it was causing my chameleon to go blind

 

[chrisw]

bulbs

have heard anecdotal evidence that reptisun 10.0 have caused blindness. heard this from breeder. at the same time, i'm wondering if 10.0 wouldn't be great for larger, free range set-ups - like for melleri.

 

[Malicious]

Another ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 user here! *waves*