I am using Zoo Med's 160 watt Powersub lamps on my chameleons. Everything seems fine and the chams are loving it. Has anyone had any bad experiences with these?
I guess I am paranoid as I see few ever mention these bulbs.
I used to use these. I dont know if its just because it caused too much heat and uvb or what, but he seemed happier and more active with a 75 watt basking bulb and a 5.0 reptisun tube light. Thats just my experience though.
The 160 watt is pretty high powered. I hope you have a large enclosure and have it in one of the corners.
I use the power sun's on 2 out of 4 of my chams and see an increased appatite, less "health scares"(wondering if something is wrong with them), each grew larger and overall more acivity with them ect. when compared to the others under 5.0 tubes, but you need to take more care when using the power su/ MV bulbs and provide proper temperature regualtion as well as UV regulation sites. You need to monitor the temps and provide shade/places out of the light. -other's experiances may vary.
I wouldn't use the high output lamps. The 5.0 linear tube from zoomed and the incandescent heat lamp always seems to be the tried and true way of a happy cham. I lost a cham to a Reptisun CFL, I avoid the high output lamps.
To learn about UV lighting in general and to see how I and others have had issues with the CFLs on the market, visit this site: UV Guide
I too use the same bulb. I keep my 6 Month old jackson cham in a large inclosure. Leelo seams to be doing fine , he eats a lot, drinks a lot, and is very active. It also is the 160Watt bulb. I beleave the inclosure size is 58"X48"X58". I use the 160 watt Bulb and use a floresent bulb, i forgot the name.
i use the sunforce 100w MV on my 2x2x4' cage and i think its perfect. i used these type bulbs with my last chameleons and its on 1 of my 2 setups now for comparison sake, and so far i think the MV is superior IMO.
only drawback: when you have a power outage that lasts LESS than 5-10 min. the light wont start back up unless powered off for that amount of time.(MV filament need a cooldown time of anywhere from 5-15 min depending on bulb)
so in other words, while im at work, if i have a power flicker, the lamps stay off until im able to come home and turn off then turn on. but its only happened to me a couple times. and i would think the chamys would attribute it to a overcast day.