Compact uv

let me start by saying that i am aware that compact uv bulbs are frowned upon on this forum to say the least but i do use them on my 260 gal reptariums that i have mellers in i have been using them for couple years now and believe that if the animals are given enough room to get away from them when they need they work great in two years 3 cages 3mellers never one problem and they will perch directly underneath for hours and again never a problem at all maybe the dark screen filters alot out i dont really know but does anyone secretly use these or has anyone ever had an eye problem directly caused by these oh and yes i have read some of the reports out there i just wanted to know if this happened to any forum members

my buddy has a full grown veiled he raised on cfl uv bulbs which seems to be fine

Though ive switched to linear uv tube on advice here, I do wonder, afterall, surely the sun is far more intense?

Howdy All,

At the beginning of the controversy over the use of compact fluorescent (CF) UVB sources, keepers who were already successfully using the ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 CF wondered what all of the fuss was about. They, like you, had been using them for years with no noticeable negative effects.

If I remember the timeline and issues correctly, reports came first regarding the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 CF causing photo-kerato-conjunctivitis (snow blindness) and to a lesser extent the 5.0 CF too. Because there are not very many actual manufacturers of UVB CFs, all non-brand names may need to be considered suspect of having the same flaws in their phosphor design too. In addition to having a phosphor that shifts the UVB spectrum in the wrong direction making them more biologically active (able to cause short term and long term damage) than normal sunlight, their compactness increases the intensity; measured in uW/cm2, of the UVB making the effects even more of a concern.

So back to why are there chameleons who don't have any noticeable effects from these suspect CFs? Most importantly is how close and how long they bask under these CFs. There is a far greater likelihood of injury if they are able to get within a few inches or less rather than 12 inches away or farther. The UVB intensity increases somewhat exponentially (square law) with decreased distance. At the surface of these tubes, UVB levels can reach 1000uW/cm2 rather than the typical 20-50uW/cm2 found at 6"-12" away that is often called out for chameleons. Linear (vs. CF) tubes spread their UVB energy out over a wider basking area so they tend not to have as much of an issue at closer distances (no UVB "hot spot").

But what about the shifted UVB spectral content of the suspect CFs? That issue is also reduced by increasing the distance.

The age of a chameleon is likely to have a big factor as to whether or not a problem will present itself with the use of CFs. Chameleons that are 0-6 months are much more susceptible than ones that are several years old. Combine the age sensitivity with the fact that these very young (babies) chameleons are more likely to be housed in much smaller enclosures where the CF is often placed directly on top of the screen means that they will be hit with a double-whammy. With a baby in a small enclosure and the CF in an aluminum reflector and you might as well break out the BBQ instead .

It boils down to: It is possible to use a CF in the right situation and not cause damage to a chameleon. Using a CF narrows the "Success Window" for keeping a chameleon thriving vs. surviving. This is especially true for new keepers with very young chameleons who are not aware of these details and often find out too late. The negative action (overreaction?) of the forum members to using CFs in favor of linear UVBs has probably saved many chameleons from injuries caused by the misuse of CFs. Other than its inherit compactness, there isn't much of a reason to recommend CFs over linears for chameleon applications.

The "safe bet" has been the ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 linear tube because its phosphor recipe is effective at producing the desired UVB while not producing any of the "out-of-band" UVB that causes the health concerns previously mentioned. Combine that with often being able to buy them on sale for as low as $14, in any length, from www.lllreptile.com and www.bigappleherp.com, makes them a good choice.

A final note: I have spoken with ZooMed representatives and they are keenly aware of the situation and are working on corrective actions regarding the phosphor in the CFs. Their linear tubes are made by their manufacturer in Germany vs. the CFs being made in China. If and when they get the phosphor formula straightened-out or get the CFs mfr'd by the German site using the good phosphor, then we can re-evaluate using their CFs in our application .


(Don't get me started on the early (death-ray) R-Zilla 25 and 50 series linear tubes .)

ciafardo 4 said:

let me start by saying that i am aware that compact uv bulbs are frowned upon on this forum to say the least but i do use them on my 260 gal reptariums that i have mellers in i have been using them for couple years now and believe that if the animals are given enough room to get away from them when they need they work great in two years 3 cages 3mellers never one problem and they will perch directly underneath for hours and again never a problem at all maybe the dark screen filters alot out i dont really know but does anyone secretly use these or has anyone ever had an eye problem directly caused by these oh and yes i have read some of the reports out there i just wanted to know if this happened to any forum members

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I had used ReptiGlo 5.0 CLFs for about a year (two sets) on three of my adult male panther chameleons. The cages do not have a heavy screen between the animals and the lights. I noticed no issues with two of the 3chameleons. The third chameleon did get a mistery skin issue a couple of months AFTER I Stopped using the CFLs and went back to using the linear tubes. This skin issue may have been caused or contributed to by the CFL, but more likely not (my vet never did find a reason).

Even though Id rather use the CLFs, I think it better safe than sorry and will continue to only use the linear tubes until general consenus says CFLs are okay.

thanks dave informative as usual ! the way they are set up on these large enclosures is about 8 to 10 inches above the screen this is probably enough distance and the mellers are adults as you have suggested this is probably why i've had no negative effects. Well why do i use them you may ask well when the big cf scare happened i immediately removed them the animals took on a very dark color for several weeks i didn't know why all three did this so just to satisfy my curiousity i put the cf's back in a matter of a day they took on there bright green color again weird huh?