controversial compact flouresence

[Chameleon Nation]

I have been using exo-terra's 5.0 compact lights for about a year now. I raise my babies on tubes for about 2 months then it's over to the compacts. I have panther and veiled chameleons whose lights are mounted within most of the cages. I have seen a lot of articles on these bulbs stating that they are 3 times brighter than the sun. They supposedly can cause blindness, burn your chameleons and leave really bad scars. I've had my chams under them for a year now and have not had any problems yet. In fact some of the breeders that I have purchased my chameleons off of can't believe the size and color that they are in comparison to the brothers and sisters of the same clutches. My chams are able to get within 4 to 6 inches of these bulbs to bask. When they are finished they move off to another section of the cage. I also have had some breeders say that different things work for different people. Now I'm not saying that I recommend these bulbs but i have had amazing success in comparison to others using the same bulbs. Check out the sizes and overall well being of my chams and let me know what u think. Most of them are around a year of age, give or take a few months. You can see some new pics under chameleon palace in the members gallery.

 

[RhettusMaximus]

compact

You know what I use them too and haven't had any problems at all. That's all I have to say.

 

[spatulars]

Definitely didn't work for me, though.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

There are a lot of different makes and models of compact fluorescents on the market. The (commonly available) COMPACT make and model with the most concern is the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 unit. It has been directly linked to photo-kerato-conjunctivitis (snow-blindness) in chameleons and Bearded Dragons. The linear ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 and 10.0 tubes use a different phosphor that doesn't have this problem nor some of the other issues that some tubes, both compact and linear, have regarding "out-of-band" lightwave output. Although most of us have read the reports on: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ but just in case there are new keepers posting who haven't, there ya go .

You are right, many compacts and linears out there are likely reasonably safe but there are so many keepers out there who have troubles and one way to eliminate some of the issues\concerns is to make sure that they buy a unit that has a proven track record and that is why we "push" the Reptisun 5.0 linear tubes .

 

[Chameleon Nation]

Howdy,

There are a lot of different makes and models of compact fluorescents on the market. The (commonly available) COMPACT make and model with the most concern is the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 unit. It has been directly linked to photo-kerato-conjunctivitis (snow-blindness) in chameleons and Bearded Dragons. The linear ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 and 10.0 tubes use a different phosphor that doesn't have this problem nor some of the other issues that some tubes, both compact and linear, have regarding "out-of-band" lightwave output. Although most of us have read the reports on: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ but just in case there are new keepers posting who haven't, there ya go .

You are right, many compacts and linears out there are likely reasonably safe but there are so many keepers out there who have troubles and one way to eliminate some of the issues\concerns is to make sure that they buy a unit that has a proven track record and that is why we "push" the Reptisun 5.0 linear tubes .

Do you got any advice on some really good bulbs that are for tree growth. That is another main reason that I use them is to keep my ficus trees alive. I find that other lights just aren't powerful enough and all the leaves fall off my ficus and umbrella trees. The compacts make the tree growth very rapid.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Do you got any advice on some really good bulbs that are for tree growth. That is another main reason that I use them is to keep my ficus trees alive. I find that other lights just aren't powerful enough and all the leaves fall off my ficus and umbrella trees. The compacts make the tree growth very rapid.

Howdy CP,
I haven't really followed the plant growth lighting issues like I should be but I'm hoping that when I get MH lighting that it will help with the plants too. Here's my MH comment. It's the 12th one down in: https://www.chameleonforums.com/icecap-250-hqi-pendant-9156/

 

[pedro92]

on that first picture of the chameleon what locale is it. Are all of those that blue

 

[OldChamKeeper]

The real trick with lighting is a combination of what light you are using and how you use it.

If you are keeping Chams in a small habitat then the Compact bulbs can be a health problem. Use the linear 5.0 bulbs

If you have a larger habitat, one where the Chams will not be forced into being too close to a compact bulb then one of those may be for you.

If you have a small habitat and need to use a less powerful bulb then yes the plants may suffer. They are replaceable.

 

[Chameleon Nation]

on that first picture of the chameleon what locale is it. Are all of those that blue

The first picture is a Nosy Be male, 2nd is an Ambanja Male, 3rd ambanja female, 4th Nosy Be female, 5th ambanja female