Different UV?

[chameleonneeds]

Hey all.

I am going to buy new UVB, now I was wondering what you guys use? I suspect many of you use the normal Reptisun 5.0 tubes, though for me they cost $80 each (R600) so I am looking around for different UV.

I was thinking about getting Mercury Vapour bulbs as they emit UVA and UVB. And I heard they are stronger so I can maybe have one over 2 cages (38 gallon flexariums). I considered them because someone else who is quite an expert told me that I should start using them, and just want to know if everyone here has something to say about the Mercury vapour bulbs.

Maybe you guys can tell me what else I could use??

Please let me know what you think

Kind regards
Tyrone

 

[Syn]

MVBs can be very strong. If you are going to use these I strongly suggest purchasing a UVB meter. Pangea Reptile, a site sponsor sells these at a good price. This way you can tell whether or not you are giving your reptiles too much or too little UVB.

 

[chameleonneeds]

Thanks Syn. I will take a look in a petstore to see the different brands they might have, I will read them properley and probably go for the more trusted brand. I was thinking of getting maybe a 75-100watt bulb.

I dont know where I can get a UV meter in S.A, I could find out but I heard that they are extremely expensive.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Tyrone,

I put together some info on the subject here: http://www.chameleonnews.com/10JulWeldon.html

 

[jpm995]

Check the wattage the mercury vapor bulb uses compared to the floresent. Usually its much greater. You may end up spending much more in electricty in the long run. In a small enclosure it may also add too much heat and uv.

 

[chameleonneeds]

Thanks Dave I will check out that site!
Jpm, the light wont be placed close to the chameleon, probably 30cm away from the closest cage to the light. I will use one for 2-3 cages as they seem to be that strong.
I wont be owning any chameleons right now that require lower temperatures such as jacksons and other montanes, I am only keeping and breeding veileds and panthers at the moment and maybe Oustalets in the future, though I will moniter the temperature to make sure it is not too hot for them and I will adjust the position of the light if neccessary.

Thanks

 

[chameleonneeds]

Ok so I read some of that link and about the mercury vapour bulbs and it seems that they are quite powerful and I should use the Flood lamp rather than spot as then it will be better to spread out over more than 1 cage.

Though I am worried about purchasing the right brand, or if I should even use the mercury vapour, I would like to use UVB and UVA which is why I like the idea of mercury vapour.

Dave do you have any idea of what brand of mercury vapour bulbs I should go for or if I should use a different UVB, like I said I will be using it on Veileds and panthers of different ages.

Thanks.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...Dave do you have any idea of what brand of mercury vapour bulbs I should go for or if I should use a different UVB, like I said I will be using it on Veileds and panthers of different ages.

Thanks.

Howdy Tyrone,

I wouldn't expect a MV flood lamp to do a good job of covering two enclosures right next to each other nearly as well as a 48" linear UVB tube across both. Even if the initial cost of a 48" Reptisun 5.0 seems high in South Africa, at least the fixture can be bought at a hardware store and the tube will last over 6 months. You'll also be able to add a 6500K grow light in the other fluorescent fixture socket too. This setup will also allow you to use two separate flood basking lights and tune their position for the proper temps within each enclosure.

As far as MV UVB lamps, there still seems to be too much variation between units within the same batch, not to mention units from different companies to recommend using one without also having access to a Solarmeter 6.2 meter to verify output levels and proper positioning.

This may not be what you want to hear right now but I hope that new units and new data will be forthcoming within the next 1/2 year or so and give us something to pick from again .

P.S. I was at a show a few months ago and was shocked when I saw my Solarmeter 6.2 readings on a couple of MV lamps that someone was using on a batch of tortoises. At around (as I recall) 8" away if I moved the meter side-to-side about 1' the readings jumped from something like a few hundred uW's to around 500-600 uW! I'd describe it as an invisible pencil beam of UVB hidden in a fairly visibly bright MV lamp .

 

[chameleonneeds]

Ok, thanks Dave I will have a look around at what I can come up with, I might just buy a couple 100watt UVA bulbs and a reptisun 5.0, seems like the easiest to do.

Cheers