Effects of Mega-Ray bulbs.

[LittleLionLover]

I did some research on these and I've got to say, they sound to good to be true. I'm curious about the effects they have on chams (what are the pros and cons) they seem pretty pricey, but are they really worth it? So if anyone has any experience with this kind of lighting, or pictures of chams exposed to it, please share some feedback.

 

[xanthoman]

i personally feel mega rays are way too bright,way too hot, way too expensive, for the price of a mega ray, you could have a really nice uva/uvb +basking bulb setup

 

[LittleLionLover]

That was my guess as well but who knows. Anyone else have any input about using these kind of bulbs?

 

[TreelionsUK]

Good for other reptiles,but not really chameleons,unless the enclosure is zoo sized A bit overkill for most keepers

 

[Syn]

I think bulbs like this are best suited for desert creatures such as a Uromastyx.

 

[Fidel]

I disagree. I think if used properly they would be better than these lame florescent bulbs we use. I recently had access to a UVB meter and I was very discouraged by the readings from reptisuns. Outside in full sun reads around 280, in complete shade reads around 60-80, while a reptisun was around 30, brand new.

 

[Todnedo]

I notice when I take my chams outside they bask as soon as the sun hits their skin.
Which leads me to believe UV is lacking in our lighting.
My cham room it kept at 83-86 F
with 5.0 reptisuns and 60w basking lamps.

 

[summoner12]

Looking at what info is out about the Mega Ray and knowing who makes them and the amount of work and effort... I think this light would work pretty well for a free range... or large cage setup and is NOT to be used by your inexperienced/new keeper. You need to have at least a temp gun and UVB meter before buying one. The lamp needs to be set up correctly.

The good thing about MH is that the light spectrum is pretty well covored and can mimic the sun more closely with one singe lamp than a household lamp.

This light does not seem right for EVERYONE... Not that you need to be elite, but that you need to understand how to use it. Just like you don't give a Ferrari to your grandma to get to the grocery store... or give a manual driven car to someone who has no idea what a clutch is and how it is used.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Question....

So Kevin....have you had a chance to use a meter on it? Do you know anyone using one? Would you personally use it? I'm setting up a big cage for my Melleri this month. It's not free range, but it's one of those big bird aviary sorts of things. It's as big as a free range set up. I just can't get past the issue of having cats. And one of my Melleri is a real escape artist and likes cruising around the whole house. I figured the aviary thing will be like free range but keep the cats out and Sacha from escaping. I am going to suspend all the lighting from the ceiling over the aviary. I'll have a new meter by then to set things up right. I've never heard of these Mega Ray lights before and now I'm curious.

 

[Pure]

Just from reading this thread, if these bulbs are MH Keven is totally right. Great care needs to be used if using this type of lighting. MHs grow hella good corals and plants so if this one produces UVB, it's bound to be better than anything we're currently using. But again you have to be really really careful. Caution should be observed regardless of what type of herp your putting this thing over, it's able to cook them all.

 

[dodolah]

I disagree. I think if used properly they would be better than these lame florescent bulbs we use. I recently had access to a UVB meter and I was very discouraged by the readings from reptisuns. Outside in full sun reads around 280, in complete shade reads around 60-80, while a reptisun was around 30, brand new.

No need to be discouraged
It's true that sun has much more intensity than a brand new reptisun
But, one thing we forget that chameleons do NOT bask all day all the time. They would retreat into the foliage. What you need to measure is the Micro habitat of the chameleon instead of the general readings of uvb during certain time. Also, remember sun intensity in Madagascar is different from US.

I do agree, however, that Mercury vapor bulb can be used effectively and perhaps might have somewhat an improvement over our usual bulb.
But, such usage will need a solarmeter (which I believe you have) to make sure that we are providing a correct amount of uvb exposure. For people without solarmeter, Reptisun linear 5.0 is by far the safest uvb tube available.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

strange thing is my old veiled (10+ years ago) used to sit in the bright sun all freaking day long on hot sumer days. I remember the little sucker was sitting at the top of his outdoor cage, in full bright colors, sideways to the sun - with the temperature of 101 degrees outside. He never retreated to the shade, either. All day, he was out, but he went from basking to not basking.

Don't try this with anything BUT a calyptratus and a full walk in, heavily planted cage!

Humidity was ultra-high, of course, in that part of NC.

 

[PardalisGirl]

These look interesting....

I have spent about 1/2 hour looking at the website for the Mega-Ray products. Pretty interesting site. I may try these with my new Melleri set-up. I use a combination of Powersun MV lights and Reptisun 10.0 tube lights for my Iguanas now. They are in big enclosures and the MV lights where a must for their enclosure. The Melleri enclosure is going to be even bigger than the iguana enclosures. I'd hang them from the ceiling and could adjust the height for temperature regulation. Very timely seeing this post.

 

[KevinA]

This site can give you an idea on the uv penetration and intensity of the bulb.
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm

To use a Mucury vapor light saftley you need to get a quality thermometer and either a uv meter. I use the zoo med ones and the temps and uv exposure were way off at the recomended distances.

Also, these are not a 1 bulb solution. As stated on their website, reptile lighting isnt a bulb but a process. They recomend having an additional basking bulb as well as an additionall bulb for light only.

 

[summoner12]

To use a Metal halide light saftly you need to get a quality thermometer and either a uv meter. I use the zoo med ones.....

I believe the Zoo Med lamps are MV lamps not MH?

 

[Todnedo]

Mega rays are MV (mercury vapor) and produce a UV wavelength similar to nature sunlight. Zoo med reptisun 5.0 are florescent tubes that produce a UV wavelength similar to nature shade.
If 5.0's were even close to what chams need we wouldn't have to supplement with D3.
The difference is a MV bulb is a spot or flood lamp similar to a ray of sunlight. That gives the animal choice of UV intensity... they can move in and out of the direct light.
Like they do in the wild

 

[merumontanus]

Mercury-vapor bulbs are some of the most efficient (and safest when used correctly) sources of artificial UVB and UVA. The only problem lies in their need (until recently) to exist exclusively in very high wattages and irradiance ranges (not to mention the zoo-grade Mega-Rays we used on Orinoco Crocodiles, which were specifically made by ReptileUV for large, zoological purposes where the lamps could be positioned 7+ feet above the subject, producing 2000+ µw/cm2 a few inches from the bulb!).

Now, there are mercury-vapor bulbs, and then there are Chinese mercury-vapor bulbs. Having tested and used the (real) Mega-Rays for many years on arid and tropical, diurnal, species of reptiles, from endangered crocodilians to green iguanas, I can tell you that Bob MacCargar's bulbs are the best in the world commercially. The reason I have stopped using them privately has been due to my focus on "montane" chameleons (high wattages were not an option in this super hot climate), and the fact that I've had very good success using Reptisun 5.0 or Sylvania 350 BLs for UV, coupled with normal fluorescents for lux. But the latest release of the Mega-Ray "Low" is encouraging as they may allow me to use them on the larger cages housing jacksonii.

Something else to consider is the fantastic lux of these bulbs. They do not produce the horrible violet light that fluorescent bulbs do (which may actually be required for some low-light species of chameleons such as deremensis)-- but for species like jacksonii, pardalis and calyptratus, the light intensity is amazing.

I placed my order a while back for one of these new bulbs so I can test it, but they had not been able to ship until this week, so I'll post results as promised.

Given enough places to hide from the irradiance (in conjunction with careful measurements using a Solarmeter 6.2), these lower intensity bulbs should be perfectly safe for chameleons.

Cheers,

Fabián

 

[PardalisGirl]

100 watt Low.........

So Fabian....you must have ordered the 100 watt low Mega-Ray MV lamps? That is the one that looks like it would work for my Melleri. I think I'm going to order those and get some of the regular ones for my iguanas to swap out the PowerSun bulbs I'm using now.

FYI....there are Mega-Ray MH lamps too on that site. They are not for use all day. Only for part of the day.

There is a lot of information to absorb on that site. The "Lux" factor was not something I thought about much before.

 

[merumontanus]

So Fabian....you must have ordered the 100 watt low Mega-Ray MV lamps? That is the one that looks like it would work for my Melleri. I think I'm going to order those and get some of the regular ones for my iguanas to swap out the PowerSun bulbs I'm using now.

FYI....there are Mega-Ray MH lamps too on that site. They are not for use all day. Only for part of the day.

There is a lot of information to absorb on that site. The "Lux" factor was not something I thought about much before.

Hi Catherine,

Yes, I've had a few new (normal) Mega-Rays in the closet for a few years since I stopped keeping low-land chameleons, so I'm eager to try the new "Low" and test against the others.

I also ordered one of the high-definition, non-UV, fluorescents to see how it compares to other fluorescents on lux.

Let us know how your melleri respond!

Fabián

 

[LBonawitz]

honestly, i didn't read all of the replys, but i use a Mega-Ray SB 100 watt Self-Ballasted Flood UVB Lamp (http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-100-watt-self-ballasted-flood-uvb-lamp.php) for my Flapjack. his humidity is pretty high; his cage in 3 feet tall x 2 x2. his basking spot is about a foot away from the bulb. he's had the bulb about a year, no problems. i really like using this kind of bulb, and they say it lasts about a year and a half. i think the cost is worth it. you can tell the difference between the light put off by it and by standard UVB bulbs, the color itself is more natural. and living in washington over half the year i want to crawl in his cage with him just to catch some rays for myself

i think its a great bulb, i WILL be reordering it soon.