adam and rocky
New Member
What kind of bulb do you guys use? I heard that a mercury vapor bulb is extremely good.
lighting, UVA/UVB
- Thread starter adam and rocky
- Start date
Dave Weldon
Avid Member
Howdy Adam,
As an example, the Mega-Ray MV lamp is extremely good at making lots of properly spectrally-positioned UVB. They work great for bearded dragons and other super-UVB needy desert species. Studies show that troubles can arise in chameleons from the high UVB levels that these lamps produce when not positioned using a UVB meter. Even though sunlight has a ton of UVB, it is combined with mega-tons of other spectral content that when all combined together has safe results. The other issue is that many MV lamps "pencil beams" of UVB which makes it really tough to setup safely.
For chameleons, stick with Reptisun 5.0 18" tubes and longer and you won't go wrong. Set it up around 6"-12" away from your chameleon's basking spot.
Great site for UVB issues: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
As an example, the Mega-Ray MV lamp is extremely good at making lots of properly spectrally-positioned UVB. They work great for bearded dragons and other super-UVB needy desert species. Studies show that troubles can arise in chameleons from the high UVB levels that these lamps produce when not positioned using a UVB meter. Even though sunlight has a ton of UVB, it is combined with mega-tons of other spectral content that when all combined together has safe results. The other issue is that many MV lamps "pencil beams" of UVB which makes it really tough to setup safely.
For chameleons, stick with Reptisun 5.0 18" tubes and longer and you won't go wrong. Set it up around 6"-12" away from your chameleon's basking spot.
Great site for UVB issues: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
Vegas Chad
Avid Member
Reptasin 10.0 Love it...
adam and rocky
New Member
Powersun UV
I have a ZooMed Powersun UV 160 Watt and i got it in the last month, my problem is that my cham is not eating as much as he used to and he looks a little down. Is this bulb to intense for summer and i should get a reptisun 10.0
I have a ZooMed Powersun UV 160 Watt and i got it in the last month, my problem is that my cham is not eating as much as he used to and he looks a little down. Is this bulb to intense for summer and i should get a reptisun 10.0
Vegas Chad
Avid Member
I like the ReptaSun type bulbs because they allow you to control the temp alot better while giving almost all the cage a UVB glow. This type of bulb will put out a very low amount of heat and it is consistent (sp? No, spell check on this pooter). You can then choose the correct watt of plane ol light bulb to get the hot spot to the temp that you want without heating up other areas of the cage. However, everybody has there own way of keeping critters... Do a little testing and figure out what works best for you.
