Mercury vapor bulbs

[Dave85731]

does anyone use mercury vapor bulbs?... if so where do you buy them is any mercury vapor bulb fine like at Home Depot or are they special made for reptiles like all the other uvb bulbs

 

[Nursemaia]

Mercury vapor bulbs are frowned upon. I wouldn't recommend using it

 

[Dave85731]

What's the pros and cons then

 

[Remkon]

They arent bad lamps but they are not ideal for chameleons since you have heat and uvb from 1 source so its difficult to get the right temperature at the right distance from the bulb.

 

[Dave85731]

Yea I've been reading up on them I understand they are high wattage 150w +... and people say not to use them unless you have a uvb reader but is what I was getting at is I came across a 70w mercury vapor so I was wondering is that could be just right for a Cham considering I use 75w just for basking and if I could have less fixtures on the cage that would be good but it was just an idea so that's why I wanted to know if they were just bulbs from Home Depot or special bulbs like the rest

 

[Remkon]

They are special bulbs.

 

[Dave85731]

Oh ok so not that easy lol

 

[Remkon]

Oh ok so not that easy lol

certainly not cheaper either.

 

[kinyonga]

You might want to read this...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/10JulWeldon.html