My experience with a solar meter: WARNING

GrayMadder

Chameleon Enthusiast
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So I recently purchased a Solar Meter and used it for my chameleon cage. I have brand new Arcadia 6% (2 months old) uvb lighting that runs diagonally of Shenron's enclosure. I purchased my fixture and bulb from lllreptile. I was super excited to finally get my solar meter and opened it right away to test it out.

I used it against my arcadia lighting, and to my surprise I wasn't getting a reading. I tried multiple times and spent time googling what was wrong with my solar meter. I wasnt getting any readings at all. So I quickly figured my solar meter wasnt working, I have the best lighting, why wasnt it reading properly?? I contacted the seller and reported the issue and was immediately sent another one.

I received the new one and opened it up and went to my uvb lighting and used it once again.... no reading!!!

I quickly started to think "maybe my lighting is bad??" Keep in mind, this is a brand new fixture and brand new bulb from a top of the line company! I pulled the lighting down and checked for plastic.. nothing. I checked every part of the light.. nothing.

I have extra bulbs that I keep for all my reptile enclosures. So I decided to replace the bulb. I tried the solar meter and got my readings!! I pulled out the "defective" solar meter and again... I had my readings!!

This is just a warning of how important these are for your reptiles!! I had a brand new fixture and had no idea I had a defective bulb. I would not have noticed for who knows how long. I am so thankful I made this purchase and prevented a potentially catastrophic event for my chameleon. If I would've went the whole 9-12 months thinking my uvb was working, who knows how much my chameleons health could have deteriorated.

Crisis averted. 😅😅
 
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Jeez, that sounds like a nightmare! The fear of getting a defective bulb was the very reason I bought my solarmeter in the first place. Turned out my bulb was just fine--but at least it gave me peace of mind.

Super glad that you got lucky! What are the odds of getting a defective bulb and then realizing the problem right away! Happy to hear that your cham was not affected by the defective bulb. Great story!
 
Jeez, that sounds like a nightmare! The fear of getting a defective bulb was the very reason I bought my solarmeter in the first place. Turned out my bulb was just fine--but at least it gave me peace of mind.

Super glad that you got lucky! What are the odds of getting a defective bulb and then realizing the problem right away! Happy to hear that your cham was not affected by the defective bulb. Great story!
Thank you!! Yes it definitely was a huge scare. Really.... what are the odds?! 🤣🤣
 
Another way to test if it's the meter is just aim it at the Sun.

Another way to test if the bulb is a dud is with UVB test cards.
Not as accurate as a meter, but would have detected UVB vs. NO UVB.
Previous threads: https://www.chameleonforums.com/search/1077480/?q=uvb+test+card&o=relevance

Interesting that the bad bulb still lit up like a good one. 🤷‍♂️
Yea it was night time when i received it, so i just immediately assumed it wasnt working. Which wasnt a great assumption. I was upset i spent so much money and it didnt work lol. 🤣

Also had no idea about the strips!! Thanks!! 😁
 
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I just got my solar meter but don't yet have the UVB bulb, so I went outside and aimed it at the sun to test. 3.0 UVB apparently! I also tested the same sunlight through my glass window and got zero UVB.
 
Wow 😯 thank God you purchased your solarmeter when you did! I had an issue with a bulb that died in less than 1 month back in December, luckily it was obvious and I made sure to have a backup bulb. Although the seller company thru Amazon said that I couldn’t be refunded because it wasn’t defective when I first plugged it in so refused to refund/replace without charging me a fee and making me return my spare bulb as well. (I ended up just taking the loss for fear they would resell them to another unwitting customer)😞

How great would it be if solarmeters cost the same as temp guns and hygrometers? 🤔 Just wishful thinking, I’m sure the parts and calibration are extensive in comparison.
 
Wow 😯 thank God you purchased your solarmeter when you did! I had an issue with a bulb that died in less than 1 month back in December, luckily it was obvious and I made sure to have a backup bulb. Although the seller company thru Amazon said that I couldn’t be refunded because it wasn’t defective when I first plugged it in so refused to refund/replace without charging me a fee and making me return my spare bulb as well. (I ended up just taking the loss for fear they would resell them to another unwitting customer)😞

How great would it be if solarmeters cost the same as temp guns and hygrometers? 🤔 Just wishful thinking, I’m sure the parts and calibration are extensive in comparison.
That´s the problem, you never get warranty over bulbs.
 
Wow 😯 thank God you purchased your solarmeter when you did! I had an issue with a bulb that died in less than 1 month back in December, luckily it was obvious and I made sure to have a backup bulb. Although the seller company thru Amazon said that I couldn’t be refunded because it wasn’t defective when I first plugged it in so refused to refund/replace without charging me a fee and making me return my spare bulb as well. (I ended up just taking the loss for fear they would resell them to another unwitting customer)😞

How great would it be if solarmeters cost the same as temp guns and hygrometers? 🤔 Just wishful thinking, I’m sure the parts and calibration are extensive in comparison.
I dont know why reptile products are so expensive. I assume it's because usually one company has the only product so they up the prices. Its the same with enclosures.. in my ooinion it shouldnt cost nearly 1,000 for a decent enclosure. This is why reptiles are always so poorly cared for.

But yes! Thankful I made this purchase. So weird thst the bulb looked perfectly fine 🤔🤔
 
I dont know why reptile products are so expensive. I assume it's because usually one company has the only product so they up the prices. Its the same with enclosures.. in my ooinion it shouldnt cost nearly 1,000 for a decent enclosure. This is why reptiles are always so poorly cared for.

But yes! Thankful I made this purchase. So weird thst the bulb looked perfectly fine 🤔🤔
It´s with all hobbies!! Companies just know hobbyist are always willing to spend money and they take disadvantage of it. It´s the same with vets, for my dog it was always 🤑🤑, just a pill here and small cream there and here we go $150,00 please. Because we always want the best for them and at that moment we don´t care for the money.

And definitely agree with the poorly care due the high prices, it makes it harder......still it´s not fully true. When you stay with the commercial ´shit`because of lack of creativity, yesss it will be expensive. However with some research on the internet, you end up better and cheaper. Live items (branches / plants etc.) are way cheaper than the fake items and better for you animals to. The thing that gives me most the creeps, are those chameleons giving as a gift, to a poor child or student, which suddenly gets confronted with the high prices involved for keeping a cham. Most of us started with other reptiles and chameleons where just the holy grail within reptile keeping and we made a well considered decision for starting with such beautiful and expensive animals (at least I did). It´s same with dogs, buying one ain´t the money, raising one is......
 
I was upset i spent so much money and it didnt work lol. 🤣
Who wouldn't be? What we went through trying to get the correct T5 UVB the very first time became known as "The Great UVB Debacle Saga." It took 6 tries among 3 suppliers to finally get the right one that worked—wrong dia, wrong strength, wrong length, broken bulb, defective bulb, wrong quantity... When one vendor finally got it right, we immediately ordered 2 spares so we (theoretically) wouldn't have to worry about it for another 3 years. When they arrived, I immediately tested all 3 against each other with the Solarmeter. That was about 15 months ago, and the first bulb (Reptisun) is still functioning adequately. 🤞🤞
 
Wow 😯 thank God you purchased your solarmeter when you did! I had an issue with a bulb that died in less than 1 month back in December, luckily it was obvious and I made sure to have a backup bulb. Although the seller company thru Amazon said that I couldn’t be refunded because it wasn’t defective when I first plugged it in so refused to refund/replace without charging me a fee and making me return my spare bulb as well. (I ended up just taking the loss for fear they would resell them to another unwitting customer)😞
That's irrelevant. If it was either Reptisun or Arcadia, both are warrantied for 1 yr., there should be no fee, and why would that have anything to do with your spare?

I'm not grilling; I'm asking rhetorical questions aloud. Some vendors try to bully customers, figuring they'll cave rather than stand up for themselves. If/when someone does stand up—and/or demand the matter be kicked upstairs—it's the vendor who will often cave.

It's, "Who's going to blink first?" It's a stupid game.

standing up for your consumer rights

How great would it be if solarmeters cost the same as temp guns and hygrometers? 🤔



😁
 
I dont know why reptile products are so expensive.
Hobby products usually are; it doesn't matter what hobby. It often pays to find out if a particular thing has a different market, and pursue it there. A good example of this is digital reptile hygrometer/thermometer with probe.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pawliss-...e-Thermometer-Hygrometer-With-Probe/403743340
Or you can go to that big river in Brazil and find (virtually) the same thing generically.
https://www.amazon.com/Veanic-Hygro...l+hygrometer+with+probe&qid=1616595026&sr=8-3

When I got my Solarmeter a bit over a year ago, the 6.5R was $20 more than the 6.5 when the only difference was the picture of the iguana. Today the prices fluctuate back & forth.

It's been this way with every hobby I've ever indulged in.
 
That's irrelevant. If it was either Reptisun or Arcadia, both are warrantied for 1 yr., there should be no fee, and why would that have anything to do with your spare?

I'm not grilling; I'm asking rhetorical questions aloud. Some vendors try to bully customers, figuring they'll cave rather than stand up for themselves. If/when someone does stand up—and/or demand the matter be kicked upstairs—it's the vendor who will often cave.

It's, "Who's going to blink first?" It's a stupid game.

standing up for your consumer rights





😁

It was thru an Amazon seller that was selling as a set of 2, I filed complaints with Amazon. The company accused me of abusing the Amazon return policy, even though I was well with my return window. 😡

And I love that song! 😍

🤣 Big river in Brazil!
 
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