Repti sun 10.0, is it bad?

[fox3060]

Ok, I've got a reptisun 10.0 fluorescent compact bulb (fits in a regular bulb socket) and it seems really dim, not nearly as bright as my reptisun 5.0, is my bulb bad, or is it supposed to be dim. I understand that even though a light may be dim, they should still be emitting the required spectrum. Any thoughts?

 

[mczoo]

YES

bad bulb produces UVC that damages eyes and your pet. i do not have the thread to review compact florescents but i am sure someone will give it to you soon

Sean

 

[gollum]

i dunno how dim its supposed to be, but ive read a lot of posts on this forum saying they are really bad for any reptile! i certainly wouldnt go near them after the comments ive read, stick with the tube whenever possible(always?) i use a tube 10.0 with my flexarium and my veiled seems more then happy hopefully someone with more info will add their thoughts on this

 

[darla]

I too got a compact a long time ago. Even though it was reptisun and I thought it was good it caused some eye damage in my bearded dragon. I learned in time to change it out. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Cainschams]

The 10.0 its self isnt bad. I use one for my free range panther when he is inside. They are good for the reptariums that filter out a lot of the uvb. The thing that is bad is the compact which is known to cause eye problems. Get the tube and fixture as soon as possible. If you have more than 1 cham I would suggest going to walmart getting a 15 dollar 4 ft shop light fixture and purchasing a 4 ft long uvb tube. This will span 2 regular sized cages and save money in lighting. An aquarium hood fixture at petsmart is like 30 or so dollars and the 18 inch tube that goes in it is 30 dollars. All of the uvb tubes are the same price regardless of size. 45 dollars for 2 cages or 120 for 2 cages. Even if you dont have 2 but plan on it later go with this idea.

 

[fox3060]

So,.... If I'm understanding all this correctly, the 10.0 is good (even though the emitting light is dim) the 5.0 is fine as well, the problem is the fact that the lights are compact?.
When I purchased my pair (male/female) from FLchams, Mike told me to get a 10.0 and a 5.0, so he was right regarding the info, but the compact bulbs are no good? can anyone tell me why the compacts are bad? I now know from your posts that they cause eye probs, but how and why?
I just built a custom screen cage with two sections to keep the male and female separate (w/visual barrier) my plan was to purchase another 18" two bulb light hood so I had one on each side of the cage. However, if compacts are bad then I need to get rid of the one I have and figure something else out that will work with my cage dimensions. (36x24x16)

 

[Cainschams]

Yes they are both good. One emmits the rays further than the other. Its just the compact part that is bad. Just search compact light and you will find tons of info why they are bad. With a big cage like that I would go with what I wrote it will save you money.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

The definitive reptile UVB website is: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
The specific issue with the Compact Reptisun 5.0 and 10.0 fluorescents is: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

To summarize:

If you have a choice, many keepers prefer the ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 linear tube as it has a proven track record and good independent research to back it up.

The ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 produces more UVB which may or may not be needed for your chameleon application. It produces less visible light which is why it tends to look dim. It may also be the case that the visible light that it does produce is "less appealing" to chameleons but there isn't a lot of data to back that up.

The trouble began when ZooMed produced compact versions of their popular linear tubes. The linear tubes are produced in Germany with a very effective phosphor for producing UVB in the 290nm-320nm range (good) and negligible amounts below (bad) 290nm. The compact versions are currently produced in China and although they may be producing effective amounts of UVB in the 290nm-320nm range, they appear to be producing additional energy "out of band" below 290nm (if I remember the story correctly .) This out of band energy is more biologically active (damaging) yet it isn't all the way into the UVC (think cancer.) The compact Reptisun 10.0 is linked to eye problems like photo-kerato-conjunctivitis (snow-blindness). The compact 5.0 isn't as bad but it still has been linked to problems. The problem that I have with compacts in general is that when they produce UVB, due to the "compact" nature of the tube design, they produce very high levels as you get closer to the tube when compared to the linear tube. This leads to excessive UVB levels if your chameleon is able to get too close; especially true for screen climbers.

The really bad actors out there are the R-Zilla Series 50 and Series 25 linear tubes. It doesn't take long to kill a chameleon with one of these UVB lights. They were supposedly pulled from the market after I sent one to Mrs. Frances M. Baines, M.A., Vet.M.B., M.R.C.V.S. (who is part of the UK UVB website) who did the full spectral analysis of a Series 50 and found that it was truly a killer light . I sent it in for analysis because of the mounting evidence that they were basically sunburning them to death. The manufacturer was unaware of the actual spectral output since their equipment wasn’t capable of that level of analysis.

The bottom line is that by using the Reptisun 5.0 linear tube, keepers can eliminate a potential source of health problems. Other tubes might be adequate and possibly even better but the variables involved in selecting a UVB source for chameleons from this array of products can be quite confusing and fatal mistakes can be made.


Both www.bigappleherp.com and www.lllreptile.com usually have all of the sizes of the Reptisun 5.0 tubes ON SPECIAL SALE for $13.99 which can't be beat .

 

[Mael]

Interesting read. I wonder if there's a safe way to diffuse the light before it hits the Cham. Perhaps I should just slather him with SPF50.

It's very odd that they would release a product that is unsafe for reptiles. I see them in pet stores which makes me rather worried. The average new keeper would pick on up and use it without knowing any better. Dangerous for alot of the chams out there.

 

[fox3060]

'Nuff said, thanks a lot man, your reply was very thorough and helpful. I'll keep them near the window until I can get a new light set up. Thanks Guys!

 

[dodolah]

make sure the window is open, so the light is not obstructed with glasses/ plastic.