reptiglo spiral bulbs. ok or bad?

[jck09]

i have heard a couple different opinions on these. what do you guys think. i currently have a repti-glo 10.0 in a 24" flourescent fixture and two spiral repti-go 2.0 in another fixture. the spiral bulbs do not point down. they are horizontal with a reflector behind them. should i not use these? thanks
-john

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I would not use a spiral compact fluorescent UVB period.
Way too much bad press recently and animals with serious eye problems.
It's not worth the risk.
I also don't care for the Repti-glo lights.
The Zoomed Repti-sun 5.0 is THE fluorescent tube to use for chameleons. It is by far a superior product (search on the forums for the testing that has been done ... probably posted by Dave Weldon)

-Brad

 

[Dave Weldon]

...what do you guys think. i currently have a repti-glo 10.0 in a 24" flourescent fixture and two spiral repti-go 2.0 in another fixture. the spiral bulbs do not point down. they are horizontal with a reflector behind them. should i not use these? thanks
-john

Howdy,

A little background: Of the more common UVB COMPACT fluorescent lamps, the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 (and to a lesser extent the Reptisun 5.0 compact) is the one that posed the most danger due to its link to causing photo-kerato-conjunctivitis (snow-blindness) and also its output of non-solar spectral energy. On top of that, being a compact lamp, means that by design, the density of the energy (think compacted energy) means that it has an overall high energy output which chameleons don't usually benefit from. Now, as far as the repti-glo 10.0 in a 24" fixture is concerned, as a linear tube, when put at the proper distance, it should be safe. Your two spiral repti-go 2.0 in another fixture would not be expected to produce much UVB and can almost be considered to be a visual light source only.

I assume that you have a basking flood lamp somewhere in the mixture of lights ?

EDIT: Howdy Brad ,

I just saw you post and agree that anyone buying a UVB source at the moment will be better served with the ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 linear tube not only for is spectral output but also its longevity. Compacts, by their inherent design create much higher UVB levels, especially at the closer distances, than our chameleons should be exposed to.

 

[Chameleon Nation]

compact bulbs

A lot of people do not recommend these bulbs and I can see where there are coming from. The fluker compact bulbs have a wide range of bad write ups on them and can back up their theories with a few different animals who have gone blind. However in those cases the the light was placed directly over top of the animal and was not provided anywhere for the animal to escape. I use the Exo-terra 5.0 compact bulbs on almost all my cages (And I have a lot). My cages are all 260 gallons or bigger. My chameleons are given tonnes of areas to escape the light. I have not found 1 article on the Exo-terra bulbs that state that they are bad, only Flukers and other brands. I don't recommend that u go out and buy these because everyone on here seems to hate them. But u know what I have been using these bulbs for two years now and my chams are bigger, stronger, healthier, and a lot more vibrant in coloration then my chams that are under the fluorescent tubes. Not to mention bigger than their siblings from the same clutch born at the same time. They were kept under 5.0 fluorescent tubes and are maybe 1/2 to 3/4 the size of mine. So to those who wrote all the bad things about compact bulbs, wrap your noodle around that one

1.2 Ambanja, 1.3 Nosy Be, 2.4 veileds, 0.1 Nosy Be/Ambanja cross and a big order coming.

 

[jck09]

yes i also have a 100 watt zoomed basking light on one end and a 50 watt basking light on the other end. the 100watt is about 100* under it and the 50 watt i use to just warm the cage up a little. without the 50 watt the cage is around 73* ambient. with the 50 watt it is closer to 80* ambient. i have a reptarium as his cage right now till i can save some more money to get the cage and mister setup that i want. i use the reptiglo 10.0 because i have heard that the mesh of the reptariums blocks alot of the uv and it has more uvb output than the reptisun 5.0 i believe. . the compacts are just for more visable light. i cant find the repti-sun bulbs anywhere around me so i might have to order them. should i take the spiral bulbs out? and just use regular bulbs?

 

[Chameleon Nation]

yes i also have a 100 watt zoomed basking light on one end and a 50 watt basking light on the other end. the 100watt is about 100* under it and the 50 watt i use to just warm the cage up a little. without the 50 watt the cage is around 73* ambient. with the 50 watt it is closer to 80* ambient. i have a reptarium as his cage right now till i can save some more money to get the cage and mister setup that i want. i use the reptiglo 10.0 because i have heard that the mesh of the reptariums blocks alot of the uv and it has more uvb output than the reptisun 5.0 i believe. . the compacts are just for more visable light. i cant find the repti-sun bulbs anywhere around me so i might have to order them. should i take the spiral bulbs out? and just use regular bulbs?

If your spiral bulbs are on top of the reptarium u should be alright using them as visible light just don't get anything (spirals) more powerful because your chams might not take too kindly to a big increase in UV. Once u get your new cages use the tubes because the mesh will be finer and the UV from your spirals will penetrate deeper into the cage. It always better to be safe then sorry. However if you give them enough room to escape the UV then do whatever works for u. There is not 1 right way and 1 wrong way to do this. Different things work for different people. If you feel comfortable using the compacts then use them. If not them switch to the tubes. I use them mainly because I have a lot of Ficus trees and I found it's one of the only light sources that does not make all the leaves fall off my plants. Plus the plant growth is amazing using the spirals.

 

[Chameleon Nation]

yes i also have a 100 watt zoomed basking light on one end and a 50 watt basking light on the other end. the 100watt is about 100* under it and the 50 watt i use to just warm the cage up a little. without the 50 watt the cage is around 73* ambient. with the 50 watt it is closer to 80* ambient. i have a reptarium as his cage right now till i can save some more money to get the cage and mister setup that i want. i use the reptiglo 10.0 because i have heard that the mesh of the reptariums blocks alot of the uv and it has more uvb output than the reptisun 5.0 i believe. . the compacts are just for more visable light. i cant find the repti-sun bulbs anywhere around me so i might have to order them. should i take the spiral bulbs out? and just use regular bulbs?

Look at my pics in the members gallery and you'll see what I mean about the compact bulbs "c" "chameleon palace"