PardalisGirl
Avid Member
I use the normal household CFL bulbs to provide extra light in my cages that are in a dark part of a room and don't need extra heat. They are great for that. And my local electric company/provider likes to send me a dozen free ones each year. I guess they look at my monthly bill and are trying to give me a hint on ways to save on my lighting.
On the subject of the coil/compact UVB bulbs......I've partipated in a couple of threads on this lately. I've gone to the manufacturer's site to see what specs each bulb has. ZooMed does not give any information on their site about the UVB spectrum provided by their coil/compact 5.0 and 10.0 bulbs. As they were one of the manufacturers that originally had major issues with their coil/compact bulbs, I won't consider them "fixed" until I see the specifications which include the range of UVB spectra provided. Has anyone on this forum received this information from ZooMed privately? Or is it listed on the packaging itself?
It is thought that UVB wavelengths under 300 (not found in natural sunlight) is the cause of the skin burning/eye issues. The offending products produced significant amounts of wavelengths below 300. These lower wavelengths were produced by the type of material used to produce the UVB itself. Some manufacturers have claimed to have re-engineered their bulbs so that they do not use materials that produce UVB below 300. Since ZooMed does not furnish the spectrum of their UVB coil/compact bulbs I would not use them. Unless, that is, you have managed to get ZooMed to furnish that information to you personally in some form.
R-Zilla also had both linear tubes and coil/compact UVB lights that were shown to cause significant health problems with reptiles and were shown to provide significant UVB below the 300 wavelength. I have gone to their site and they do not provide any specification on wavelengths for their products. Until I see that provided, I would not use those products either. Perhaps someone has received this information privately from them. I have not.
Arcadia lighting does furnish this information on their site for their compact UVB lights. It shows that all of their compacts provide UVB within a natural range. It's a matter of picking which one is an appropriate strength (% UVB provided) for your reptile.
Exo-Terra also provides this information and the UVB spectrum their lights produce are also within a proper range. Again it is a matter of chosing the right strength of UVB. It appears that these are the products that Chris Anderson uses successfully. His cages look very clean with the Exo-Terra hoods.
Hope this helps some people. I've spent a great deal of time during the last week researching all of this for my own purposes.......
On the subject of the coil/compact UVB bulbs......I've partipated in a couple of threads on this lately. I've gone to the manufacturer's site to see what specs each bulb has. ZooMed does not give any information on their site about the UVB spectrum provided by their coil/compact 5.0 and 10.0 bulbs. As they were one of the manufacturers that originally had major issues with their coil/compact bulbs, I won't consider them "fixed" until I see the specifications which include the range of UVB spectra provided. Has anyone on this forum received this information from ZooMed privately? Or is it listed on the packaging itself?
It is thought that UVB wavelengths under 300 (not found in natural sunlight) is the cause of the skin burning/eye issues. The offending products produced significant amounts of wavelengths below 300. These lower wavelengths were produced by the type of material used to produce the UVB itself. Some manufacturers have claimed to have re-engineered their bulbs so that they do not use materials that produce UVB below 300. Since ZooMed does not furnish the spectrum of their UVB coil/compact bulbs I would not use them. Unless, that is, you have managed to get ZooMed to furnish that information to you personally in some form.
R-Zilla also had both linear tubes and coil/compact UVB lights that were shown to cause significant health problems with reptiles and were shown to provide significant UVB below the 300 wavelength. I have gone to their site and they do not provide any specification on wavelengths for their products. Until I see that provided, I would not use those products either. Perhaps someone has received this information privately from them. I have not.
Arcadia lighting does furnish this information on their site for their compact UVB lights. It shows that all of their compacts provide UVB within a natural range. It's a matter of picking which one is an appropriate strength (% UVB provided) for your reptile.
Exo-Terra also provides this information and the UVB spectrum their lights produce are also within a proper range. Again it is a matter of chosing the right strength of UVB. It appears that these are the products that Chris Anderson uses successfully. His cages look very clean with the Exo-Terra hoods.
Hope this helps some people. I've spent a great deal of time during the last week researching all of this for my own purposes.......
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