What is the best T5HO fixture that isn’t a ton of money

[JoXie411]

Again who is the "many"? Back in the T8 days in the 2000s, yes arcadia rated them for 1 year, and repisun rated the lows for 6 months and the highs for 1 year. But since the T5HO's came out, both companies, across the board, have rated all bulbs guaranteed output for 1 year. I guess there could be "folk" that are squeezing 2 years out of the arcadias(im one of the folk, and i have a meter) but i have not seen any reports of "bad zoomeds". Again neither company has a bulb factory, both companies use the same factory in germany, both companies use 7 phosphors.

I think it’s one of those myths that started and now it’s going to be hard to get rid of

 

[Randers88]

Nevermind, they are out of stock and only have 12” fixtures
Edit: I think I may be looking in the wrong place lol

Check out the fixtures Joxie has. They seem very suitable and the price point is nice. You will just need to order a UVB bulb to go with it.

Again who is the "many"? Back in the T8 days in the 2000s, yes arcadia rated them for 1 year, and repisun rated the lows for 6 months and the highs for 1 year. But since the T5HO's came out, both companies, across the board, have rated all bulbs guaranteed output for 1 year. I guess there could be "folk" that are squeezing 2 years out of the arcadias(im one of the folk, and i have a meter) but i have not seen any reports of "bad zoomeds". Again neither company has a bulb factory, both companies use the same factory in germany, both companies use 7 phosphors.

I have seen this stated multiple times, either on here or even on various social media platforms. I believe it is a blanket statement for those that haven't invested in a solar meter in order to ensure that their bulbs maintain adequate UVI levels for their animals. I should have stated that I have seen people make this statement, not that I read a scientific article stating this as fact... my apologies.

 

[BenjiTheCham]

Check out the fixtures Joxie has. They seem very suitable and the price point is nice. You will just need to order a UVB bulb to go with it.

I have seen this stated multiple times, either on here or even on various social media platforms. I believe it is a blanket statement for those that haven't invested in a solar meter in order to ensure that their bulbs maintain adequate UVI levels for their animals. I should have stated that I have seen people make this statement, not that I read a scientific article stating this as fact... my apologies.

I would use that fixture, but I am going out of town on Thursday and I need the fixture before then. My T8 is having issues so I have to mess with it every day for it to actually turn on

 

[BenjiTheCham]

So now I have a new problem lol. I found a fixture that will get here Wednesday, but there aren’t any T5HO 5.0 22” bulbs that I can get in this time frame. Petco has them on their website, but it doesn’t say that they have them in their store and doesn’t allow pickup. Just to make sure, I should be using 5.0, correct? I don’t have a solarmeter thing, so a 10.0 would be bad

edit: I think I’m just screwed now. Amazon JUST decided that my fixture’s estimated delivery is Thursday now. At least I didn’t order it yet. I guess I’m going to have to buy another fixture and hope I can get the person who is feeding my cham to set it up

 

[Randers88]

What species are you keeping? A 5.0 is recommended for a Panther. Veiled's require a 10.0

 

[BenjiTheCham]

What species are you keeping? A 5.0 is recommended for a Panther. Veiled's require a 10.0

Really? I have a veiled. I didn’t know they required a 10.0

 

[Randers88]

You could check to see how fast LLLReptile could get one to you. Do you have any local stores aside from Petco that may carry the bulbs?

 

[nightanole]

Really? I have a veiled. I didn’t know they required a 10.0

they dont. T8 10.0 maybe. But you start rolling with a T5HO 10.0 without a meter, and you will have a bad time. You "may" start getting eye issues, and edema from too much D3. You can run a 10.0/12% just fine, if you have a meter, so you can tune the hang out spot to be around 1.5 UVI, and the high basking branch no higher than 3.0 UVI.

but a 5.0/6% is find if the cham is hanging out 12-18" away from the bulb.



1000's of veilds were raised with a T8 5.0 and 6" away from the bulb in 2ft tall cages for decades, along with medium D3 supplements twice a month.

Now lets put that into perspective for a non techy.

lets say a T8 5.0 is a power of 1
now switching to just a T5 and no higher wattage, is 33% more light
Now switching to a T5 HO is double the wattage
Now switching to a 10.0 is double the UVB

So add it all up. It means a T5HO 5.0 is putting out 266% more UVB than a T8 5.0. A T5HO 10. is putting out 533% more UVB than a T8 5.0.

 

[BenjiTheCham]

they dont. T8 10.0 maybe. But you start rolling with a T5HO 10.0 without a meter, and you will have a bad time. You "may" start getting eye issues, and edema from too much D3. You can run a 10.0/12% just fine, if you have a meter, so you can tune the hang out spot to be around 1.5 UVI, and the high basking branch no higher than 3.0 UVI.

but a 5.0/6% is find if the cham is hanging out 12-18" away from the bulb.

Okay thanks, that’s what I thought I heard

 

[BenjiTheCham]

You could check to see how fast LLLReptile could get one to you. Do you have any local stores aside from Petco that may carry the bulbs?

I’ll check lllreptiles, and yeah, my local store sells the bulb, but now I can’t get the fixture in time and they don’t sell the fixture lol

 

[Randers88]

I don't keep veiled's, Stick to nightanole for this one.

 

[Randers88]

they dont. T8 10.0 maybe. But you start rolling with a T5HO 10.0 without a meter, and you will have a bad time. You "may" start getting eye issues, and edema from too much D3. You can run a 10.0/12% just fine, if you have a meter, so you can tune the hang out spot to be around 1.5 UVI, and the high basking branch no higher than 3.0 UVI.

but a 5.0/6% is find if the cham is hanging out 12-18" away from the bulb.



1000's of veilds were raised with a T8 5.0 and 6" away from the bulb in 2ft tall cages for decades, along with medium D3 supplements twice a month.

Now lets put that into perspective for a non techy.

lets say a T8 5.0 is a power of 1
now switching to just a T5 and no higher wattage, is 33% more light
Now switching to a T5 HO is double the wattage
Now switching to a 10.0 is double the UVB

So add it all up. It means a T5HO 5.0 is putting out 266% more UVB than a T8 5.0. A T5HO 10. is putting out 533% more UVB than a T8 5.0.

Do many mis-direct to a 10.0 bulb for the reasoning of where they originate from? I don't keep Veiled's so I'm actually curious as to why so many give incorrect information regarding the proper bulb for them. I've seen many people recommend 10.0 's

 

[nightanole]

I don't keep veiled's, Stick to nightanole for this one.

I think most of the care sheets literally say "10.0" and they kinda omit the T8 or T5HO. Kinda like when they didnt have 5.0/10.0/6%/12%, and just marketed "tropical" and "desert". There was a bit of a ruckus when people started recommending T8 10.0 for chams around the mid 2000s. Same arguments, "your going to cook your cham using that desert bulb".

 

[Randers88]

I think most of the care sheets literally say "10.0" and they kinda omit the T8 or T5HO. Kinda like when they didnt have 5.0/10.0/6%/12%, and just marketed "tropical" and "desert". There was a bit of a ruckus when people started recommending T8 10.0 for chams around the mid 2000s. Same arguments, "your going to cook your cham using that desert bulb".

Oh okay, seems like many need to update their information then. I know of a few groups on facebook whose moderators live by the 5.0 for panthers and 10.0 for veiled's while recommending T5HO fixtures. All of my Chameleon keeping has been with Panthers with virtually no knowledge of Veileds.

 

[nightanole]

Do many mis-direct to a 10.0 bulb for the reasoning of where they originate from? I don't keep Veiled's so I'm actually curious as to why so many give incorrect information regarding the proper bulb for them. I've seen many people recommend 10.0 's

Lets be honest, the internet is a horrible place...
Best ask the breeder you bought yours from, or just any popular breeder that has your species and likes to help out.

But this was my top google search:
https://wereallaboutpets.com/best-uvb-bulbs-for-chameleons

Yup merc vapor all the way down to cfls, anything works yo, just pick your budget

 

[Randers88]

Lets be honest, the internet is a horrible place...
Best ask the breeder you bought yours from, or just any popular breeder that has your species and likes to help out.

But this was my top google search:
https://wereallaboutpets.com/best-uvb-bulbs-for-chameleons

Yup merc vapor all the way down to cfls, anything works yo, just pick your budget

Agreed, I generally try to stick to what I know and help out when I can. I do my best not to regurgitate what I hear without doing my own research... but it looks like I put my foot in my mouth with this one. I'll stick to Panthers, and leave the Veiled help to you lol

 

[Vert340]

I’ve been using this hood light on all my cages. I really like it

Oppolite T5 2FT/24W 2-lamp Fluorescent Ho Bulbs 6500K for Indoor Horticulture Gardening T5 Grow Lights Fixtures (2-Lamp 2FT/24W(6500K)) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DJ6B3PV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_W9F-EbTGTQXV5

Heya a have a question for ya. So tomorrow I get to upgrade my chameleon into his new bigger cage and because if that I'm looking for a bigget fixture since i have a 12 inch one rn. The one you linked is the one i was looking into. So my question is, are the bulbs it comes with ones that give off uvb or will i have to buy 2 24inch reptisun bulbs to put in the fixture? I'm still pretty new when it comes to lighting so sorry if it's a dumb question.

 

[JoXie411]

Heya a have a question for ya. So tomorrow I get to upgrade my chameleon into his new bigger cage and because if that I'm looking for a bigget fixture since i have a 12 inch one rn. The one you linked is the one i was looking into. So my question is, are the bulbs it comes with ones that give off uvb or will i have to buy 2 24inch reptisun bulbs to put in the fixture? I'm still pretty new when it comes to lighting so sorry if it's a dumb question.

The bulbs that come with the fixture are 65000k plant bulbs. What you want to do it take out one of the bulbs and replace it with the a reptisun 5.0 22”. You always buy two inches smaller then the hooded fixture for the tube lights

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I own three of these.
LLL REPTILES and BIG AL'S PETS sell them online for under $60 complete