The Good, The Bad, & The Awefull (UVB Lights)

So every one has lights they like & lights they dont like.

Here is some info on lights for Newbies

well 1st off read http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

but i personally like -

Mega-ray MVB (Reptileuv.com they are almost always out of stock but the BEST bulbs out there)

Zoo-Med: PowerSun
10.0 & 5.0 tubes (not the CFL)

Arcadia: 8.0 tubes (hard to find)

Exo-Terra: Mercury Vapor Bulbs

I personally hate:
Zilla / R-zilla: any UVB light (they are all bad)
G&A / CA lights (they own Zilla) - i bought some CA lights on accident, i used them to just see & if i turn them on the Tegus attacked the lights until they rolled them out, unplugged them, or turned the switch off. (i tried them over & over & same thing happens in 2 different cages. changed out the bulb after a week & no more attacks)

*these are my opinions & in NO WAY should you base your decisions solely on my opinion. I am only trying to point you in the right direction

I have had bad experiences with Zilla bulbs...I like the powersun....and most other zoo-med lights for that fact...and I have heard good stuff about the mega ray...but never used it myself.

Interesting about the CA lights...

yeah, i had never seen any animal do what Jonesy & Harley were doing, but changed the bulbs & they calmed down. I think the lights were hurting them, or they could sense something was wrong with the lights.

Thats really interesting about the CA lights, can't say I have ever heard of them but I will stay away from them for sure.
I use the Mega Ray or the Fluker SunSpot bulbs. Last I read the Flukers was holding their own when it came to uv output. In most studies they seemed to surpass Mega Ray.

nice i didnt know that about fluker's light. I've always liked that company just never tried their bulb

I have trouble finding them... I can only seem to find them at expos. while i haven't used their lights, i have used other products with out disappointment.

I like the exoterra solar glo uvb/uvas

Just a fyi. Solar glo was having issues Nov 2010. I don't know if their manufacturing was straightened out.

This from uv guide uk, independent testers.
> > Yes, I have just finished testing four ExoTerra Solar Glo lamps. I should have the results done in the next week or two.
> > There has been a MAJOR change in this product since about November. This was confirmed to me by a staff member at Rolf C Hagen UK, the parent company. I was told they have changed from "hand blown glass" to an automated process. So I am guessing this requires a different glass composition or thickness..
> >
> > I will publish the details as soon as I can, but basically both the 125W and the 160W now have a very low UVB output indeed. One of the 125W lamps which I tested, gave me 48uW/cm2 and UVI 1.2 after 30mins, and after 105 hours burning-in, was only giving me 29uW/cm2 and UVI 0.6.
> >
> > Last year’s ExoTerra Solar Glo 125W was a very nice lamp, and the one I tested the year before that ran for a full year and was still quite good at the end. I’ll put all this in the report.
> >

Pikey, I think I might have a theory that could explain what you observed. Some bulbs allow certain wavelengths through that most do not, I can't say for sure what those wavelengths are, just what they do. First, I have to warn people: DO NOT TRY THIS, what I'm about to say isn't a cute parlour trick, it is dangerous and will harm you. Anyhow, I "think" it is UVC that is getting through, but it might be a high energy UVB, and when you look straight into the bulb (again, DO NOT DO THIS, I'm just saying this is possibly what was happening with the tegus) it literally damages the retina in a particular manner, causing it to look like there are little black spheres and sparks swarming in front of your eyes (to a tegu, this probably looks like bugs). Yes, I have to admit, I know this because I have done it (with bulbs that are not typically available on the market). One should never look directly into any UV producing bulbs, but if you do ever notice this phenomenon, GET RID OF THE BULB.

Ahh thanks, that would make a lot of sense.