Found out my pricey ZooMed UVB lamps are junk

[Beach Bum]

Took my 3 month old ZooMed UVB MVB bulbs in to get checked today at my vet. I use a 100 & a 160 watt. The 100 watt is 12" off the substrate and the 160 watt is 18" above and the table maintains a perfect temp and humidity however I'm depriving our poor guy of any UV & UVB to speak of. The 100 watt tested out at 1 UVB AND .5 UV. The 160 watt was 6 UVB and only .2 UV. Outside on this sunny day the UVB is 303 and the UV index is 8. Needless to say I felt like an abusive parent when I left the vet's office. Its hard at this point because the rental I'm in has a sand dune for a backyard. Looks like I'll be building another table to go outside on the sunny/warm days. The vet recommended Arcadia UV/UVB bulbs from kjreptilesuppliesco.uk. Looks like I'll be paying out the nose for shipping but I'm not impressed after spending $160 or so on ZooMeds.

 

[jaizei]

Took my 3 month old ZooMed UVB MVB bulbs in to get checked today at my vet. I use a 100 & a 160 watt. The 100 watt is 12" off the substrate and the 160 watt is 18" above and the table maintains a perfect temp and humidity however I'm depriving our poor guy of any UV & UVB to speak of. The 100 watt tested out at 1 UVB AND .5 UV. The 160 watt was 6 UVB and only .2 UV. Outside on this sunny day the UVB is 303 and the UV index is 8. Needless to say I felt like an abusive parent when I left the vet's office. Its hard at this point because the rental I'm in has a sand dune for a backyard. Looks like I'll be building another table to go outside on the sunny/warm days. The vet recommended Arcadia UV/UVB bulbs from kjreptilesuppliesco.uk. Looks like I'll be paying out the nose for shipping but I'm not impressed after spending $160 or so on ZooMeds.View attachment 134807

In my experience, zoo med mvbs are very hit or miss.

Check Lightyourreptiles.com first. They have a decent selection.

 

[DawnH]

How big is your tort? I used a large kiddie pool for my torts first outdoor oasis. That way (with outside time) you can skip the bulb entirely (I have not had one in two years.) You can plant directly in it and not worry about spending a fortune (if your tort is small enough!)