How often?
- Thread starter siwash
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Yes, what kind of light do you have?
Hmm I know the MVB T-rex lasts more than 6 months, I plan on keeping mine a year but I am not sure about the zoo med, sorry. Why don't you buy the t-rex instead of zoo med, you live in Toronto right? I am sure you can find it or order it from a canadian website. A lot of people say that T-rex and Megaray are the best ones.
Every 6 months is good, if you can afford to do it that often. As far as brands go I think ZOOMED over T-REX. and MEGA RAY trumps all because of the way the light is dispersed. The MEGA RAY focuses the useful wavelengths in a more concentrated area, whereas the others disperse across a 180 degrees. FYI I use a ZOOMED but will change to MEGA RAY in a few months after much research.
I use, and am happy with the Zoo Med PowerSun bulbs. They say the UV should last a year! I do not have a meter to check them, but I do use them a full year. Be sure to replace after a year as the UV is reduced even though there is light coming from the bulb.
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Please specify UVB vs UV (generic term forany form of light) vs UVA. Big difference.
Copied this to help:
"Full-Spectrum" Hype
"Full spectrum" lights which look like incandescent light bulbs are incandescent light bulbs and so are good only for producing heat. They do not produce any UVB. Tungsten filament technology cannot produce UVB. The use of the term "full spectrum" is grossly misleading. Any pet store that tells you they produce UVB is either completely ignorant or lying to you to make a sale.
UVB (Ultraviolet B) and UVA (Ultraviolet A)
The only lights that can safely provide these two critical wavelengths to your diurnal reptiles are the UVB/A producing fluorescents made for the reptile pet trade. (Note: for the problems associated with the use of screw-in compact fluorescents, please see my comments in the UV Table article referenced below.)
Fish/Aquarium and plant "grow" lights-incandescent and fluorescent-do not produce UVB. Tanning salon fluorescents, tubes made for phototherapy for humans, germicidal UV tubes, and mercury vapor lights, all of which produce UV, do so at levels that are unsafe for the reptiles and their keepers. Many of these produce very high levels of UV and are designed to be used for very limited periods of time and require that protective eye gear be worn (and to my knowledge, despite the availability of ponchos, sombreros, and motorcycle jackets, no one has made UV resistant goggles for iguanas yet....).
Some of these lights also produce UVC, that range of wavelengths (< 290 nm) known to cause immune suppression and cancer in humans and animals. UVB producing fluorescents that produce a decent amount of UVB (1-5%) aren't very bright (have lower CRI) - bright UVB producing fluorescents (high CRI) do not produce much UV; that is a tradeoff required by the technology itself. So, when using a UVB producing fluorescent, you should be using a white light emitting incandescent as well - this will give your diurnal reptiles both the UV and the bright light they need. A list of UVB producing fluorescents can be found at the end of the UV Table article in the Ultraviolet section Captive Environment page. See also the new article by William Gehrmann, Reptile Lighting: A current perspective which includes a table of tubes.
CRI - Color Rendering Index
Those of you who are bothered by low interior lighting or who get somewhat grumpy or depressed on cloudy days, but who find life wonderful indeed on bright, sunny days or in well lit rooms, are responding to the difference that low CRI and high CRI make - the higher the Color Rendering Index (CRI), the better things look to us.
Importance of UVA
Humans and reptiles alike see into the visible light range (400-700 nanometers). Reptiles and many other animals (but not humans) can also see into the UVA range (320-400 nm). UVB producing lights also produce UVA. UVA subtly affects the way things look to a reptile, from the color of their food to the color of their bodies. To us, male anole dewlaps look reddish - to another anole with sufficient UVA, however, they are brilliant, radiating, flaring red. The tongue of a blue-tongue skinks looks, to us, like the skink has been eating a basket of blueberries. To another blue-tongue skink, however, the tongue is a bright, fluorescent, day-glo pink. Failure to provide UVA to diurnal reptiles can causes subtle stress by altering the reptile's perception of its universe and how it responds to it. This can be crucial if you are thinking about breeding them or keeping them around for the length of their natural lifespan...
UVB (290-320 NM), of course, is critical for the formation of the chemical which ultimately is transformed by the animal's body into vitamin D3. D3, as the articles on calcium and metabolic bone disease tell us, is critical for the proper uptake and metabolization of calcium in the body.
Twisted Products
Some of the long fluorescent tubes come with a twist in them. This serves to increase their surface area and so they are brighter (and presumably emit somewhat more UVR) than the straight versions. These twisted UVB-producing fluorescent tubes, such as DuroTest's PowerTwist, are fine to use for reptiles. Compact UVB-producing fluorescents, however, are inappropriate for most herp enclosures as the UVR disperses so quickly over distance that larger reptiles receive too little UVB and will develop MBD. These compact lights, which are attractive as they screw into an incandescent-type fixture and take up less space, may be safe for reptiles whose adult size is small, say, no larger than the smaller anoles. Note: not all compact fluorescents are intended to produce UVR for reptiles. If you are buying one specifically to try on a small reptile in a small enclosure, make sure you buy one made specifically for this purpose.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Points to Remember When Setting Up Your Enclosure
Placing the Lights
Cluster your incandescents used for heat and your fluorescents used for UVB/A at the same end of the enclosure. You can certainly use a fluorescent tube that extends partially or completely down the full length of your enclosure, but if you are using a short tube, be sure to house it adjacent to the basking light. I find that too many people are putting the fluorescent at one end and the white basking light at the other.
The reason you need to place them adjacent to each other is that the bright white light will attract the reptile to the warmest area so it can bask. It will spend most of its time during the day there, and while there, will be exposed to the UVB and UVA produced by the fluorescent. As it thermoregulates, it will move along the gradient of heat, but always going towards the bright white light to warm up. If provided with a non-white light emitting heat source on one end of the enclosure, and a cool white light at the other, such as that emitted by fluorescents, the reptile will elect to sit under the white light because it is attracted to the light. Thus is will fail to attain the temperatures it needs to ensure proper digestion and good health.
Replace UVB Fluorescents Regularly
Over a period of time, the amount of UVB (and, presumably, UVA) emitted by the fluorescents decreases to the point where it will fail to provide sufficient UVB for vitamin D formation. This degradation occurs long before the bulb "burns out" - ceases to produce any visible light. Unfortunately, there is little data to indicate just how long the various bulbs produce sufficient levels of ultraviolet wavelengths. Experienced herpetoculturists change these tubes every 6-12 months. Mark your calendar, or pick a particular day of the year (your birthday, New Year's day, etc.) on which to do it that will be easy to remember.
Watch the Distance Between the Reptile and the Light
The farther away from the fluorescent tube your reptile is, the less UVB it will actually get. The drop off is dramatic: at two feet away from the light, the reptile is getting only one-fourth of the UV it would get at only one foot away. It is recommended that the light not be any further than 18 inches (46 cm) from the reptile, and preferably much closer, such as 10-12 inches (25-30 cm). This may call for some creativity on your part if your reptile is housed in the typical glass tank sold by most pet stores, or is set up as a free roamer. In custom built enclosures, the lights can be securely ceiling-mounted in the enclosure, with the basking areas set up the appropriate distance beneath them.
Copied this to help:
"Full-Spectrum" Hype
"Full spectrum" lights which look like incandescent light bulbs are incandescent light bulbs and so are good only for producing heat. They do not produce any UVB. Tungsten filament technology cannot produce UVB. The use of the term "full spectrum" is grossly misleading. Any pet store that tells you they produce UVB is either completely ignorant or lying to you to make a sale.
UVB (Ultraviolet B) and UVA (Ultraviolet A)
The only lights that can safely provide these two critical wavelengths to your diurnal reptiles are the UVB/A producing fluorescents made for the reptile pet trade. (Note: for the problems associated with the use of screw-in compact fluorescents, please see my comments in the UV Table article referenced below.)
Fish/Aquarium and plant "grow" lights-incandescent and fluorescent-do not produce UVB. Tanning salon fluorescents, tubes made for phototherapy for humans, germicidal UV tubes, and mercury vapor lights, all of which produce UV, do so at levels that are unsafe for the reptiles and their keepers. Many of these produce very high levels of UV and are designed to be used for very limited periods of time and require that protective eye gear be worn (and to my knowledge, despite the availability of ponchos, sombreros, and motorcycle jackets, no one has made UV resistant goggles for iguanas yet....).
Some of these lights also produce UVC, that range of wavelengths (< 290 nm) known to cause immune suppression and cancer in humans and animals. UVB producing fluorescents that produce a decent amount of UVB (1-5%) aren't very bright (have lower CRI) - bright UVB producing fluorescents (high CRI) do not produce much UV; that is a tradeoff required by the technology itself. So, when using a UVB producing fluorescent, you should be using a white light emitting incandescent as well - this will give your diurnal reptiles both the UV and the bright light they need. A list of UVB producing fluorescents can be found at the end of the UV Table article in the Ultraviolet section Captive Environment page. See also the new article by William Gehrmann, Reptile Lighting: A current perspective which includes a table of tubes.
CRI - Color Rendering Index
Those of you who are bothered by low interior lighting or who get somewhat grumpy or depressed on cloudy days, but who find life wonderful indeed on bright, sunny days or in well lit rooms, are responding to the difference that low CRI and high CRI make - the higher the Color Rendering Index (CRI), the better things look to us.
Importance of UVA
Humans and reptiles alike see into the visible light range (400-700 nanometers). Reptiles and many other animals (but not humans) can also see into the UVA range (320-400 nm). UVB producing lights also produce UVA. UVA subtly affects the way things look to a reptile, from the color of their food to the color of their bodies. To us, male anole dewlaps look reddish - to another anole with sufficient UVA, however, they are brilliant, radiating, flaring red. The tongue of a blue-tongue skinks looks, to us, like the skink has been eating a basket of blueberries. To another blue-tongue skink, however, the tongue is a bright, fluorescent, day-glo pink. Failure to provide UVA to diurnal reptiles can causes subtle stress by altering the reptile's perception of its universe and how it responds to it. This can be crucial if you are thinking about breeding them or keeping them around for the length of their natural lifespan...
UVB (290-320 NM), of course, is critical for the formation of the chemical which ultimately is transformed by the animal's body into vitamin D3. D3, as the articles on calcium and metabolic bone disease tell us, is critical for the proper uptake and metabolization of calcium in the body.
Twisted Products
Some of the long fluorescent tubes come with a twist in them. This serves to increase their surface area and so they are brighter (and presumably emit somewhat more UVR) than the straight versions. These twisted UVB-producing fluorescent tubes, such as DuroTest's PowerTwist, are fine to use for reptiles. Compact UVB-producing fluorescents, however, are inappropriate for most herp enclosures as the UVR disperses so quickly over distance that larger reptiles receive too little UVB and will develop MBD. These compact lights, which are attractive as they screw into an incandescent-type fixture and take up less space, may be safe for reptiles whose adult size is small, say, no larger than the smaller anoles. Note: not all compact fluorescents are intended to produce UVR for reptiles. If you are buying one specifically to try on a small reptile in a small enclosure, make sure you buy one made specifically for this purpose.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Points to Remember When Setting Up Your Enclosure
Placing the Lights
Cluster your incandescents used for heat and your fluorescents used for UVB/A at the same end of the enclosure. You can certainly use a fluorescent tube that extends partially or completely down the full length of your enclosure, but if you are using a short tube, be sure to house it adjacent to the basking light. I find that too many people are putting the fluorescent at one end and the white basking light at the other.
The reason you need to place them adjacent to each other is that the bright white light will attract the reptile to the warmest area so it can bask. It will spend most of its time during the day there, and while there, will be exposed to the UVB and UVA produced by the fluorescent. As it thermoregulates, it will move along the gradient of heat, but always going towards the bright white light to warm up. If provided with a non-white light emitting heat source on one end of the enclosure, and a cool white light at the other, such as that emitted by fluorescents, the reptile will elect to sit under the white light because it is attracted to the light. Thus is will fail to attain the temperatures it needs to ensure proper digestion and good health.
Replace UVB Fluorescents Regularly
Over a period of time, the amount of UVB (and, presumably, UVA) emitted by the fluorescents decreases to the point where it will fail to provide sufficient UVB for vitamin D formation. This degradation occurs long before the bulb "burns out" - ceases to produce any visible light. Unfortunately, there is little data to indicate just how long the various bulbs produce sufficient levels of ultraviolet wavelengths. Experienced herpetoculturists change these tubes every 6-12 months. Mark your calendar, or pick a particular day of the year (your birthday, New Year's day, etc.) on which to do it that will be easy to remember.
Watch the Distance Between the Reptile and the Light
The farther away from the fluorescent tube your reptile is, the less UVB it will actually get. The drop off is dramatic: at two feet away from the light, the reptile is getting only one-fourth of the UV it would get at only one foot away. It is recommended that the light not be any further than 18 inches (46 cm) from the reptile, and preferably much closer, such as 10-12 inches (25-30 cm). This may call for some creativity on your part if your reptile is housed in the typical glass tank sold by most pet stores, or is set up as a free roamer. In custom built enclosures, the lights can be securely ceiling-mounted in the enclosure, with the basking areas set up the appropriate distance beneath them.
Chad: This was a very informative post. Thank you for doing the research for us. If I knew how to "sticky" I'd do it for this post only, not the whole thread! Danny?
Yvonne
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