Uvb meters

tortdad

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Do you guys know of a solar meter that works pretty good that's a reasonable price? So far all the ones I've seen are $250 and up. I'm not dropping that much coin on a meter, I'll just keep swapping the bulbs out every 6 months.
 

Alexio

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Not really, unfortunately the only reliable ones are very pricy.
I have one and I will say the tubes only last about 3-6 months before they need to be replaced. Same with powers suns.
I only use the mega Ray's because they put out great uvb even a year later.
Perhaps a local exotic pet store would have one and they would test your bulbs for you. This is the case where I live
 

Reptilian Feline

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I'm going to get an UV-index meter, better than nothing. Look up the Ferguson scale and find out what index is appropriate for your tort. I'll do the same for my little leo.
 

Tom

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Do you guys know of a solar meter that works pretty good that's a reasonable price? So far all the ones I've seen are $250 and up. I'm not dropping that much coin on a meter, I'll just keep swapping the bulbs out every 6 months.

How much do bulbs cost and how many are you running?

I've got 2 and three year old bulbs that are still putting out great UV, so I have not replaced them. Bulbs run $20-$36 depending in size, type and place of purchase, lets just call it 30 bucks for ease of demonstration. Let's say I'm running only four of these bulbs. If I replaced them at 6 months, that's $120 plus shipping and tax. 6 months later, another $120+. 6 months after that brings us to where I am now, and without a meter, I just replaced them again. So I bought new bulbs 2 years ago and replaced them every six months at a cost of about $360 plus shipping plus tax. How is that coin looking now? I have two bulbs that are 3 years old and still running strong, so says my meter.

My meter still works fine and should continue to work for years saving me money. My bulbs are still making strong UV and do not need to be replaced yet. Without my meter I would have been throwing away perfectly good bulbs for no reason. What a waste of money and resources!

Dollars and cents matter for sure, but even beyond the cost, don't you want to know that your tortoises are getting proper UV amounts during your TX winters? Don't you want to know that your growing babies are getting started with good UV. To me, the peace of mind alone is worth the coin.
 

Markw84

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I've been looking into the cheaper meters since @Reptilian Feline 's post on this a few days ago. And I'm changing my mind on what I said there. I said at that time, it would at least give an idea and better than nothing, or guessing. I now will say guessing is far better than using a cheap meter!

You have to make the meters in very specific ways to measure UVB, not just overall UV, and especially in a very narrow band of wavelengths that are used in D3 synthesis. Many of the cheap meters will not even work with artificial light and will give totally false readings. It would be better to guess and go by simple distance charts than use a meter that is giving you false readings. Many of the moderately priced meters will often warn to use with sunlight and maybe fluorescent, but do not rely on it for MVB or HID. Etc, etc.

Get the only meter anyone who knows reptile UVB will use. SolarMeter 6.5
 

Reptilian Feline

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RepTech makes a card for measuring UVB bulbs... maybe something that might work better than the cheap mashines? At least to check if you get UVB at the right level? I've also came across a meter from Lutron, UV-340. It cost less than the solarmeter, at least in Sweden, and seems like a good tool. To be honest, I'm not sure how to properly utilise any of them, since I haven't tried any yet. UV-index seemed like a good start, easier to understand at least. A proper number is always good, but then you need to know what to do with that number.

Pity there isn't something "good enough" to get started, so you can upgrade later when money or pets pass a critical point. For now, I personally will wait and see if my new little one makes it, or if I need to spend the money a meter cost, on getting a new tort.

I do think that Tom is on the spot costwice, I totally agree. As time change I will get a proper meter, just need that little one to make it first.
 
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