Flourescent Lights

[iLovePanda265]

Hi, I was just wondering about flourescent lighting, because my dad found two 48' Phillips Flourescent Tubes (40 Watts) in the basement.
I just wanted to know if I could use these flourescent bulbs or if I needed to buy reptile specific flourescent bulbs (ex. Reptisun 10.0).




Thanks In Advance

 

[montana]

Try to stay away from florescent lights at all ..

If you were to use florescent bulbs they need to be special reptile bulbs ...

What you need is a 160 watt power sun ..

 

[iLovePanda265]

Try to stay away from florescent lights at all ..

If you were to use florescent bulbs they need to be special reptile bulbs ...

What you need is a 160 watt power sun ..

I know alot of people recommend the Mercury Vapor bulbs but, Im at the moment I dont have enough money to buy a MV bulbs and another lamp fixture. All I really want to know is if the bulbs I have is usable for a tegu (which is soon to come from varnyard stock).

 

[montana]

Only if you want to watch him twitch and die in a month or so ..

 

[iLovePanda265]

Only if you want to watch him twitch and die in a month or so ..

WOW... really using regular flourescent bulbs is that bad... if thats true thanks for telling me, but if not then dont over exaggerate.

 

[Strange_Evil]

Yeah it's just like Montana said. Those bulbs are not made for reptiles, they do not put of uv lighting, you will have to go to the pet store and buy one, make sure it says that its a uvb light. Stay away from the coil bulbs,they cause eye problems.

I reccomend you give buying online a try! Petmountain.com has some pretty good deals, you will save a lot of money, and if you buy the deep dome fixture (good to have with MVB'S) you order should round up to around $60 or so and you'll get free shipping.

 

[iLovePanda265]

Okay, thanks for all the info. I ended up going with buying two 48' ReptiSun 10.0's since I already have two 48' Flourescent light fixtures to put them in.

 

[montana]

Soon you will wish you had bought the other ..

 

[iLovePanda265]

Well here is the lighting setup i'm gonna have

-One 24 Hour Basking Spot
-Two 12 Hour Basking Spots
-Two 12 Hour Flourescent Bulbs (running across back wall)


The reason I went with the flourescent is because I wanted an even spred of UVB across the cage, and two 48' tubes cost the same as one MVB without a lamp fixture.

 

[james.w]

How big is the cage? What are you using for a 24 HR basking spot. You need to make sure the tubes are within 20" otherwise they are useless, but I also highly recommend getting a MVB.

 

[iLovePanda265]

How big is the cage? What are you using for a 24 HR basking spot. You need to make sure the tubes are within 20" otherwise they are useless, but I also highly recommend getting a MVB.

The cage is 8x4x4 the 24 hour is the http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm?groupid=1092&id=SRZ9928
and the flourescent tubes are gonna be kept at 18' from the bottom.

 

[RobK.]

here is some good info on lights . they say you need more than one type and can use some flourescent bulbs as fill in light , with MVB and halogen lamps. good info IMO .

http://www.reptileuv.com/reptile-video.php?nav=h

 

[iLovePanda265]

Well here is the lighting setup i'm gonna have

-One 24 Hour Basking Spot
-Two 12 Hour Basking Spots
-Two 12 Hour Flourescent Bulbs (running across back wall)


The reason I went with the flourescent is because I wanted an even spred of UVB across the cage, and two 48' tubes cost the same as one MVB without a lamp fixture.

Guys I had one last question does this setup work for the Tegus lighting needs, or do I need some major changes?

 

[james.w]

I'm not really sure what you mean when you say one 24hr spot and two 12hr spots are you going to have 3 different basking spots??

I will tell you what I have, I use a 160w MVB for the basking spot, on the other end of the cage I have 2 48" repti-sun UVB tubes. I also have one regular house bulb just for more light. There is no heat at all at night.

 

[jerobi2k]

Ive been keeping reptiles most of my life, Ive never used any light as a 24hr heat fixture, Ive had my first gU for 3yrs now. is there any reason why one would use a 24hr hot spot? maybe living in FL where I am its just not needed so Ive never heard of this...this question makes me feel like a no0b, lol.

 

[Rhetoric]

Ive been keeping reptiles most of my life, Ive never used any light as a 24hr heat fixture, Ive had my first gU for 3yrs now. is there any reason why one would use a 24hr hot spot? maybe living in FL where I am its just not needed so Ive never heard of this...this question makes me feel like a no0b, lol.

I had a really low wattage CHE for the winter, my first tegu didn't go down seeing as it was his first winter. I left that on most of the time to keep the cool end in at a decent temp and at night it would drop to low 70*s (60*s with the CHE off). Not really a "hot spot" though..

 

[jerobi2k]

gotcha rhetoricx, Its very rare even in the winter that my house goes below 70, lol. ty

 

[Jason]

those "night time" bulbs are worthless. red and Blacklight bulbs will just add stress to an animals that can see in full color. for night time heat (if it's even needed) use a che (ceramic heat emitter) no light at all just heat. those colored heat bulbs are only good for snakes, if even that.

if you can return the flousescent bulbs i would recommend it. the MVB lights can replace your basking bulbs (then you don't need to buy another fixture) since they produce heat and uvb. the only thing i would use a flourescent for is increased visible light. they are expensive, but they also last twice as long as the tubes, penetrate deeper into the enclosure, and produce heat.

 

[iLovePanda265]

Okay with the night time heat it can get as low as in the mid 60's, so would it be required I get a CHE or night bulbs if I didnt want him/her to hibernate in the winter

 

[james.w]

You can't stop hibernation. You will be fine without any night heat.