Recommended UVB bulbs

[MMRR - jif]

It seems as if we're seeing quite a few young tegus on the forums that are suffering from MBD. This disease is damaging all of the internal organs, not just causing the damage that we are seeing externally. There is a simple way to prevent this disease...so simple that we should never have to see a tegu or any diurnal lizard with twitching toes or swollen legs or jaws. Providing adequate UVB exposure is the solution and I'm listing the bulbs that are most recommended.

Screw-in bulbs
MegaRay MVB - from ReptileUV (approx. $35-40)
PowerSun - from ZooMed ($35-40)
ActiveUV heat - from T-Rex ($35-50)

Fluorescent bulbs (must be placed 10 inches or less from the animal)
ReptiSun 5.0 or 10.0 - from ZooMed
Iguana Light 5.0 or 10.0 - from ZooMed
Repti Glo 5.0 or 10.0 - from Exo Terra


There are other bulbs on the market, both MV and fluorescents, that claim that they provide adequate UVB but long time keepers and rehabbers do not trust these bulbs. As a rehabber myself I have had wonderful results with the MegaRays and the PowerSuns. These bulbs have the added bonus of providing heat and the UVB output lasts the lifetime of the bulb (as opposed to the quick degradation in the fluorescents). Of course, a proper diet is also critical to keeping our UVB dependent animals healthy.

All of these bulbs are readily available through the larger online herp supply sites. If you shop around you can often find the fluorescents on sale for $12-$15. I recommend buying several at a time to save on shipping costs and also to have extras on hand to replace every 6-8 months or if one fails.

This is such an easy solution to keeping our diurnal lizards from developing this horrible disease. We spend lots of money on their food and enclosures, let's not forget the correct lighting.

 

[Tux]

Just thought I'd mention the Megaray EB series is just as good as the SB minus the heat, it also comes with 6 months longer warranty. I prefer them as the sb doesn't shoot off enough heat in most of my enclosures and the extra 6 months of warranty is nice to have. A UV meter is also a good thing to invest in to ensure your lights are still working properly. i find some of the SB's even though carrying a warranty of 6 months are still near peak levels at over a year and 3 months!.

 

[Little Wise Owl]

Thank you for that.

I always wondered which ones were better.

 

[mr.tegu]

I have the 160 watt zoo-med powersun for a basking light and a 18'' zoo-med 5.0 fluorescent light. My tegu has three favorite spots to bask and cool. After the 150 watt bask he retreats to an area about 2 1/2 feet away where i have my 5.0 fluorescent light at about 12 inches high i would guess. The 3rd spot is the cool side of the 7 foot long enclosure with no heating at all, just a 75 watt house hold bulb for lighting. My question is what is reccomended for tegus 5.0 or the 10.0 fluorescent bulbs? Or does it really matter since i have plenty of uvb offered in the enclosure at two locations. One more thing is i do have 2 shelters in each area if the tegu still wants to be warm just not under direct light.

 

[Beasty]

A Zoo Med BASKING light is only a heat lamp that provides NO anything but heat.
You need a Mercury Vapor Bulb or MVB. I like the MegaRay you can find at reptileuv.com .(last I got one it was $50 incl. shipping) Otherwise your 5.0 UV lamp is also inadequate. Your lizard needs a 10. So, where you think you have done the right thing with the basking light, you clearly have very limited UV to offer your animal. If you find you can't afford to get the right bulb immediately if it is warm enough outside you can take the lizard for a walk in the sun to get UV until you save enough cash.

 

[John_E_Dove]

If I may throw in here. I have tried both the Power Sun and the externally ballested Mega Ray.
The Power Sun may be a good product is you run it through a UPS so it cannot experience power flux, or if you live in an area that does not experience power fluxuations, but if you have frequent power spikes or drops they will not last very long. When I say not long I mean we went through 6 bulbs in 5 months in our rural area.
The externally ballasted Mega Rays we are now using have each been in place for 8 months now and replaced bulbs that were changed out after 12 months just to be sure we were producing enough UVB even though the bulbs are rated for a longer life and still gave off UVB & Light.

 

[mr.tegu]

I would not have spent almost 50 bucks on a basking light. I have the 160 watt zoo-med powersun i got from lll reptile here in o'side, This thing can emit uv from 6 feet above suface. I really like this bulb, Also i have never had a problem with this/these bulbs. All my lights are plugged into a power bar witch helps power fluxuations for longer bulb life.. I live 20 mins from lll reptile and everything i own comes from them. (check um out)

 

[mr.tegu]

beast... I edited my post from earlier, i may have worded some stuff wrong. My powersun 160 is used for my basking light. I may have confused you when i said i had a zoo-med basking light. Those are two differant kinds of lights.

 

[mr.tegu]

LOL, DID I GET IT STRAIGHT THIS TIME?? :doh

 

[Beasty]

Gotcha. You said basking so that's what I thought, as you since stated, they are 2 different things.

 

[PuffDragon]

My local Petco wants $90.00 USD for ONE ZooMed Powersun. That is just ridiculous!!! I hardly purchase anything there as it is but now I'm really set on not going there. What's the prices for you guys?

 

[crimsonrazac]

They want 75 at my local pet shop. Thats why I love the internet!

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

anyone here heard of or used the Sunforce MVB from Big Apple Herp? They claim that

"SunForce Bulbs output UVA and UVB with MicroWatts/CM2 that is as much as double that of competing brands. This output also enables our bulbs to penetrate further into your cage insuring proper UV for your reptile."


They are cheaper than Powersun and Mega Rays. Here is a link to them...

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[Patimus]

I have an Exo-Terra Solar Glo (160 Watts)

 

[PinkPunisher]

anyone here heard of or used the Sunforce MVB from Big Apple Herp? They claim that

"SunForce Bulbs output UVA and UVB with MicroWatts/CM2 that is as much as double that of competing brands. This output also enables our bulbs to penetrate further into your cage insuring proper UV for your reptile."

I've never heard of that bulb. I would stay away from it though, double the amount of UVB can be extremely dangerous. The animal might get photoconjunctivitis which can lead to it becoming permanently blind.

Spencer

 

[crimsonrazac]

anyone here heard of or used the Sunforce MVB from Big Apple Herp? They claim that

"SunForce Bulbs output UVA and UVB with MicroWatts/CM2 that is as much as double that of competing brands. This output also enables our bulbs to penetrate further into your cage insuring proper UV for your reptile."

I've never heard of that bulb. I would stay away from it though, double the amount of UVB can be extremely dangerous. The animal might get photoconjunctivitis which can lead to it becoming permanently blind.

Spencer

I would want to see it tested long term by someone with a uv meter before I touched it.

 

[Beasty]

Find the box pic and examine it then go to the reptileuv.com site to look at their video and see what they say about it. I realize it's competition for them but just hear what they say about it. Harmful amounts of UV likely. It's better to err on the side of caution than excess.
I totally agree with the UV meter deal. I only want to deal with a "sure thing" as I'm no gambler, especially with my herps!

 

[paulsreef]

What I like about the Mega Ray 60 watt EB is that you can lower it to say 12-18 inches away and not cook your tegu, where a 100watt SB may produce too much heat at close distances. If you move the 100watt further away, the UVB is reduced. So with a 60 wattEB, you will still need a basking light to bring the heat up to the recomended temps.

 

[tupinambisfamiliaris]

I used to use Powersuns and switched to Mega-Rays about a year ago. Powersuns don't seem to produce as much heat as the Meg-Rays and require supplemental floods for me to get the temps to the correct levels. I have 160s for my Egyptian uro and my blue tegu and they both seem to work really well. The Mega Ray is only available thru Reptile UV. It seems to take a bit to get to my house in the mail, but the lack of a retail markup is nice. It's a superior product IMO.

 

[laurarfl]

Just to add...I can get PowerSun 100watt on-line for about $35.