# Recommended UVB bulbs



## MMRR - jif (Jan 11, 2009)

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.


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## Tux (Jan 11, 2009)

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!.


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## Little Wise Owl (Feb 2, 2009)

Thank you for that. 

I always wondered which ones were better.


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## mr.tegu (Feb 21, 2009)

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.


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## Beasty (Feb 21, 2009)

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.


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## John_E_Dove (Feb 21, 2009)

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.


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## mr.tegu (Feb 21, 2009)

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)


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## mr.tegu (Feb 21, 2009)

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.


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## mr.tegu (Feb 21, 2009)

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


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## Beasty (Feb 22, 2009)

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


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## PuffDragon (Mar 23, 2009)

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?


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## crimsonrazac (Mar 23, 2009)

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


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## Red Earth Exotics (Mar 23, 2009)

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...

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bigappleherp.com/Sun-Force-Mercury-Vapor-Bulbs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bigappleherp.com/Sun-Force-M ... apor-Bulbs</a><!-- m -->


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## Patimus (Mar 31, 2009)

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


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## PinkPunisher (Mar 31, 2009)

Red Earth Exotics said:


> 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


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## crimsonrazac (Mar 31, 2009)

PinkPunisher said:


> Red Earth Exotics said:
> 
> 
> > anyone here heard of or used the Sunforce MVB from Big Apple Herp? They claim that
> ...



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


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## Beasty (Mar 31, 2009)

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!


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## paulsreef (Oct 6, 2009)

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.


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## tupinambisfamiliaris (Feb 28, 2010)

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.


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## laurarfl (Mar 1, 2010)

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


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2010)

I personally think the zoo-med powersun's are the way to go. They're readily available, are priced right and last...I've had absolutely no problems with the ones I've used. I prefer the 160w UVA/UVB for a well rounded basking light and UVB source. Very good self-ballasted mercury vapor bulbs.

For more info on UVB lighting, bulbs and additional reptile care, this is a good link for those of you that haven't checked it out:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/lightingsurveyintro.htm


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## Nessie (Aug 6, 2010)

Has anyone ever used or use the fluker's MVB? I am a little confused about mvb's, how can you tell which has a better output? I have always used the repti sun 10.0 which is a higher output then the 5.0, obviously so is there a better mvb? Also I am curious how much natural sun light is needed to give them enough uv for the day? I wonder only because when we have nice warm day I get them outside but I worry they aren't spending enough time in the sun.


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## ashesc212 (Aug 6, 2010)

Nessie said:


> Has anyone ever used or use the fluker's MVB? I am a little confused about mvb's, how can you tell which has a better output? I have always used the repti sun 10.0 which is a higher output then the 5.0, obviously so is there a better mvb?



I have a Fluker's on my chuckwalla right now and I am monitoring it's UVB output (I have a Solartech 6.2). 

There has been a lot of trouble lately regarding all the MVB brands. I know personally I had 5 brand new ExoTerra Solar Glos MVBs and half were basically producing no UVB after a few weeks. I just bought a new Powersun to try out on the chuckwalla. One week later it had no UVB output. For a while T-Rex was having trouble as well as MegaRay. These manufacturers have been playing around with how they design the bulbs and obviously aren't quality testing them enough. (I am not the only one who has experienced this --> go on beardeddragon.org to see all the posts about it)

Reptisun 10.0 is definitely better than 5.0 in terms of UVB output but they don't put out nearly as much as MVBs after burn-in. After burn in my Reptisun 10.0s are putting out about 30 uw/cm^2 vs. my MVBs (that actually work) that put out at least 80 uw/cm^2 after 6 months burn in. These measurements are all at the recommended distances for each type of bulb. 

In the summer in NJ at noon, the sun is putting out about 250 uw/cm^2. So, you have to put this all in perspective of the animal's natural environment, when they are typically found basking in the wild, etc. For example, a lizard who normally wouldn't be out in the sun during high noon would probably do okay with continued exposure to lower levels of UVB.


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## ashesc212 (Aug 6, 2010)

laurarfl said:


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



Have you tested your your Powersun? I just bought one and after a week it was putting out 0 UVB. (see my post above^)


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## Nessie (Aug 6, 2010)

Please let me know how the fluker rated after some readings. That is what I just started using to replace my 10.0 and I am so scared the UV will be too low. It is a 100w Flukers Sun Spot.


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## ashesc212 (Aug 6, 2010)

Nessie said:


> Please let me know how the fluker rated after some readings. That is what I just started using to replace my 10.0 and I am so scared the UV will be too low.



I definitely will keep you posted.


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## Nessie (Aug 6, 2010)

ashesc212 said:


> Nessie said:
> 
> 
> > Please let me know how the fluker rated after some readings. That is what I just started using to replace my 10.0 and I am so scared the UV will be too low.
> ...



Thanks


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## DaveDragon (Aug 7, 2010)

I have a couple of PowerSuns that put out 0 after 1 year and a few florescent tubes still putting out 20-30 after over a year. Go figure.


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## Guest (Nov 2, 2010)

Could i take my tegu outside for a few hours to gain uvb lighting since i live in miami?


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## james.w (Nov 2, 2010)

yes the sun is the best source of UVB as long as temps are good.


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## Gandolf38 (May 16, 2011)

So-- ok, all I have for my 3 reptiles as far as UV goes, are fluorescent bulbs, as those were the fixtures I had and/or was given. All 3 of my screw in fixtures have the heated basking bulbs. I thought the fluorescent ones had a life of 1 year, and that the reptiles could be 12 in from them. I've read on here now that it's only 6-8mos and 10in. Which is correct? And how do you get them close enough if they don't always bask on their rocks or logs? What do you need to buy to test the UV, and what does it cost?
I am very worried after reading this that my bulbs might not be good enough. Is it better to have the heating and UV in one bulb together, or is it ok to have it like I do with one for heat and one for UV?

Does anyone have recommendations for a cheap outdoor cage or pen that can sit on my deck? I live in an apartment, and cant take them out in the "yard"; at least, not at my place!


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## james.w (May 16, 2011)

They have different requirements for distance depending on the bulb, the 10.0 Repti-Glo has an effective distance of 20", and the 5.0 is 10" I believe. I believe they are said to last 1 yr from the manufacturer, but the only way to really know is to test them. If possible go with a MVB for heat and UVB and use the tube bulbs for extra UVB.


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## Gandolf38 (May 18, 2011)

OK, that's good to know. It is coming up on 1 year for 2 of my bulbs, so I was going to make a change soon anyway. Thanks, James, I really do appreciate this thread and its extremely important information!


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