I'm Sectioning off half of a room for free roaming space for my tegu and I need a way to get him the necessary UVB in that 6'x6' area (my solarglo is only in his main vision cage). I'd like a mercury vapor bulb that can project 100+ uW/cm2 (the recommended UVB basking levels) about 4-5 feet over a large surface area. Any ideas?
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UVB in the tegu pen
- Thread starter cornking4
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- 1,445
Mega ray bulbs are used by alot of zoos because they are designed for room size cages rather then a small tank. try looking around at <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.reptileuv.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">www.reptileuv.com</a><!-- w --> the bulb im talking about is the 100wat zoo:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-160-watt-self-ballasted-flood-zoo-lamp.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-160 ... o-lamp.php</a><!-- m -->
You may not need to uvb the whole area, but the basking area ie where the tegu is going to be most of the time should be sufficant for his UV need.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-160-watt-self-ballasted-flood-zoo-lamp.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-160 ... o-lamp.php</a><!-- m -->
You may not need to uvb the whole area, but the basking area ie where the tegu is going to be most of the time should be sufficant for his UV need.
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um hum... i do not know... i know i have a lower power mega ray and i do turn it off when i work at cleaning it. More to stop the dust from catching fire than for the UV protection. There are a few bulbs on there that arent as strong and they test each bulb before they send it out so they can find one that might have less or more than listed.
The zoo bulb looks like what I would need, especially since its ideal operating height is six feet. It said that at three feet it produces sunlight levels of UVB, so I guess if I wore a hat to protect my face i'd be ok. The only thing is that they require a call and proof of UVB meter for purchase... A good friend of mine is a herp vet though so I'm sure he can get it for me. But anyway that's the perfect bulb, thanks for the info!
I would not recommend this. If you read the warnings on the average Trex 100W they mention radiation output, and that you are not supposed to be anywhere near the bulb's output for any period of time. If you have one small area heated and lit by a UVB bulb, I would use regular flood lights for the rest of the enclosure. Don't want cha to get cancer now.
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The Poweersun 150w is good at 6' as well and you don't need a UV meter to buy one...Then again cancer doesn't look fun bro.
Hmm.... I suppose you've got a point about the radiation. If I got the bulb I would always crouch while I was in the pen (I do this anyway when I'm handling him because he's a little scared of really tall things towering over him) so that I'm always below the 3 foot mark and within the UVB range of natural sunlight, and make sure to stay away from the focus. As for the thing about purchasing, that's not an issue. Like I said earlier, a good friend of mine is a herp vet and he can get me almost any equipment I need... I'm hoping to ask him about this Friday so I'll let you know what he thinks.
Holy crap I've never seen a UVB bulb that projects that far. I'm not sure how a 160 watt bulb can do that. I have a 160 watt solar glow that is comparible to the normal 160 watt zoo meds. Minimum distance 18 inches, max 24 inches. How the heck to do they make a bulb with the same wattage that puts out MORE uvb over a larger area? I'm not grasping the physics 
I would think if it put out more UVB it would be in a smaller area, like a spot light or something. My tank is 8x8 by 4 foot tall, I would love to be able to get a bulb like that. unfortunately, I'm not dropping 200 bucks on a UVB meter.
I would think if it put out more UVB it would be in a smaller area, like a spot light or something. My tank is 8x8 by 4 foot tall, I would love to be able to get a bulb like that. unfortunately, I'm not dropping 200 bucks on a UVB meter.That's where I'm lucky... The herp vet that I volunteer under has a UVB meter that he lets me take home whenever I need to. At this point though I think I'll just put two non-UVB bulbs cross-angled to light it up and a 160 watt for the basking spot. The zoo bulb puts out insane levels of UVB within a few feet of it and I'm not willing to be exposed to that, even if I'm only in the pen for a second.
