Tom said:My UV meters say both of them are weak. You will need to replace these bulbs every three months, even though the manufacturers claim they last 6 months. DeadHeadVet has been testing all sorts of bulb and found that none of them are all that great. PM him for the details on which ones are best. I wish he'd do a big thread on this that we could just link people to.
If you are going to use the tubes, they must be closer than 12" to the tortoises skin. At 12" you barely get a UV Index of 1 even on a brand new bulb.
MVBs make more UV, but even they drop off fast, and you have to worry about keeping the bulb close enough for good UV, but not so close that it desiccates the carapace and contributes to pyramiding.
There is no good solution that I have found. There is a new (new to the US market) anyway and not widely known called Solar Raptor. Several years ago these were brought in and marketed as "MegaRay", but the company had some problems and the bulbs and system never gained widespread acceptance. Anyhow, the original company is now bringing them into the US. They are guaranteed for 12 months of good UV output, and they make some heat but not much. Their UVB output is very good, even at some distance. You might want to look into these even you rely on indoor UV as your sole source. We had a couple of threads discussing them lately, but I can't find them now.
My friend Mark sells them at his place, but they aren't on the website yet. Here is a thread on Reptile Outpost:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-70833.html
Tom said:My UV meters say both of them are weak. You will need to replace these bulbs every three months, even though the manufacturers claim they last 6 months. DeadHeadVet has been testing all sorts of bulb and found that none of them are all that great. PM him for the details on which ones are best. I wish he'd do a big thread on this that we could just link people to.
If you are going to use the tubes, they must be closer than 12" to the tortoises skin. At 12" you barely get a UV Index of 1 even on a brand new bulb.
MVBs make more UV, but even they drop off fast, and you have to worry about keeping the bulb close enough for good UV, but not so close that it desiccates the carapace and contributes to pyramiding.
There is no good solution that I have found. There is a new (new to the US market) anyway and not widely known called Solar Raptor. Several years ago these were brought in and marketed as "MegaRay", but the company had some problems and the bulbs and system never gained widespread acceptance. Anyhow, the original company is now bringing them into the US. They are guaranteed for 12 months of good UV output, and they make some heat but not much. Their UVB output is very good, even at some distance. You might want to look into these even you rely on indoor UV as your sole source. We had a couple of threads discussing them lately, but I can't find them now.
My friend Mark sells them at his place, but they aren't on the website yet. Here is a thread on Reptile Outpost:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-70833.html
pfara said:Sorry to go off topic, but Tom, do you happen to know the microwatts/cm^2 target we should be aiming for?
lisa127 said:Tom, the last time we discussed this topic (about him testing the bulbs) I thought the same thing. That I wanted a thread with all that information so I could easily see what's best.
lynnedit said:Well, Tom, that would explain why I was getting such low UV readings from my Powersuns, even in the first few months. I thought I wasn't checking it correctly.
Time to move on.
Solar Raptor looks promising.
What about the Acradia brand of bulbs; tube and MVB?
bouaboua said:I use ZOOMED reptisun.
I kept at within 12". it's been more 6 months now, the UVB reading by Solarmeter 6.2 still at about 60 µW/cm² .
pfara said:bouaboua said:I use ZOOMED reptisun.
I kept at within 12". it's been more 6 months now, the UVB reading by Solarmeter 6.2 still at about 60 µW/cm² .
You're either massively lucky or I'm not. I just replaced mine and the readings I've gotten are half that. Same height, same brand of bulb. I've considered buying Arcadia just to try it (and driving myself nuts in the process). Man I can't wait for warmer weather and good old-fashioned sunlight; less headache and more peace of mind.
ICUSleeping said:Doing some shopping for my sullys.
Having a hard time finding you uvb bulbs.
Which light bulb would be better?
bouaboua said:pfara said:bouaboua said:I use ZOOMED reptisun.
I kept at within 12". it's been more 6 months now, the UVB reading by Solarmeter 6.2 still at about 60 µW/cm² .
You're either massively lucky or I'm not. I just replaced mine and the readings I've gotten are half that. Same height, same brand of bulb. I've considered buying Arcadia just to try it (and driving myself nuts in the process). Man I can't wait for warmer weather and good old-fashioned sunlight; less headache and more peace of mind.
It is bit late for me to take photo, All tortoise are asleep.
I just lowered my light about little over a week ago to at about 10 inched from the table's floor. I remembered my 6.2 measured over 100µW/cm² by then.
I will measure again tomorrow. The height of 6.2 is about 5 inches, it is about the same height as one of my Leopard Tortoise. so you can see what UVB µW/cm² of my tortoise are getting.