I have a friend who uses them with some reptiles (old habit, like your arguement, just in case). He had a business that deals with reptiles, he bought those UV bulbs (the top 3 brands) for the same price it cost him to buy ceiling lights for his shop, around $2-$7 each, why is that? I can tell you, there is no difference besides the color of the light produced, also they had prices set on each to sell them for $19-$50 each, wow the profit margin, but some people will pay that.
I tried using regular bulbs in place of UV bulbs that I used at one time, there was no difference at all. The difference came when I removed the extra light assembly, without the small amount of ambient heat produced the lizards dulled in color some. Why, if you put a reptile in a room thats cooler it will be darker and duller than one in a warmer romm, something to think about.
The only benefit Ive ever seen to UV bulbs is profit produced by their sale.
But as I tell everyone else, its your choice to use of not use them, when I bred beardies they recieved no benefit from having or not having those bulbs, in fact the brightest most colorful examples I have ever seen lived under a common household blacklight bulb and the same floodbulbs Ive always used.

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