I used my solar meter 6.2 some time ago and measured the direct sunlight UVB. It measures in: uW/cm2

The reading around 1:00pm (afternoon) that particular day was nearly 340 uW/cm2.


I am in Florida near Tampa Bay.

But the natural direct sun will emit over 300 uW/cm2 no problem.

The UVB mercury vapor 125 watt bulb I have in one of my enclosures puts out a little over 200 uW/cm2 aprox. 6-8 inches away from the bulb.


My dragon will warm up under the bulb when it first turns on, heat up, and then is never underneath it after this. That is some intense light/heat.



The reptisun 10.0s when brand new and slightly burned in will only emit 25 uW/cm2 at 6-8 inches.

I could take pictures for you.


The direct sunlight is very powerful and will kill your dragons they should only be exposed to it for a short period of time at full intensity.


Sorry to hear about your loss and thanks for informing everyone.



Here is the rep I used from solar meter. It is the 6.2 version which measures UVB output. The 6.5 is nice too but more pricey, it measures the UV index.


Steve Mackin: solarmeter@comcast.net


It was 196.00$ with shipping. Great device to see what degradation your uvb lights have had.

[ Show Entire Thread ]