Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to upgrade the little strip light I have to a one that goes across the whole aquarium (rather than just the basking area).

I was wondering if I should consider Compact flourescents though? I know they are big for aquarists lately, but would it be a good choice for reptiles? I don't see any Cf lamps "made for reptiles" right now, but the one CF fixture I saw said that it have 7% uvb output. Don't CF fixtures throw the light further than regular flourescents?

The Reptisun 10 says that it throws 20" from the fixture. Is that true? Would a CF do better?

The Zoo Med 10.0 emits UVB up to 20" (so they claim) so a regular tube would give UVB over a larger area. Also seems that Dragons do not do well with the compact bulbs. There have been posts here in the past where Dragons walk around with their eyes closed because of the compact fluorescents.

Scroll down and check out the thread marked "Beardie Eye issues" from May 6th.

i don't believe that flourescent tubes do squat....

if you want a true...fuller....UV light radiation...you MUST use mercury vapor lights.

if your dragon is 2 or 4 inches from the floursecent light you may only have to replace the lights every 3 months....chances are your dragon is further and therefore you'll have to replace the lights every month if you actually want your dragon to be exposed to the UV light dragons need. And thats if the light bulb hasn't been sitting around a factor or store for longer than 6 months. the phosphorus in the fluorescent light is highly reactive...hence the UV light generation when the light is on....also...it doesn't last that long.

mercury last a very long time, hence the problem with eating freshwater fish.

ask yourself this question, "why do people that use UV flourescent light still suppliment with calcium?"
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

people who use mercury vapor bulbs also still supplement with calcium.

mercury vapor is good if you have a large enough cage for it. they intense UVB is so strong from the bulbs they can actually do more harm than good. so if you cage isnt 24 inches MINIMUM tall then i dont recommend it.

the tube florescents do alot actually. there are scientific studies to prove the UVB output. compact florescents i do ot like. the rule of thumb is to have a UVB source running the most of the length of your cage.
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Beach Beardies

2.2. bearded dragons
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

I totaly disagree with Jakentbc. Mercury Vapor (which I have also) has many disadvantages too. Many tests have been done on UVB bulbs and he is disregarding their findings. Plus UVB does not generate Calcium it generates D3 which is used to metabolize Calcium. Calcium must be added even if dragons are housed outdoors.

There are no UVB lights that produce sufficient uvb for a reptiles needs, hence why suppplimentation is needed regardless. Dragons will bask more in captivity then they would do outside in natural sunlite and most reptiles don't bask during times uvb outage from the sun is at it's maxium (something like 200-500u depending on closeness to equator). MVB do produce around 50-75u and push it farther away but they do cause eye problems if mounted less than 18" above basking area.

however, I feel UVB bulbs have the same limitation as compact florescents will, they only fire UVB into a cone shape area directly below them, if the dragon is outside this area, they get little to no UVB (longer distance from light to dragon etc. A florescent tube running 3/4 of the tank length ensures a much more even coverage of UVB light striking the dragon. It may be weaker but at least it is spread over the entire tank
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PHLdyPayne