Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my mv bulb for orion in june or july. it's on as her main light and there is a basking light on over one of her branches also. I also have a plain flour. light over the other end for light. I didn't know that mv bulbs should only be on for four hours... i can't get a new light and timer until Friday at the earliest (I just got a new job and spent most of my pay on new work clothes)... I'm going to get a floodlight and have the mv on a separate timer so it is on first for 2 hours then the spot and floodlights come on, then they go off and the mv is on for two more hours before lights out. Does this sound ok? Is there anything I should be watching for as far as damage the mv could have caused from being on too much?
Thanks
~Lindsay

I use another strategy: I cover the top of the cage with a piece of plexiglass. The plexi covers most of the cage top and restricts the area of UVB to a small 7"x7" area. So the only time the cham gets the UVB is when he/she is directly under the light. I can't swear that this is a great idea. It's just something I'm trying to deal with the excess UVB from the MV bulbs.
Ed

If mv bulbs give off too much uvb, then are the stiplights better. they only give decent uvb for about a foot, but that way the cham can choose if he/she really wants to be in it. What if there was a striplight on one side of the cage, and the rest was regular lights...
This uvb thing is starting to confuse me. I thought before that mv bulbs were good to use as a heat source for ambient temps and for full day uvb. Now I'm not so sure... AND, if you only use your mv bulb for four hours a day, then the bulb would be good for a few years, wouldn't it? i've already got the bulb, so I don't want to switch back to flour. lights. So... i'll put it on a timer. hopefully i'll get alonger lifetime out of it at least. A question to those who use mv - what do you do??
ALSO, I could set it up so that the mv was on all day for heat, but only on half the cage, so she could chose to be in it. But... I am building her a smaller cage (she doesn't use all of her cage now. i thought she was male so it's large for a female - smaller is easier to keep up humdidity etc). SO I was planning on using the mv as the main light for it. DAMN!!! Now I have to figure it all out again...

Since they can be used to cure or prevent MBD but if you read the box carefully it says to use them from 4-8 hours a day.
Since my animals did not have MBD I opted for 4 hours and I set mine up on a timer. Since the bulbs are expensive I can probably double the life of the bulb by cutting down to 4 hours a day. If you are using it 12 hours a day you are probably cutting down the life of the bulb by 1/4 at least.
Your cham is probably fine if she has shady places to retreat to.
The bulb is acting like the sun (Just not as powerful) So if using it you should have shade available for the cham to retreat from the rays when she wants.
Since my bulb is 150 watts I use it as basking and UVB for those 4 hours but you have to make sure the basking site gets hot enough in that time span. Then I have a timer that turns on the Reptisun and heat bulb for the remainder of the day or 8 hours. Just make sure you have the MVB shut off 15 min to 1/2 hour before the other comes on so you do not risk burns or overheating if the two accidentally overlap.
Hope this helps.
Sonia

Ed,

Thanks, thats a great idea and at a perfect time. Just bought 50 sheets of smoke colored plex 48 x 48 x 1/8 from a discount supplier for $2 a sheet. Wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but the price was too good to pass up.

Yosemite
Reptayls Ltd