Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering how hot do the 100w mercury vapor/uv combo bulbs get? I see on some sites that the 100w's usually create a 82-85 degree basking spot, but I'm not sure if thats accurate. I currently use a reptisun 5.0 strip and a regular dimmed heat lamp as lighting in my Jackson's setup and it works well, but I am looking for a solution to use on a single screen cage that I want to use as a quarantine cage and maybe later on a birthing cage for the female. I plan on buying the small type of screen cage and using one of these bulbs on top so that I won't have to have a flourescent fixture up there. My only concern is if these get too hot for a 21" or 30" tall screen cage. Thanks for your time.
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Sal
Geckos "R" Us

www.geckosrus.com

Hi Sal,

It depends on the bulb. Powersuns tend to belt out a huge amount of heat, while a Capture the Sun of the same wattage will put out about 10F less. A 160W Capture the Sun, placed 12 inches away from Frasier's basking spot only raised the temps there by a mere 15F -- up to 85F, which is not enough for a veiled. I ended up switching to a Zoo Med 100W basking spot for heat (which brings the basking temp up to 95-100F) and a 20W Reptisun 5.0 for UV.

Hope this helps!

Julie
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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com

Most people will tell you that any kind of mercury vapor bulb is way too hot for jacksons.

Joel Fish

Thanks for the replies, I ended up just using a 40 watt day heat bulb and a flourescent light strip with a reptisun 5.0 on top. Ended up costing about 20 bucks less than a mercury vapor bulb anyways lol. The 40 watt makes a perfect 87 degree basking spot at the highest part of the ficus. Thanks again.
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Sal
Geckos "R" Us

www.geckosrus.com