Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have five flourescent tubes on my Jackson's setup.

They are all Reptisun 5.0s.

This is very expensive.

Can I use say, two RS 5.0s and three regular ole'
plant/aquarium tubes (to save money) and still
give my Cham the needed UV?

I want to achieve bright daytime conditions without
spending a fortune. Unfortunately, my studio apt.
has no windows on his end and it's pretty dark.

Also, are "high output" tubes available?
The Reptisun tubes sure aren't bright.
They're only 15w. Do they make higher
wattage tubes in the 18" size?
Maybe I'll check the 'Depot.
The lower half of his cage (it's 4' tall)
is very dark. I just want to get it brighter
overall during the daytime.

Any thoughts?

Unlessthe cham has a calsium deficiency, you really don;'t need that many bulbs. If you do want to give him that much lighing, then use a MV bulb like the ZooMed Powersun UV bulb. Make sure he doesn't overdose on vit. D3 with that much lighting.

A Powersun MV bulb would create way too much heat for my Jackson's.

And, I really don't think a vit D3 overdose is possible due to light. Five little 15w Reptisun bulbs don't even begin to approach the strength of natural sunlight.

I just want a way to get my cage brighter overall without spending $200 and wondered if two Reptisun bulbs were sufficient for UV.

I don't know if it's a D3 overdose but a recent paper by Gary Ferduson in Zoo Biology has shown that too much UVB can and does have a deleterious effect on pardalis reproduction. You definitely have way too much UVB.
Ed

One other thing: The MV bulbs do NOT put out more heat than an equivalent halogen bulb. Besides, the MV bulbs should be at least 12" from the basking spot. I use them and I also cover 3/4 of the top of the cage with clear Plexiglas to block out UVB for most of the cage. Otherwise you'll overdose with UVB.
Ed

Geeeze louise I bet your electric bill is high. I would retire 3 of those Repti-Sun's until the other 2 run out. Those bulbs aren't cheap, and if you're replacing them every 6-8 months...You'll have a small fortune in bulbs on your hands. If you're worried about lighting, Try just regular incandesent bulbs with your basking bulbs or just a regular floresent bulb in combination with your reptisuns. These put out much more light and I don't think there would be any harm in using them.
--Cory C

Thanks for all the advice.

I went ahead and cut back to two Reptisuns and three
regular tubes. It's a little brighter.

I really don't understand how 5 or even 50 15w Reptisun bulbs could
even come close to having the same UV ouput as the sun
(in regards to UV "overdosing", but if the consensus is that
one or two Reptisuns is ample, then great! Saves me money.