Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay first, how long do they last? do they actually last and give off UVB and UVA for 2 years?

second, does anyone have experience with bigappleherp.com's "capture the sun" mercury vapor bulb? apparently, there much better because they give off 157 UVB micro watts/cm square @ 30 cm. compared to powersun's and active UVheat's 50 microwatt/cm square. Are they actually this good?
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CHONG188

157!!! not at 1 foot.
capture the sun 100 watt flood (higher wattages have more UVB) testing at 1 foot-
16 microwatts per cm sq.
at 3"-
100
this is a brand new bulb.

powersun 160 watt flood at 1 foot
70 microwatts per cm sq (approximate average of 3 results)
at 3"
240 microwatt per cm sq (approximate average of same 3)
brand new bulbs

UVHeat 100 watt spot at 1 foot
225 microwatts per cm sq.
at 18"
142 microwatts per cm sq.
that is a 3 day old bulb.

Westron R-40 60 watt spot lamp at one foot
1730 microwatts per cm sq.
brand new

Westron R-40 60 watt spot lamp at one foot
700 microwats per cm sq.
one month old

The 100 watt spot UVHEAT is OBVIOUSLY the best, of the readily available ones. BUt the Westron SPot is OBVIOUSLY THE OVERALLL BEST.

here is where i got the info
http://beautifuldragons.com/
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

I have used the Westron at a distance of 6 feet and seen an increase in vitamin D levels in crocodilians compared to no UV. They don't last long though. The manufacturer says to replace every 6 months if operating for 8 hours/day. I used them for 2 hour/day to get increased levels, but after 6 months levels plummetted. This is very unscientific, but I'm not the boss.

Westron says they have a new bulb coming out that will increase life and uv levels. Contact Hertial at Westron lighting for further details Phone: 1-800-221-4289. Reagan lighting http://www.reaganlighting.com/default.htm in TX carries these "dragon-lites" and Jim Reagan used to work for Hertial; Jim is a little easier to deal with.
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Zoodude

"Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't after me."