Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this on a site as I was looking around today... I should have copied the name of the site as well, oops. It was a UK chameleon site.
When first released these were going to change the way we keep chameleons. This is true to some extent because they provide UVB for a much greater distance than the traditional flourescents. This meant a "free range" set up could be provided with sufficient UVB covering a greater area and heat, all from one bulb.

The problem with these bulbs is the same reason as the benefits. They are very powerful. In reality many chameleons do not bask for huge amounts of time. Possible exceptions are chameleons that come from areas, which are devoid of vegetation at certain times of the year. Examples being Veileds, Oustalet's and Verrucosus.

In summary they can be a good lamp if used in the right circumstances (large enclosures or free range) and with the right species of chameleon.

Note of caution
Several keepers have noticed reduced fertility and deterioration in the general health of Panther Chameleons kept under high powered (100w plus) mercury vapour bulbs. It has not been proved that the bulb is to blame but the animals in question improved when the lighting was replaced with Zoomed 5.0 tubes. For this reason we suggest very careful monitoring when using these bulbs.

After the problems I had with breeding Orion, I couldn't help but wonder if this had something to do with it. I was just wondering what type of lighting was/is used by anyone on here that has had fertility problems with their female(s)?
THANKS!!
~Lindsay

hmmm...interesting. Luna wasn't bred so it is the opposite - in a way - but she had no problem with either clutch (it was ME who had the problem the first go 'round! LOL!). it would be interesting what Erin and josh used and other folks. You should do a survey on the forum.

A tip about finding a site where you read something that you have copied and pasted: copy the first line of text, paste it into google and put quotes at beginning and end, and you will find the site - the link is:
martin's reptiles UK

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

I haven't had any fertility problems with any of my Chameleons, but I have had lots of problems with MV bulbs. Everything from them just quiting after a couple of weeks, being blazingly hot or not hot enough, or not providing enough light to illuminate the cage. Fertility problems caused by MV bulbs sounds pretty far-fetched, but there might be some merit to it. A friend of mine has a UV bulb tester. We checked all the different brands of the bulbs that we own. We found one bulb that was still producing UVB in a viable range after three years. It was a Reptisun 5.0. I decided I would go back to the Reptisun 5.0 bulbs and wait for somebody to produce a reliable Mercury Vapor. I don't think it has happened yet.

Personnaly, i don't favor MV bulbs at all. I have heard many problems, wheter it be reproductive problems, and even eye problems associated with MV bulbs. Initially people were excited, buying the MV bulbs when it was released and was all the rage, but i hear there are less people using them these day. I've perosonally had problems using overly high UV lights. My chameleon went almost blind in one eye when i first tried a new bulb, but since changing it, she has regain her vision.

Now some people might had success with their high UV lamps, but the fact that its success rate is not even close to 80%, i'd personaly stay away from it. I use to wonder wheter they'd be any difference using an 8.0 and a 5.0 bulb. I thought to myself, "the sun is much stronger than an 8.0 or even an 11.0, so heck...it should be a problem." but then, why would the packaging on the lights say "dessert" or " tropical". Anyway, i changed all my lights to 8.0's, and some reproductinve problems have occured in the females that were under 8.0's, as opposed to the ones that are under 5.0's. I am not sure if there is any relation here, but this discovery iscertainly worth more looking into.

So, altough lots of people have had success using high Uv bulbs, there are quite a number of people who havn't, even well establish breeders. SO untill they make a better product, i shall refrain from using one unless i need to cure MBD.

I think that they would be usefull in full room set ups or large greenhouses, but for single cages they are too much i think. My female had eye problems, and now that she is under a regular 5.0 she is getting better... I didn't think until now, but it may have been the bulb. in the wild there is a lot more shade and regulated uv for this reason. If they are subjected to full blasts of uv 24/7, rather than when they chose as with a flourescent, then it's not good, imo. I won't be going back to mv any time soon...

I don't know if any of you are on the Topica.com cham forum, but there has been a good discussion about MV and chams too. Might want to check the archives.