Reptile & Amphibian Forums

are the coil lamps and the active UV heat lamps that are sold by ESU for a lot of money the same as the self ballasted mercury vapor bulbs, and the coil lamps made by GE? by same i mean do both brands produce the UVA and UVB? or do only the ESU ones do that? are they coated with something to produce UV rays? if so, what?

Tre'
WhiteHill Reptiles

No, the coil lamps are UVB only (and not very much of it). They are essentially a flourescent tube (a very thin one) that's been formed to fit on screw-in fitting so you can hook it up to a regular dome fixture.

They don't give off heat, and the UVB ain't that great either. You'd need about 50 of 'em to give off the same UVB as a single 160Watt Active UVHeat flood.
-----
Axe
The Reptile Rooms

thanks for the info on the coils, but what i was really asking is if the knock off brands (bluntly put) like the general electric ones sold at wal-mart, SAMS, etc...produce UVA or UVB or is it just the ones made by ESU or other reptile brands that produce the UV light. specifically how they produce it...as in by a coating on the bulb or is it the gaseous substance in the vaccum of the bulb?