Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I have been reading posts that say mercury vapor lamps are the way to go for UVB. I am wondering what peoples experiences have bee with them as far as longevity? I had 2 Zoomed Powersun 100w and they both went out within 4 months or so. The first one I sent back and got the warranty replacement and after the second one blew I got annoyed and stopped using them. The warranty is nice but it is still a hassle. I had them both on surge protectors and I did not lose any other lights, but maybe I just had bad luck.

I also thought they would generate more heat than they did. I was getting about a 90-95 degree surface temp according to my temp gun and they were only like 6-8 inches from the basking spot. Anyway I thought I would ask, because right now my new rhinos have flourescents and they need to be replaced soon.

Thanks

Make sure you never move them when they are on or still warm. Also never touch the bulb with your bare hand because you can damage the glass the generates the uvb.I have had good luck so far with all Mercury Vapor bulbs except for Nature zones.
Stephen

Hi there, I have a uv meter and the powersun 100's are one of the worst out there in terms of uv production especially for the price. I have been using the powersun 160s and they are ok for me but we keep most of our house really warm particularly where the animals are freeroaming. I find the 160's produce a fair amount of heat as well as uv but they give out way too soon. Very annoying and expensive. There is a newish company out there that is marketing a new mv light called a megaray or something like that built by Westron. I have not tried them yet but plan to soon. They are a similar price as the powersuns I believe. I cannot remember the site offhand. Maybe John can let us know when he gets a chance.

Carole
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Check it out. www.reptilecare.com

The one's that I am going to try out this winter are from ReptileUV. They seem to be pretty good, but I still consider them on trial since I have not used them very long. I had rhinos indoors for years with nothing but zoomed florecents for UV. The independently blasted Mercury Vapor bulbs seem to be a huge improvement. Below is a trial version that had a rapid decay rate, the new bulbs are advertised as being very stable.

when you say "huge improvement" what do you mean? do you mean in the shape of the animal, appitite etc? melissa kaplan says they are not needed (according to that article above only florecence are needed) while others say they are. my cuban is under a 160 watt powersun now. i have never had him under anything else so i dont know what the difference would be if i put him under a florecent. the electricity is killing me though. was thinking i could go and get one of those 45 watt incadecent balbs from home depot that put out a ton of heat and a florecent for both my cuban and my red tegu but i want to do what is best for them only. HHAAAAAA! what to do, what to do.

n/p

melissa kaplan has an interesting article on her site about mercury vapor bulbs http://www.anapsid.org/mercuryvapor.html its a very informative article you should check it out.

np

You can check out the new mercury vapor bulbs manufactured by Westron at:

www.reptileuv.com

and,

www.uvheat.com

The ZooMed bulbs are notorious for burning out very quickly, but they are supposedly addressing that issue and will be marketing a newer version of their bulb soon. Incidentally, the T-Rex bulbs are made by Westron as well. The advantage to the new bulbs mentioned [ie. Mega-ray Zoo] is that they are an externally-ballasted bulb that does not produce heat within like you have with internally ballasted bulbs. This feature apparently helps extend the lifetime of the bulb itself and apparently also helps in generating more UV. The only drawback is the initial cost outlay. The externally ballasted units require between $65 and $75 for the initial purchase of the ballast/socket unit including your first bulb with subsequent replacement bulbs costing only $35 to $45 which still makes them cheaper than many other internally-ballasted uv bulbs. Also, I would steer away from the lesser brand bulbs such as Nature Zone and Big Apple's Capture the Sun bulb. These are bulbs made by third parties for either Nature Zone or Big Apple and neither has data to back up their claims and it is believed by some that some of the off-brand UV mercury vapor bulbs either produce no usuable UV or may produce dangerous amounts of UV outside of wavelengths usable to herps.
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois