Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone heard any good or bad things about this right now? I am in the process of switching out my old zoomed 5.0 with a new exoterro 5.0 and was wondering if i should give these a try instead. They say they put out alot more uvb than the other fluorescent bulbs. Two questions. I heard that 15 minutes of unfiltered sunlight(i guess they mean in summer time when the uv is the strongest) is like 8 hours of light from a 5.0 bulb.
1. Is this true?
2. It is winter(late fall) here in southern california and so the uv is obviously less. How long would my new wonderful little 3 month old panther need to be exposed to to get his daily requirement(in case a bulb goes out or i just feel like giving him some real sunlight? Thanks and pics of the new guy are on the way? There is a link to the bulb i had reference too right below.
Mystic UV Bulb

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A truly wise man will always be humbled.

i am wondering about these new bulbs too.....maby somone who gut suckered into buying a uvb meter can tell us if they are good or not.

anyways i haven't heard the 15 min but i know if you dont want to use the uvb bulbs your cham will need at least an hour of unfilterted sunlight.

also i saw thisnew lamp at the petstore i work at....i cant remember exactly what the name was but it was two 13 watt compact floresents in a small hood. it said it gave of 7% uvb for a year garunnteed (test with the meter??). anyways its mad for desert animals could it be bad for veileds as i have heard of "uv burning".....its $40 so im not sure if its a good buy or not.

also what is the best mercury vapor bulb for a 2 x2x 4 veiled cage?

If you want the best quality longest lasting UVB bulb custom tailored for your setup and that literally puts out the same amount of UVB as the sun. Go to www.reptileuv.com Bob the guy who owns it is a UVB maniac and has tons of charts of actual tests of MVB and other UVB bulbs. Here is a chart from his site russiantortoise.org/uvb.htm the mega-ray bulbs on that chart are some of the ones Bob sells. I had him get a bulb custom made for the size of Leons cage and I tell you he acts just like he is outside eating regularly, basking, and although the lamp puts off a dull hue to his skin, when I take him out to roam the plants by the window or to take a pic I get to see his colors and well... take a look for yourself. Say hi to Leon!

Hope that helps! Let me know if you want more info on UVB.

Is minerall indoor the best supplument(other than gutloading) to put on food? I ask because i guess it adds d3 which is what the uvb lights are for. Thanks
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A truly wise man will always be humbled.

Well, there are other supplements that add D3 as well. Repcal's Calcium with D3 is one. I believe that the nutrients provide vitamin D3, while the UV bulbs help the animal use it.
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)