Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 2 or will be getting two uromastyx, I was looking at this light and am not sure whether to get the 100 watt or 160, the hot end (The basking spot) needs to be kept at around 130-135 degrees! Very hot, should I go with the 160? These will be in a 75 gallon tank, with a screen top, the basking spot will be 7-8 inches from the top.... thanks! Just want to make sure I get the right lights and temps etc... but I dont wanna buy the wrong bulb becuase these are $45 bucks a whack! I appreciate everyones help with all this! Thanks a bunch!!
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Pyro/Sandfire/Orange Cross)
0.1.0 High Yellow Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Choclate/Tan Dapple Miniature Dachshund
1.0.0 Isabella Miniature Dachshund
0.1.0 Red/White Piebald Miniature Dachshund

Aol Instant Messanger - Bdubedub

In my opinion 120 F is a good temp for uros. They dont need more than that.

Sounds like you are getting things set up for them, way to keep learning and reading!

My guess would be at 7-8 inches you could go with the lower watt light bulb, if you were going for a basking spot on the ground of the 75 gallon tank I would have said the higher. What sort of lights are these at $45 a pop? Are you using MVB? It seems like those react a little differently and you should probably wait for someone who uses them to pipe up, if you are just using normal herp bulbs, I stand by my previous statement, but you are paying way too much.

Another consideration is the ambient temp of the room. If it is very cold you may need the additional wattage.

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

I use a 75 watt Zoomed and the basking spot in my 75 gal tank is 120. My uro Mali does NOT like it hotter than that. Good luck
debs
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The addiction can be dangerous. 1 Uro named Buddy aka Big Boy & 1 Ig named Tiny

I meant ZooMed buld.
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The addiction can be dangerous. 1 Uro named Buddy aka Big Boy & 1 Ig named Tiny

>>Sounds like you are getting things set up for them, way to keep learning and reading!
>>
>>My guess would be at 7-8 inches you could go with the lower watt light bulb, if you were going for a basking spot on the ground of the 75 gallon tank I would have said the higher. What sort of lights are these at $45 a pop? Are you using MVB? It seems like those react a little differently and you should probably wait for someone who uses them to pipe up, if you are just using normal herp bulbs, I stand by my previous statement, but you are paying way too much.
>>
>>Another consideration is the ambient temp of the room. If it is very cold you may need the additional wattage.
>>
>>Elizabeth
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If those are MVB floods (and they should be at that price) then they will not be as hot as a standard basking bulb. I find that my 160 MVB flood puts out about the same amount of heat as a 50 watt halogen or a 75-100 watt basking bulb.

For MVB at 7-8 inches I would go with a 100 watt flood.

I would also agree that 120 is a good temp to shoot for. I do have a basking spot that runs 130-135 but it is very rarely used. He will use it early in the day when he is trying to heat up, but even then for only 5-10 minutes. If you have several other basking spots in the 110-120 range then a hotter spot might be a welcome addition. I personally would add basking spots in this order: 115-120 (main basking spot and largest), 105-110, then a hotter 120-130 spot. Of course all those ranges could be provided by one retes stack.

Just like a good ambient temp range I like to provide a good basking range also.

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Mike Wilson
mwilson@fuu.net

If the light you are referring to is a mercury vapor bulb, if you don't have a UVB meter, do not put it that close to the basking spot. If you can't measure the UVB, you *could* be exposing the lizards to WAY too much UVB. Dangerous levels. Your lamp should be more like 18" away. Maybe 12" would be all right, but I would only do it with a meter.

Like Mike said, too, they generally don't put out as much heat, so go with the lower wattage for UVB, then get an additional incandescent light or two for heat. You might have to play with wattages there, but at least the bulbs are cheaper!
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish

>>If the light you are referring to is a mercury vapor bulb, if you don't have a UVB meter, do not put it that close to the basking spot. If you can't measure the UVB, you *could* be exposing the lizards to WAY too much UVB. Dangerous levels. Your lamp should be more like 18" away. Maybe 12" would be all right, but I would only do it with a meter.

Good point, especially with the MVB spots. They can put out a lot of UVB. My 160 watt MVB flood only put out out 60 uw/cm2 at 12 inches new, I didn't measure at 6 inches but at the bulb face it was only putting out around 150 brand new... still safe levels. At six months the bulb face was down to 48 and 20 at 12 inches. Again all these numbers were with a flood type lamp which should probably allways be used if the distance is under 12 inches. I don't have any experience with the spot types but I know they put out dramatically more in a smaller area.

I have now switched over to the new Megaray lamps and they put out intense amounts of UVB and should never be used under 12 inches. My new Megaray bulb (after a couple of day break-in) puts out 350 at 12 inches and have raised my UVB levels at my main basking spots (18 and 24 inches away ) to 120 and 90 respectively from 8 and 5.

I personally would not use a spot style lamp or a Megaray in the 12-18 inch range without a UVB meter to monitor it.
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Mike Wilson
mwilson@fuu.net