Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was at home depot today and was looking for a strip fixture for my tank that i am making. I came across a plant/aquarium light that the lady said would work for reptiles. I am wondering if that is true or if i need to buy the Reptisun 8.0 that I was normally going to get.

Thanks

I have used those with success on other lizards like my anoles, but I am hesitant to try them on the collareds since they are mostly desert dwellers and require more UVB than your average reptile. Though I might use one temporarily in a pinch, I'm guessing long term use would probably result in MBD.

élan
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0.2.0 Collareds
1.0.0 Mali Uromastix
0.0.1 Butterfly Agama
1.0.0 Green Anole
1.0.0 Chinese Dwarf Newt
2.0.0 California Newts
0.0.1 White's Treefrog
0.0.1 Fire bellied toad
0.0.1 Midland Brown Snake
1.1.0 Felines
0.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Equine

Without knowing the specific brand, I'd have to say no. Most plant lights don't emit any UVB at all. And the ones that do often have the UVB rays dissipate after 3"-6". There was a website posted here, I think, that tested numerous bulbs for UVB output. The results were generally bad. Zoo Med's Reptisun scored the best in their testing.

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1.0 Common Snapping Turtle (Goliath)
1.0 Brown Anole (Anubis)
1.0 Green Anole (Baal)
1.1 Great Basin Collared Lizards (Amon, Amaunette)
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Spiega)
1.0 Chesapeake Bay Retriever (Logan)
0.1 Spoiled Mutt (Storm)

All fluorescent lights contain mercury some more than others, I believe this is what's giving off the UVB. Up in Alaska if you suffer from S.A.D.D. you need to be within 15 inches of Natural Sunlight ones for 2 hours. I am not sure where it dissipates. You can get reptisun fluorescents for cheap at this site:

http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=39
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-Nicole

2.1.0 collared lizards
2.0.0 side-blotched lizards
1.0.0 desert tarantula
small tropical fishes