Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys..I posted in the cages forum about a lights issue I'm having (grrrr) could you read it and maybe help me if possible...thanks

I have seen adapters but I can't remember where just now. I'll check my catalogs and online sources and let you know something. You can probably get a strip light that will work for $30-$40.

>>Hey guys..I posted in the cages forum about a lights issue I'm having (grrrr) could you read it and maybe help me if possible...thanks

Ms. BlazedBetty (but not Boop):

I sent you an email reply. I hope you get it. Sometimes the system logs me off, for inactivity I *assume*, since I *do* tend to take my time writing my replies and emails. IAC, my advice was to check eBay.com for:

Shop Light

as I saw a few for auction there tonight for like $1.35 plus about $10.00 to ship (they are 4 feet long double bulb fixtures and kinda heavy) and some with a $19.00-$25.00 BuyNow option
as well. They are in eBay.Com's Home and Garden section. Peace.

E-mail: LizardKing@TechWarrior.Net
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Shark~King

After a bit of research, I have come up with the following information:

ZooMed ReptiSun 5.0

48" Fluorescent is a 40 Watt bulb T-12

Hagen ReptiGlo 5.0

48" Fluorescent is a 40 Watt bulb T-8

I hope this helps. One of them should fit your Shp Hood.

The one Zoomed 2.0 48" that I had did work SOMEwhat because it was a 36 Watt BUT that is an older light and I need new ones, and there isn't a store in this town that sells Zoomed and in order for me to order from the states, it will end up costing me close to 60 bucks for the one light, and I have to put in a minimum order of 100 bucks for it to be sent here..and then I would have to wait about 30 days for it.
The ReptiGlo are 40 Watt T8's and won't light up at all.
And ReptiGlo are the only one's I can get here.
I'm beginning to think that I'm going to have to pay for the Zoomed's to be shipped here..and I know they are a better bulb anyway, and it p.o's me tot hink I'm gonna have to pay that much for a LIGHTBULB!
Thanks for your help guys

Try LLLReptile or Reptile Direct. They have good online prices. Smith and Foster sells them for about $23 plus shipping. They are about $17 at the other two vendors.

If you are in Europe, check on Arcadia brand lights.

>>The one Zoomed 2.0 48" that I had did work SOMEwhat because it was a 36 Watt BUT that is an older light and I need new ones, and there isn't a store in this town that sells Zoomed and in order for me to order from the states, it will end up costing me close to 60 bucks for the one light, and I have to put in a minimum order of 100 bucks for it to be sent here..and then I would have to wait about 30 days for it.

Don't they have eBay.Com where you are, or some other country-wide online website where regular folk sell all sorts of stuff like shop lights cheap?
I assume since you speak the Queen's English so well that you are in either England or somewhere nearby. Surely they must have
an online auction site where you can get a brand new or pretty much brand new shop light fixture cheap. They've got em here on eBay.Com for $1.50 or so (plus shipping). It might be worth checking eBay.Com as some sellers will ship international with all sorts of options and you might be able to pay like $5.00-$10.00 for the fixture and then have to pay maybe $25.00-$40.00 shipping international with maybe a 7-14 day ship time to reach you.

Check eBay.Com out and send some of the sellers of shop lights an email (email address on the screens showing their items up for auction and eBay and PayPal are both completely free services to use. NO COST!) and see if they'll ship international for you and at what cost and how fast they can get it to whereever on this crazy planet you are currently located. And BlazedBetty, for your benefit a very special website you should take the time to visit:

http://www.ezau.com/soul/desiderata.shtml

>>The ReptiGlo are 40 Watt T8's and won't light up at all.

R U sure the ReptiGlo are 40 Watt T8s or did someone tell you that? Do you have them in front of you and it's written right
there on the box? I know you know by now that there are a LOT
of people in this field who don't know shxt. I find it hard to
believe that ZooMed would make a bulb for sale in this country that does not work in standard 4' flourescent lighting fixtures. I know. I checked the electrical supply houses online for T8s and T12s and none of the T8s go above 32 Watts. Above 32 Watts and you need to go T12. Wouldn't suprise me if some pet store moron steered you wrong with bad info and told you the ZooMed ReptiGlo 5.0 4' flourescent bulbs are 40 Watt T8s when in fact they are 40 Watt T12s!

>>And ReptiGlo are the only one's I can get here.

Can't you get a local pet store to special order for you? Let them know you're no dummy when it comes to herps and that there's potentially some money in it for them if they can offer their customers ZooMed superior quality reptile supplies, blah, blah, blah.

>>Thanks for your help guys

That's why we're here. To feel bad when one of us is faced with the madness that can make an otherwise interesting and fascinating hobby so frustrating. Chin up Kid! Take some time to check out that website I gave you up above. Peace.

E-Mail: LizardKing@TechWarrior.Net
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Shark~King

Hey guys
The problem wasn't trying to find a shoplight, those are a dime a dozen..the problem is trying to find one that will take a 40Watt, as many (well, ALL the ones I've seen) contain a ballast for a MAXIMUM 32 or 36 Watt bulb..the 48" bulbs that I use is a 40 Watt and will not kick in shoplight because they do not have a 40 Watt ballast. And we have not been able to find a 40 Watt ballast to replace the 32 Watt ballast.
But I have spoken to several breeders who do not even use the "reptile brand" bulbs, such as Zoomed and ExoTerra. One I spoke with used Verilux, but the rest used bulbs from Hydroponic companies. They all have very healthy breeders, and found their reptiles seemed to improve when they stopeed using the Zoomeds and such and switched to the other bulbs. Apparently the "reptile lights" do not last as long as they claim either, as I was even told from 2 different stores that sold both brands. Both stores told me that the UV in the bulbs was really only sufficient for the first 2 months or so, whereas the hydroponic bulbs last up to a year.
So I have decided on the hydroponic bulbs, which are T12 and fit nicely into my light fixture
Thanks for all your help

BlazedBetty wrote:

>>Hey guys

Hey, yourself! What's up?

>>The problem wasn't trying to find a shoplight, those are a dime a dozen..the problem is trying to find one that will take a 40Watt, as many (well, ALL the ones I've seen) contain a ballast for a MAXIMUM 32 or 36 Watt bulb..the 48" bulbs that I use is a 40 Watt and will not kick in shoplight because they do not have a 40 Watt ballast. And we have not been able to find a 40 Watt ballast to replace the 32 Watt ballast.

Well I still find it hard to believe that ZooMed would market a 40 watt bulb here in the US that requires a T8 ballast when the standard here is that anything over 32 watts requires a T12 ballast. Methinks someone fed you some bullsh*t. Even so you simply look around for a replacement fixture with T8 ballasts that might will accept the 40 watt bulb and hopefully at the cheapest price you can get it for. eBay.Com is real good for cheap, good quality even if it isn't always, but usually is, brand new merch.

>>But I have spoken to several breeders who do not even use the "reptile brand" bulbs, such as Zoomed and ExoTerra. One I spoke with used Verilux, but the rest used bulbs from Hydroponic companies. They all have very healthy breeders, and found their reptiles seemed to improve when they stopeed using the Zoomeds and such and switched to the other bulbs. Apparently the "reptile lights" do not last as long as they claim either, as I was even told from 2 different stores that sold both brands. Both stores told me that the UV in the bulbs was really only sufficient for the first 2 months or so, whereas the hydroponic bulbs last up to a year.

Cost of the hydroponic bulbs?

>>So I have decided on the hydroponic bulbs, which are T12 and fit nicely into my light fixture

Well that's great news! At least your entire weekend wasn't spent dealing with the problem. Glad to have had the chance to at least try to help you solve that problem and we all learned that grow lights are potentially better than the mass market reptile pet lights as far as quality. Word up! ~~{~~~}~0

>>Thanks for all your help

Hey, that's why we're here. I'm doormat #1 and the other guys are doormats numbers 2 and 3 respectively. Just kidding, Betty.
You're the best! Glad things worked out for you. Peace.

E-mail: LizardKing@TechWarrior.Net
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Shark~King

Crap I wrote that so fast before the insurance dude got here..and I just read it and realized it's really confusing LOL!
I can't get Zoomed's here anymore..so I don't know what wattage they are or if they are a T8, T10, or T12..I did have a 48" 2.0 Zoomed that was 36 Watts and worked in the shoplight fixture (because it was only 36 Watt), but I needed new bulbs, and they no longer sell Zoomeds here, just ReptiGlo.
ReptiGlo 48" 5.0's and 2.0's are T8 (T being the size of the bulb)..AND they are also 40 Watts..
Shoplights are usually made for T12's..and you can use 40 Watt bulbs because they have a 40 Watt ballest. But the newer fixtures can take the newer more efficient T8 bulbs, but the T8 ballests (at least all the T8 fixtures and T8 ballests we've come across) are rated for a maximum 32 or 36 Watt..and will not kick in a 40 Watt T8 bulb.
I'm sure they make fixtures and ballests for 40 Watt T8 bulbs, maybe just not where we live (in a small place in BC), or at least not anywhere we went or called or emailed.
I've asked several people about this, but so far they just say that you can just take out the T12 and put in a T8 and it should work just fine, although there will be a small gap. I'm thinking they aren't realizing that what I'm saying is that I have not been able to find a T8 fixture or a T8 ballest that will take a 40 Watt T8 bulb.
I'm getting the feeling that I am rambling on about this lol, so now that I have a different bulb, I'll just leave it alone..lol..
And once again, thanks for your help (It's nice to know you can post a question without being attacked )

The hydroponic bulb is only going to cost me 20 bucks! Much much nicer than the 50 that I have to pay for the ReptiGlo bulbs! Especially when they last so much longer too

According to the ZooMed catalog, the 15" (14W) and 18"(15W) are T8 bulbs. Everything else is a T12. That includes the 24" (20 W), 36" (30 W) and 48" (40 W).
I don't have the Hagen catalog but Smith and Foster has the ReptiGlo 5.0 bulbs listed in their catalog as all T8 bulbs.
If you choose to use non-reptile fluorescents, make sure you keep an eye on your calcium supplement schedule.

I was wondering about that...
Right now I'm dusting with calcium 2-3 times a week, depending on how they're eating..and once in awhile I give them vitamin supplements in their water. I'm not sure how to vary this using the new lights..from what the breeders said and the store where I got the bulbs, the UV would be equivalent to about a 2.0 but on a steady basis, whereas they say the "reptile lights" become very weak very quickly. They say if you buy a 5.0, within a month and a half to two months, you're light is equivalent to a 2.0 and lessens continuously. I have read some stuff that supports this.
Any suggestions on the calcium and vitamins? Should I lessen the dustings?
It's actually really hard to see how much my Haitian is eating without digging around in his place to look for stragglers because he won't hunt when being watched and he HATES it when I poke around in his house! And he won't eat out of a food dish..any suggestions on this as well?

I think I answered that by my private post.

Hi, BlazedBetty!

>>The hydroponic bulb is only going to cost me 20 bucks! Much much nicer than the 50 that I have to pay for the ReptiGlo bulbs! Especially when they last so much longer too

Well think of it as getting "paid" for all the aggravation you had to go through. Now go out and buy yourself and your Anole(s)/Herps a little treat with all the loot you saved. Oh, and take the lesser-half (if you got one?), too! Peace.

E-mail: LizardKing@TechWarrior.Net
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Shark~King

ZooMed makes ReptiSun 5.0 bulbs and Hagen (ExoTerra) makes ReptiGol 5.0 bulbs.