Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does everyone else out there worry like I do about Mercury Vapor bulb life, or is it just me! I am so tired of wondering about whether the bulbs are still good (and sick and tire of bulbs breaking, burning out, going on and off every 2 minutes....)

Have members used UVB light meters, are they reliable, are some better than others, and are there any for under $100? Seems like if they work they would be a very good investment and would save money over time.

Thanks for any feedback.

I have 2 leopard torts.

I understand what your going through. UV lighting is expensive and difficult to guarantee.

I thought about getting one of the UVB light meters like your talking about but decided not to after reading some research out of Finland by JUKKA LINDGREN in a journal called Herpomania. The article's title is "UV-lamps for terrariums: Their spectral characteristics and efficiency in promoting vitamin D3 synthesis by UVB irradiation".
It was also republished last month in the Chicago Herpetological Society's bulletin.

The article discussed how different bulbs may have the same reading on a cheap light meter but actually produce very different intensity levels across the UVB range. After reading this and other articles, I've decided that getting a less than really expensive meter is probably not worth it. If you end up getting one, you may want to do some research on which part of the UVB range is most beneficial and see if any of the meters can measure just that part of the UVB range.

Jukka's article also showed that ZooMed's 5.0 UV bulb is better than other florescent types and that the mercury vapor bulbs (any type) are even better. I use ZooMed 5.0 and ZooMed PowerSuns.

Good luck,

John