Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey I'm looking for an alternative to the long tube bulbs of UVA/UVB light for my box turtles and thought I should go with one of these two... anybody have any experience with either, preference?

I know at my local zoo (Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle) they use the T-Rex Active UV Heat bulbs... but they are like $20 more than the Zoomed Powersun... just looking for some input...

Thanks in advance!
Ryan

I think it depends on the size of your enclosure. Some of those bulbs are pretty powerful, and might produce more light/heat than a box turtle would like. If you have a lot of plant cover (artificial or real) to help diffuse the light, and your enclosure is pretty large so that the light is a good distance above the turtle, then it might be what you'd want.

Katrina

I use zoomed powersun for my box turtle, and I think it works very well.

these type of mercury vapor lamps are really meant for rather large enclosures outdoors or an area where people will not be
for long periods.
yes they put out more UV than a flourescent, but that's part
of the problem. there is so much UV radiation ( keep in mind-radiation is exactly what it is ) that it poses some risk to people in close vicinity. particularly to your eye sight.it will literally "flood" the surrounding area with intense UV radiation.
this why for the most part and for many years the "tubes"
are what has been marketed toward indoor reptile setups.
because it does not project the UV that far. the mercury vapors
were marketed and sold more exclusively to the serious herper
that had numbers of reptiles and enclosures outdoors or in a specifically dedicated reptile room.
I don't think the benefit to the animal outweighs the potential risk of using one indoors, say if you have an aquarium in the living room or bedroom. at minimum, if anyone is already using one of these in such a situation, I would advise shielding the
lamp in some manner so that UV cannot be radiated to the sides
and away from the habitat.
see the following link on the Horned Lizard forum:
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=662107,662107

Mick