Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just separated my 8-9week old male and female. i need another uvb for the new tank. I have a tube bulb-reptisun 5.0-for the first tank. i was wondering if they sell not tube, but regular bulb uvb bulbs?

Yes they do. Try the POWERSUN UV by Zoo Med. Or the T-Rex active UV heat. I believe both of the bulbs provide good UVA/UVB light. I know the zoomed one has UVB...you might make sure on the T-rex. These bulbs get HOT though. You need to make sure you have a big enough tank. Also the UV rays are supposed to travel farther then the tubes. We all know that the tubes have to be placed within 12'' of the lizard or the waves don't reach....the powersun is supposed to be placed at least 12'' away from the animal. I think I heard it reaches about 5 feet before it starts to decay completly.(i am not sure on that though, I heard it at one of those reptile conventions).
dragons

people always say "uva/uvb" are they the same thing. im using a zoomed "basking bulb" that gives out uva-is that good enough?

No if you want to provide uvb the best bet is reptisun 5.0 or a merc vapor. Uva and UVB are different. UVB in sufficient amounts can help a dragon make vitamin d3.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

actually without UVB light your dragon can NOT make vit d3. Without D3 your dragon can NOT absorb calcium sufficiently. No matter how much calcium you feed, without UVB your dragon is not benefiting from it. the only alternative is to supplement with D3 or take your dragon outside to bask in the sun several hours a day. Some people like supplements, but I believe it is not as healthy. Why mess with nature? I have purchased dragons that were raised with no uv and "appropriate supplements", they were always a step behind the UVA/UVB light dragons, and miles behind the natural sunlight dragons. In general it seems hard on the dragons to proccess so many supplements...calcium, vitamins, and d3. It wears their little bodies down quicker because you can never supplement them exactly right. There is always too little of too much. ...it just isn't as healthy as good old mother nature. Some people I am sure will completly disagree, and defend their own ideas. Thats their right. As long as they are doing what they truly feel is best for thier lizards, and they have researched it well...not just trying to save on the high costs of these uv lights... then I have no problem with them. As I said earlier, I have even purchased several of these "supplement" lizards.
dragons