Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,

I'm getting my first tegu pretty soon and i was wondering what UVB bulbs are a good choice? I already have a 10.0 Desert UVB flourescent, is this good or would a mercury vapor be better?

Stephen

I personally perfer the MVB (mucury vapor bulbs) but because it combines heat and UVB. Another high point for them is their UV doesn't wear out in 3 months like alot of the florecance. Florecent tubes might last for 6 to 8 months before they burn out but the UV filter wears out in just three. MVB often times last a year or so and tend to burn out before they stop producing UV.

However (i know lame) for a baby tegu in a smaller cage florecent bulbs would be better to help keep the humidity up as they won't dry out the cage nearly as fast as a MVB (not to say the basking bulb won't) and most of the good MVB are 100 wattage....

ok thats my two scense about that subject.

I use MVB as well. But if the baby is in a smaller tank with a few inches of mulch, then the distance between the tegu and the bulb might not be great enough to allow for a MVB to be used properly. In that case, a fluorescent tube bulb hung inside the screen lid and placed about 8" from the basking site works well. But they need to replaced often. UVB is important, but remember is add adequate calcium supplementation since the diet of young tegus is often low in calcium and high in phosphorous.