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UVB...strip or spot is better...

bakeaway Aug 22, 2012 12:27 PM

Is it better to use a lamp like a powersun to provide the heat and UVB in one area. Or use a regular heat spot and use a strip flouresent. I would think that using a strip would give UVB all trough the cage than in just one area.
Any thoughts?

Thanks
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Ball Python
Jungle Carpet Python 1.0
Eastern King 0.1
Mexican Black King
Great Basin Gopher
Hypo Brooks 1.0
White Sided Bull 1.0 (Envy)
Striped Pacific Gopher (Envy)
Axanthic Brooksi 0.1 (Mark Kenderdine)
Goini King 1.0 (Mark Kenderdine)
Northern Pine 1.0 (Nick Puder)
Arizona Mtn. King 1.0 (AAM Snakes)
1.0 Pastel Red Tail Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn (Abbott line)

I love the smell of aspen shavings in the morning...lol

"To serve man..it's...it's a cookbook!"

Replies (5)

Rosebuds Aug 22, 2012 11:18 PM

What kind of lizard did you choose to keep? It really depends on the species that you keep and the size of the enclosure.

bakeaway Aug 23, 2012 03:15 PM

BTS,,,i have a Animal Plastics cage,,,3 ft long 18in wide and a foot tall. Thanks
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Ball Python
Jungle Carpet Python 1.0
Eastern King 0.1
Mexican Black King
Great Basin Gopher
Hypo Brooks 1.0
White Sided Bull 1.0 (Envy)
Striped Pacific Gopher (Envy)
Axanthic Brooksi 0.1 (Mark Kenderdine)
Goini King 1.0 (Mark Kenderdine)
Northern Pine 1.0 (Nick Puder)
Arizona Mtn. King 1.0 (AAM Snakes)
1.0 Pastel Red Tail Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn (Abbott line)

I love the smell of aspen shavings in the morning...lol

"To serve man..it's...it's a cookbook!"

Rosebuds Aug 23, 2012 05:31 PM

They get way too hot for a cage that small and deep unless it is a 40gallon breeder, which has the same width and length, but the height is 18 inches, I think. The only MVB that you could use in that cage would be a Megaray EB with a 60watt, and you would want to talk to Bob Mac About his thoughts on whether a low UVB in that set up would be better.

MVBs are the best UVB on the market. Nothing but natural sunlight is better if you have a bulb that is not flawed in some way. I understand that the Powersuns are now good bulbs. But as I said, they are made to be both a basking spot and UVB in one, and only for heat loving, sun loving reptiles. I used a MVB for a BTS when I had one here, but he was in a 4x1.5 foot tank and the height was 21 inches, so his basking spot was a good 10 inches to a foot from his basking surface and the tank had no top, so the ambient heat created by that bulb dissipated well. He loved it, but he also spent lots of time hiding.

As for covering the whole tank with UVB, that is not really necessary or wise. Animals can get too much uvb exposure and can burn. What I do when I use a tube (reptisun 10 or arcadia 12) is make sure the basking area is covered so that they get uvb in the most natural way possible in an indoor set up: when they bask. If you have a bulb that runs the full length of your enclosure, then make sure he has plenty of hides so that he can get out from under it if he needs to.

One more note on UVB bulbs: linear fluorescent tube bulbs can be great, but the animal needs to be able to get withing 7-8 inches of the bulb to benefit from it but no closer, so you will want to create your basking spot to accommodate that distance.

bakeaway Aug 23, 2012 07:01 PM

I was thinking that it might get too hot. I had one with an iquana for a bit and it did heat. But his cage was open.
I was thinking then of using a spot through the hole and put a compact UVB buld inside next to it. Or mout a strip on the far side wall on the basking side even with the basking surface.
I am so use to snakes who don't need this. But I love it.
-----
Ball Python
Jungle Carpet Python 1.0
Eastern King 0.1
Mexican Black King
Great Basin Gopher
Hypo Brooks 1.0
White Sided Bull 1.0 (Envy)
Striped Pacific Gopher (Envy)
Axanthic Brooksi 0.1 (Mark Kenderdine)
Goini King 1.0 (Mark Kenderdine)
Northern Pine 1.0 (Nick Puder)
Arizona Mtn. King 1.0 (AAM Snakes)
1.0 Pastel Red Tail Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn (Abbott line)

I love the smell of aspen shavings in the morning...lol

"To serve man..it's...it's a cookbook!"

Rosebuds Aug 23, 2012 11:37 PM

Those compact uvb bulbs are dangerous. A few years ago, they were causing photo conjunctivitis. I know that there are claims that they have gotten safer, but I read that the design itself is flawed and they will never be effective even if they have somehow been made safe.

You are much better off going with a linear fluorescent for that particular enclosure. I hear that Arcadia is a great brand. Since I used a megaray for the BTS that I kept here for awhile, I really don't know which specific UVB rating they need, but I would guess that a BTS needs at least a uvb rating of 5%.

Here is a really detailed caresheet that might provide tips. I read through it when I kept one here. He does mention the compact bulbs, but my guess is that the health problems that they cause were not known when this was written.
http://bluetongueskinks.net/care.htm

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