Need UV lamp advise

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porkosta

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Hi All,

I was just wondering on what brand and rating everyone recommends for a UV tube.
I need a 36' tube to suit a pygmy bearded dragon. He is about 11 months old.

Has anyone got any suggestions as I heard about all the different brands with no real indication on which ones are the best.

Thanks in advance,

Andy
 
The NEC T10 Standard Black Light UV Tube is the best on the market for UV-A and UV-B, you can get it in 30watt-36inche long, and they a the NEC T8 standard Black Light UV Tube, where they have a sky blue look when turn on, and they should last for 12 months, based on 8 to 10 hours of use per day.
 
For brands of electricals... i have URS plugs & globes Exo-terra are just about the best
have had a few problems with Repti-pet...the globes dont seam to last more than 3-4wks
 
A Tube is OK, but if you have the space in your enclosure a Mercury Vapour lamp far surpases the tubes. I invested in a UV Meter to check the output of different lamps and found that UV tubes, even the pricey 8.0 and 10.0 models, provide very little UV when compared to the sun. Most at more than 250mm provided less than 20 Microwatts which is four times less than the output of the sun in the winter solstice, and about 16-20 times less than the sun in the Summer Solstice. Mercury Vapour lamps can provide concentrated areas of between 100-300 Microwatts and even higher. The distance from the lamp is important and if you don't have a UV Meter I'd play it safe and not have the animals more than 300-450mm from the lamp.

So, I'd suggest that if you can use a Mercury Vapour lamp, then do so. If you must use a tube try and get it as close to the animals as possible, even within 100mm is fine. Also with a tube, use a reflector. You can make a reflector quite easily with some thin aluminium sheet from the hardware store and a couple of curtain rail clips to hold it to the tube. A reflector nearly doubles the amount of UV you project towards the animals.

There's loads more great info at a website called uvguide.co.uk. Worth a look.
 
i use a repti glo 10 tube, i've always used that brand and theyre great.

Mylar photo paper apparenty had the best results as far as making a reflector goes.

its still a good idea to get ur dragon into the sun occasionally regardless of what UVB source u use.
 
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