UV and Heat for geckos

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jedi_339

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Hey all,

I have recently been thinking of reducing the number of electrical plugs in my herp setup. I am currently running two cords per enclosure both UVB and heat for my Strophurus cliliaris and S. spinigerus setups.

My question is, can I replace the UVB compacts (only the exoterra UVB100's) with something like an Exoterra sunray (a small one like a 35W) thereby eliminating the extra heat source or will the extra UV output of the Sunray be too great? I could put the bulb at a greater distance, i.e. 20inches to get a comparable UVB output, however the UVA output in this case would be more than doubled.

Any experience or suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers

J
 
Possibly mate... what you need to pay close atention to would be the night time ambient drop in the enclosures when the light is off and the day time spikes in summer while the heat is on.
 
Of all the geckos that would be ok with increased uv I would have thought that strophurus would be top of the list. Primarily due to the fact that they are often exposed to high levels naturally when perched on branches in the open.
I have found them around mount Isa perched on branches where the uv level was extreme . Also williamsi around St. George in similar conditions.
I haven't any experience with the bulb in question and it's use with geckos but if you could provide them with sufficient areas of cover away from direct uv exposure, but still receiving heat, it may negate any bad effects.

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I'm in south east queensland too and give no night time heating year round so doubt the temp drops will be an issue. Summers highs may be a different story but so far I haven't had any dramas either using a similar heating set up. My bulb wattage is lower though, 25w.
 
Of all the geckos that would be ok with increased uv I would have thought that strophurus would be top of the list. Primarily due to the fact that they are often exposed to high levels naturally when perched on branches in the open.
I have found them around mount Isa perched on branches where the uv level was extreme . Also williamsi around St. George in similar conditions.
I haven't any experience with the bulb in question and it's use with geckos but if you could provide them with sufficient areas of cover away from direct uv exposure, but still receiving heat, it may negate any bad effects.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm in south east queensland too and give no night time heating year round so doubt the temp drops will be an issue. Summers highs may be a different story but so far I haven't had any dramas either using a similar heating set up. My bulb wattage is lower though, 25w.

Hey butters,


that was my reasoning too, though I don't know if the exoterra bulbs might be a more concentrated output than sunny conditions.

What 25w bulb do you use for heating?
 
For heating they are just a cheap 25w compact I get from either bunnings or Coles. Nothing flash as I am really only using them for heating and they far outlast the equivalent uv bulb. I use mostly exo terra compact light fixtures or similar so 25 w is the highest wattage I can use without them melting.

at one stage I was using the 12w exo terra uv bulbs as I keep a number of small skink species but have found no difference in health or behaviour by switching to the generic bulbs.
 
For heating they are just a cheap 25w compact I get from either bunnings or Coles. Nothing flash as I am really only using them for heating and they far outlast the equivalent uv bulb. I use mostly exo terra compact light fixtures or similar so 25 w is the highest wattage I can use without them melting.

at one stage I was using the 12w exo terra uv bulbs as I keep a number of small skink species but have found no difference in health or behaviour by switching to the generic bulbs.

So you don't worry about any Uv? Just heat from normal supermarket compact?

Cheers

J
 
No specific uv no. There may be some uv from the bulbs but it would be negligible.

i am keeping Amalosia, Heteronotia, Strophurus, Carlia, Cryptoblepharus, Morethia Delma and Pygopus species under these lights and have for a number of years now. I haven't noticed any change in health or behaviour since changing.

I expected if there was a change it would be in the skink or legless lizards rather than the geckos but I haven't noticed any and I did initially take a lot of notice of the fact as before I religiously provided uv.

I do provide dusted calcium each alternate live feed and they all nibble on soft calcium dusted fruits on occasion, even the geckos and skinks. Surprised me at first but they all seem to relish it.
 
Could always switch to Mercury Vapour Bulbs, take care of both issues in one fell swoop and they're much cheaper to buy(though about the same to run I believe).
 
Could always switch to Mercury Vapour Bulbs, take care of both issues in one fell swoop and they're much cheaper to buy(though about the same to run I believe).

The mercury vapour lights (as I've just been reading about) are the exo-terra sun-glow bulbs and whilst they have a much lower UVA/B output then the other ones I was considering, which would probably suit my needs better, I'd be a bit more worried about the size of them, smallest being 125W (compared to 35W for the Sunray).
 
yeah don't really need that much heat for geckos, though simply raising the height of the globe would sort out your heat and uva/b levels, though at under $20 may as well go with the exo terra globes seeing as you can't attatch mvb's to a thermostat...
 
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