UV True or False????

[solitarydiver]

Hi Folks
I hope someone out there can help me with some hard evidence......
Does a 12 volt Dichroic Down light supply the required UV for an indoor reptile enclosure? I was told by a VERY reliable source that it is all he uses. And I myself was quoted as saying it was good enough for light and uv I have since been told otherwise. This debate seems to go on for me as I build another terrarium for my collection.
UV True or False????
P.S. This is a spectacular site.......... GUYS TAKE A BOW

 

[craig.a.c]

For UV I take my snakes outside for about 30 mins a week. Doesn't even need to be a sunny day, they will get all the UV they need even when overcast. I don't bother using UV lights, never have. The reptiles seem to enjoy being out in the sun anyway.

 

[Simple]

None of our pythons have uv lights, however tequila our blue tungue lizard has one. We were told that it is not essential for pythons but definately for lizards.

 

[Magpie]

Halogen dichroics put out too much UVC.

 

[solitarydiver]

Yeah I heard there is a difference
I have a few dragons so the UV issue does concern me a little

 

[Craig2]

simple bluetoungs dont need uv either just a note

 

[swampie]

'Ive been useing dicronic downlights (the one's without the glass uv filter on them )for about 12 months now and my beardies have never looked healthier , i started using them after reading some articles saying that they put out high amounts off UV and they seem to be doing the job .

 

[solitarydiver]

UVC mmmmmmm Thats a new one

 

[solitarydiver]

Thanx swampie that sounds a bit more promising... Are there any negatives... Besides too much UVC

 

[NCHERPS]

'Ive been useing dicronic downlights (the one's without the glass uv filter on them )for about 12 months now and my beardies have never looked healthier , i started using them after reading some articles saying that they put out high amounts off UV and they seem to be doing the job .

Dichroic lights with the filters removed are potentially dangerous on a number of fronts, this topic has been addressed many times on here and other sites.

Some of the main reasons for not using them with the filters removed are:
It is dangerous due to the incrediably hot temps the lights give out and the possibility of the bulbs spraying molten glasss all over your animals if the halogen bulb explodes, which isn't uncommon if exposed to things like a water spray or splatter.
Also, not all Dichroic's give out usable amounts of UVB/UVA, some don't give out any at all, the ones that do have to be positioned low and close to the animal. Also as magpie stated they give out UVC, UVC is filtered out naturally by our ozone layer so no reptile would get it in the wild or any other animal for that matter, it is very dangerous and can cause retinal damage in reptiles amongst other conditions.

Unfortunately, there is no cheap source of UVA/UVB available at the required wavelengths for reptiles to benefit from.

for more information, do a search on this website under Dichroic's or visit www.uvguide.co.uk

Cheers
Neil

 

[Hickson]

This was discussed a while ago.

Different Brands of dichroics have different levels of output in both UVA and UVB. Don't know about UVC.

Another downside that was mentioned was that when the bulb shatters it literally explodes tiny glass fragments into the enclosure, hence the inclusion of the filter glass to catch the bulb fragments. However you have to ask: how frequently do the globes explode?



Hix

 

[Hickson]

Dammit, Neil, you posted while I was typing!

But at least the better information was posted first.



Hix

 

[Craig2]

r80 lights put out uva ill look 4 the article again mirabell r80 or the like
and they r cheap http://www.users.bigpond.com/snake.man/ ... ghting.htm
great for skinks

 

[NCHERPS]

Dammit, Neil, you posted while I was typing!

But at least the better information was posted first.



Hix

LOL! Hix, Don't you just hate it when that happens!

I hope the information is seriously examined, as there are more negatives then positives, especially when you you consider you are dealing with your prized pets.

Cheers Neil

 

[Simple]

simple bluetoungs dont need uv either just a note

Cool, thanks for letting us know. We were told by by the shop that sold it to us that it was needed for bones to absorb calcium, but this "supplier" have not always been truthful in the past. Fact noted.

 

[Sdaji]

All my stuff is perfectly healthy, so I suppose they can get all their UV requirements from blue globes or heat mats :roll:

 

[Casper]

I have a friend who has 60-70 reptiles (at least) and while all his lizards are kept outside none of his snakes (pythons and elapids) have uv lights. He's fairly well respected in the blacktown area for his knowledge and experience.

 

[herptrader]

Just to clarify the exploding thing normal incandesent globes are filled with a vacuum and dichlorics halagen gas under high preasure. The likelihood of either globe shattering is remote but because one tends to implode and the other explodes the consequences are quite differen.

I have had a halogen globe, with glass shield installed, shatter. It was like a babies rattle with a billion tiny pieces of glass behind the shield. We would still have been picking the bits of glass out of the carpet had the shield not been in place.

The useable amounts of UV idea comes from a paper by Greg Fyfe who took a series of measures. We did discuss putting up his paper as a care sheet on the Herp Shop site but decided against it pending further research clarifying the findings.

 

[AntaresiaLady]

We were told by several reptile selling pet stores that UV's were definitely necessary for pythons.

Apparently CALM taught them that- according to the girl at one of the stores. They put UV lights on all their pythons in the store, when I pointed out it was unnecessary she said 'Well I don't know about you, but I'd rather pay the money than risk my snakes life, and besides did the person who told you that do the CALM course for snake care?'. I just looked at her and walked out.

 

[herptrader]

I think something like 5 minutes of sun at midday at the equator is the equivalent to 8 hours of the UV that you get from the better quality reptile lights at a distance of about 100mm.

UV tubes are a very poor subtitute for natural sun!

The newer mercury vapour bulbs, such as the "Aussie Sun" available from the Herp Shop, are a vast improvement on on tubes in terms of their UV output but are not suitable for all situations.

I have a friend who has 60-70 reptiles (at least) and while all his lizards are kept outside none of his snakes (pythons and elapids) have uv lights. He's fairly well respected in the blacktown area for his knowledge and experience.