How many 2 foot UVB tubes would you recommend for a

[Sweetysmum]

Bearded Dragons glass terrarium five foot long by 2 foot high by 2 foot wide.

Thanks guys,

[alanmin4304]

I have one that size with a four footer in there so two would be my thought.

[Sweetysmum]

Hi Alanmin, is it a single batten with one tube that you have. Thanks,

[livingart]

they have a favourite basking spot

usually a high point near heating

if you place the light right you will get away with one light

if more than one beardie then more than one light

[livingart]

from here

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=42391

A UVB fluorescent bulb or tube a maximum 30cm away from lizard, an under floor heat pad and or a ceramic heat emitter.

A good Temperature range is 40 - 45C at the basking spot and the low 20 - 25c at the cool end, night time temps best not to drop below 15C. Barbata’s can handle a slightly lower temperature range.

[livingart]

rabbit hutch and put them outside

[Insect Direct]

i use in similar sized setups

one double 2' batten holder. with only one uv tube and 1 daylight soley to add more light.

other setup just one 4' uv tube

then every warm day put the bds outside for some sun, cant beat it. Just make sure they can get away from direct sun if they need to/get to hot.

uv tubes/bulbs "seem" to be getting better all the time. I wouldnt mind trying something different.

[Westmike]

With a decent rabbit hutch ro reason why they cant be outside 24/7

[DonnaM]

Don't know if its any help, but these guys in UK are pretty useful when it comes to reptile bulbs and how/ what /where etc. I sent an email about a brand of reptile bulb I was wanting to check out for the turts and theres a link to a web site in the reply... now if I can just work out how to transfer that info without losing all this typing :roll:

......The tubes that have proven hazardous, to date, have all been of Chinese manufacture. The Chinese use combinations of glass and phosphors which can allow hazardous, abnormally short-wavelength UVB and UVC through. I tested some Chinese samples a while back, which Chris sent me because he suspected they could be dangerous. He was right.

However, Sylvania Reptistar tubes have a very good spectrum. They are ideal in my opinion for use with reptiles. They are made by a German company and are very high quality.

I tested one about a year ago and the results were very good. Here is the "Conclusion" from the report I wrote for that lamp - a 24", 18-watt T8 tube:

Conclusion

These results indicate that this lamp has a spectrum which is very similar to that of sunlight in the UVB and low UVA wavelengths and does not have any significant output at lower wavelengths which are not found in natural sunlight. This is close to the ideal spectral power distribution for the production of vitamin D3 in the skin. This lamp produces UVB in the wavelengths required for vitamin D3 synthesis, but the output is low and even at fairly close range (between 15 and 30cm) never exceeds UV Index 1.0 - that of a heavily overcast sky or relatively deep woodland shade.

This lamp is likely to be appropriate for general use in a small vivarium where it can be sited appropriately above the reptile’s basking area. It might be suitable for species which normally live in habitats shaded from intense sunlight. Species which, in the wild, bask in intense sunlight would normally require a higher UVB level at the basking spot, since very prolonged exposure to this lamp would be needed to produce the equivalent ‘dose’ of UVB radiation to that provided by short-term exposure to full tropical or sub-tropical sunlight.

The lamp does not produce significant amounts of visible light and the spectrum is discontinuous. In most situations, it would not provide sufficient visible light, on its own, to simulate daylight in a vivarium. Like all UVB fluorescent tubes, it would be best combined with an intense full visible-light spectrum lamp (such as a halogen or metal halide lamp) to produce a basking spot resembling natural sunlight.

You definitely want to remove ALL plastic or glass from between lamp and reptile. UVB (which they need to produce vitD3) is completely blocked by almost all ordinary glass and plastics. Some of the light fittings - even ones sold for reptiles!!! - have so-called "transparent" covers which say that they let all the beneficial rays through, but believe me, they don't!! I haven't found a single one which is any good.

Something else it's worth knowing, is that the UVB from a tube is strongest towards the middle of the tube and tapers off at the ends. So if you hang one long tube over several tanks, the end tanks will go short..

I don't have a diagram for a Reptistar but the ZooMed Reptisun 5 tube is almost exactly the same. (Actually I believe from looking at the spectrum, that they are the same.... they both come from Germany....) Here is what the beam looks like: (I made these diagrams for a talk I did for the British Chelonia Group last year)

Sylvania Reptistar tubes (like all fluorescent tubes) do not produce the same amount of UVB as direct sunlight. As you can see, they produce about the same amount of UVB as you'd get in outdoor shade on a sunny day, if you hang them at about 8 -10 inches above the turtle's back. You can improve this by fitting an aluminium reflector strip behind the tube, so it reflects all the light, including the UV, down towards the turtle... you can almost double the UVB... but although this is better (and I'd recommend doing it), it's still not like real sunshine.

If you have species like some tropical Asian turtles that live in leaf litter or mud, and in forest shade, these tubes would be ideal.

If you have species that bask in full morning sun, like the American Red-eared-slider turtles so popular in the pet trade here - and Mediterranean or African tortoises that live in dry arid grassland and would get a great deal of sunlight - especially if they are suffering from metabolic bone disorder from insufficient vitamin D3... I would recommend one of two things.

First - can you give them real sunshine? Not filtered through glass or plastic of any sort? Outdoor tortoises and terrapins usually get plenty of UVB all summer in the UK, and NZ is mostly at more sunny latitudes than here...

Secondly, if they must be indoors - do consider high quality mercury vapour lamps, if you can get some. If only for treating the worst cases of MBD. I don't know what you can get in New Zealand, (Chris will know - maybe he already supplies them?) but I would suggest avoiding anything made in China, and anything with a totally clear glass face. Some of them have dangerous pencil-thin beams of UVB that are far too high. Others produce little UVB at all...I've tested a couple of Australian mercury vapour lamps.

The "Oz Bright" lamp from UltimateReptiles.com.au was very poor quality. It was Chinese-made. The UVB beam was little better than from a fluorescent tube.

The ReptileUV MegaRay from AnimalAttraction.com.au is a Canadian lamp made for a small but dedicated home-grown company in the USA, and that lamp has always performed best in all the tests on UVB mercury vapour lamps I've ever done. Most turtles that bask in sunlight would do well under a 100W MegaRay lamp hung 12 - 14" above them when basking. With these you get UV Index 5 - 7 (ie. strong mid-morning sun) at the centre of the beam. But you need quite good ventilation and reasonably big tanks because all mercury vapour lamps give off heat as well as light and UVB. Here's what the beam looks like. This was a 60W EB lamp (needs separate ballast box) but the beam is the same with the SB (self-ballasted) lamps.

Do write again if I can help further.

Best wishes,

Frances Baines

http://www.uvguide.co.uk

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