I agree the self ballasted mercury vapour UV lamps need to be used with caution. With that said, I've used them extensively for the past 5 years and they are in a sense "the next best thing to the sun" (considering the sun rarely shines in Melbourne). They are very useful in large enclosures with sun loving herps, even including some diurnal sun loving amphibians (Litoria raniformis). The OSRAM ULTRAVITALUX that I use has a very narrow spread of UV.....as you deviate for the exact centre of the bulb, centimetre by centimetre the output drops significantly......if you are 30cm from the centre of the bulb, the UV level is almost zero. The main benefit over the fluorescent lamps, is they throw UV up to meter away. At 45cm from an unexposed bulb the UV output is comparable to a Melbourne summer day between 8-9:00am. I have had no problems using them.......they were used to fill a deficit that the fluorescent lamps couldn't fill. The behaviour, and associated microhabitat needs to be researched and the enclosure set up to mimic it, such as places to get away from UV etc..
----- Original Message ----- From: "Magnus Myklatun" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February 2002 10:53 Subject: Re: [Gecko] UVB lighting > > Hi > > >For UVB lighting, they are the next best thing to the sun. > > Now I hate to argue, but I don't agree with the argument that this is such a > good thing. It's true that these lamps do create more UV than others, but > reptiles in the wild are not exposed to the UV from the sun constantly. They > spend time in and out of the shade, and some diurnal reptiles spend the > hottest part of the day (which is when the UV output is the greatest) hidden > away from the sun. > Secondly, usually the figures that are used to compare UV output from a lamp > to the sun is numbers taken at noon when the UV radiation from the sun would > be the greatest. It's not noon all day, so the UV numbers from the sun can > be misleading. The effects of increased UV radiation without the shade that > reptiles can escape to in the wild, may include the same problems as > excessive UV exposure in humans. > These UV bulbs are probably very effective in large, zoo-type exhibits, but > in my oppinion, to strong for the average reptile enclosure. > > >chuckwallas which have had a remarkable response to these bulbs. They >had > >an increased appetite and started breeding like crazy. The 5% UVB > > >fluorescents did not even compare to these. > > This sounds more like a benefit from added UVA, not UVB... > > >One should avoid eye contact with these bulbs. This can be done > >by a proper set up. > > But they are ok for a reptile's eyes??? > > > Magnus > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. > > ########################################################################### > THE GLOBAL GECKO ASSOCIATION LISTSERV > WebSite: www.gekkota.com Archive: [EMAIL PROTECTED]/ > The GGA takes no responsibility for the contents of these postings. > ########################################################################### > >
