Hey all,
I want to provide my hognoses with some low-grade UVB while dialing in the basking and ambient heat. All the bulbs I find are 100w and a bit hot (or cheap and don’t give out UVB).
Real quick: I know UVB is not required. Studies show it is beneficial and so I want to provide it.
Also, if you got a cheaper bulb that advertises UVB on Amazon…test it! I have tested 3 brands and only 1 had any measurable UVB.
Right now, I am leaning towards having a basking lamp and an additional UVB 5.0 for each enclosure, but that gets expensive fast!
I wanted to see if anyone else has come up with a good solution or found a product they like.
Cheers,
Will
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I like VivTech for my UV bulbs. If you are going for low level then the ‘First Call’ model should work for you
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Just checked them out, seems like a good quality product. I’ve got a question, in terms of replacing the bulbs. Is it still the same scenario as other uv bulbs where you should replace it every year? I don’t see any info on that on the site, just the life of 20,000 hours for the led bulbs
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Thank you, I’ll check them out.
Yeah so far it seems like hognoses don’t need a high level of UVB but a bit helps in several areas.
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It seems like some bulbs last longer than others, even in the same brand.
Honestly the best practice is to just test it once a month. If you don’t want to buy a digital meter ($200+) just get one of the test cards. They aren’t as accurate but with the lower level bulbs they are good enough for most of us.
I use the brand that was recommended to me that is only $9 for 2. How it was explained to me (by someone with way more experience) is you should notice a reduced output before they give out completely since it is a powder that burns over time to produce UVB.
What he did was start the new ones for his beardeds and then use it for his colubrids when it started tapering off. Stretched the usable time to 15 months for some of his bulbs!
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20,000 hours works out to about four years of 12/12, so they have a really good life on them. And I believe they are warranted for two years
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This is only the case with fluorescent-type bulbs. LED bulbs operate under a different technology. They still degrade over time, but it is more function-based and not additive-based
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Thank you for that clarification! Good to know and it might be more economical to get one or the other based on how it works.
It’s crazy how much nuance there is to learn but it is what draws me to the hobby.
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