hi - i guess i'm a "newbie" here but i have owned 2 red eared sliders for about 2 years.
i just wanted people who use the Reptisun 5.0 compact UVB bulbs to know these bulbs lasts for a year (in case some people didn't) - i had emailed a ZooMed directly and this is their response:
"Thank you for contacting us. We have recently completed more testing and have found that these bulbs still product adequate UVB/ UVA even after 12 months of use. For this reason, we have changed our recommendations to replacing the bulb once yearly. Please let me know if you have any further questions."
Kind Regards,
Ashley Rademacher
Customer Service
Zoo Med Labs, Inc.
3650 Sacramento Dr.
San Luis Obispo CA 93401
Toll Free 888-496-6633
Fax 805-542-9295
Hope this helps...!
michael



