Equipment Review and Discussion :: basking temp?/uvb ?

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Post Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 6:57 am   basking temp?/uvb ?

hi. i haven't posted any questions in quite some time, but i am pretty stumped on 2 fairly important items that i need help on figuring out and would appreciate your input.....

my first questions have to do with basking....i had a two bulb setup with a 100w incandescent bulb and a 5w uvb bulb in the basking area until the dual lamp (i think it was a zoo med mini-dome) got a short in it and i decided to replace it with a single fluker lamp and a 100w mercury vapor bulb for some reason i don't recall at the moment. i was fine with this set up until i bought one of those thermometers that you just point and shoot and when i pointed it at mr. turtle's basking area, i was horrified to get a reading of 80 degrees...being that my intended basking temp was about 90-95 degrees, ii thought maybe it was the bulb i was using, did more research and bit the bullet and ordered the mega-ray 100w bulb at a whopping price (to me) that arrived today. i swapped bulbs, waited about 30 minutes, point and shot and got a reading of 80 degrees again....as i had never checked the basking temp when i was using the 100w incandescent bulb and a zoo med reptisun 5.0 bulb, i am unsure what the basking temp was then....

before i overreact and revert back to the old system, does anyone out there use ONLY a mercury vapor that keeps the basking temperature in the 90-95 degree range?

i purchased a uvb card that verifies whether your uvb bulb is emitting uvb or not..silly me thought that it would let you know a measurable amount of uvb...i mean, just because it lets you know whether the bulb is emitting uvb or not doesn't mean that the emitted amount of uvb is enough for your turtle's health or not....which led to my realization that i haven't the foggiest idea of what the uvb emission for a res is recommended for turtles...it just makes sense to me at least that the levels of uvb lessen over time so just because i can detect uvb emissions, how can i tell when it is time to replace the uvb bulb or mercury vapor bulb? i really want to have peace of mind that i am giving the turtle what she needs, but can't seem to be able to find a reliable way to be able to go about this....

any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
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mr.turtle
 
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Post Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:54 am   Re: basking temp?/uvb ?

Is the MVB "self-ballasted"? What's the distance between the bulb and basking area? UVB can be measured by special electronic meters, those cards are probably similar to the ones to let people know to use sunscreen.
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Post Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 12:51 pm   Re: basking temp?/uvb ?

hi...thanks for responding. yes, the mvb is self-ballasted. the distance from the bulb to the floor of the basking area is 11"....so when the turtle is basking +/- 6" away....

i wrote mega-ray with my concerns....here is their reply:

"Hi there,
Our bulbs are low heat which is why the UV lasts for 12 months instead of the normal 3-6 months of other bulbs. For supplemental heating, some use halogen bulbs or even ceramic heat emitters. Typically for the 100 watt bulbs the basking distances should be used between 12-18 inches as well. For smaller distances, the 70 watt bulb is recommended. I’m terribly sorry if you were mislead thinking this bulb is an all in one bulb. If your heat needs to be higher, you will need a secondary source.

Please let me know if you have any other questions."

yes, i do have more questions...one of which is why is your bulb $48.50 if it only provides uvb? furthermore, what does low heat, high heat or anything in-between have to do with uvb emissions? that is the first i have heard of that....so im returning the bulb and filing it under "much ado over nothing" which means purchasing yet another dual lighting fixture and separate bulbs for heat and uvb...

.i am tired of being misled and after 10 years of trying everything from a-z relating to basking, i still have yet to find a configuration, one bulb or two, that performs as promised or that i can rely on to adequately provide what my turtle requires for her health and well-being....but why does that surprise me?
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:07 am   Re: basking temp?/uvb ?

Wow, that's some response from them. I haven't used their bulbs before, but this is the first I've heard about them not putting out a lot of heat. I agree with your frustration and it seems almost pointless for most RES keepers. We you using a dome with the Mega Ray? Does Mr. Turtle get to go outdoors?
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:59 am   Re: basking temp?/uvb ?

Hi Steve and Mr. Turtle still around trying make my doctor wrong on his date for me. On Hospice Care… with my bed next to Piggley , it helps. But think I can help Mr Turtle.
Sorry it has taken me 4 days to write this had a few good hours here and there …
Hope this helps some for Mr. Turtle to gets things balanced out on lighting and temps.

Lots of info out there but too many have misconceptions about what is read or how to apply methods. Also saw reply from Mega Red… that’s a very true statement. No were on there site does it say a self- ballasted mercury vapor UVB does both. Like any forms of light does have some heat but they designed it for best usable UVB ray’s! Low heat to make them last much longer than “any” other brand. Will talk more about this area later. They do sell other bulb types for UVA / Heat. That is a specialized bulb for “UVB” rays with a lot of science behind it. They are great , what I use for Piggley. There statement is true, usable UVB rays last a long time with low heat . I use a meter and get an average of 16 months for one Mega Ray . Most any others on the market will only get 4-6 months usable UVB rays using a meter to test. This is learned over my 57 years in this hobby. Making a Mega Ray very cheap since other brands you would have to buy 3-4 to equal one Mega Ray using a UVB meter checking on adequate usable UVB rays !
Mr. Turtle there is a way to use and make adequate the low heat a Mega Ray puts out. Since you now have a “IR” hand gun to measure temp lets do this. From the floor up say about 5’ measure the temp of a room all around at that same height. The sheet rock wall to start. Move around the room measure the plastic light switch , the lamp fixtures everything. You will notice all the reading in the room have different temps ! This is true even if your AC/heater is set on a your preferred room temp , which uses ambient air temp readings not materials in the room. Same for materials used for basking area.
What is yours made of ?
Egg crate will give you one reading , slate another , rock , OTC type made with different materials , wood , polyvinyl’s and many more materials offered. All will absorb heat to a point and some hold it better than others. To save money many especially for large turtles make there own basking area but to many use wrong materials or buy something like ceramic which holds very little heat so adjustments need to be made. Secondary/supplemental heat ! I do not recommend a double fixture because too hard for some to match an incandescent /heat bulb to the type/size UVB bulb and closest bulbs may need two different height placements so single fixture accomplishes this better for each bulb. Or as I do adjust material on basking dock to work with the UVA/UVB lighting you want to use. My 100 watt mega ray is at 16” above basking dock with has a high reading of 88-91* by itself. I use an old extra large zoo med dock to start. But that dock would not give me the temps I wanted with my system and height for my UVB readings I wanted , so I added natural real cork on top of it which holds heat differently/ better. Took some experimenting but natural cork seems best for temps we want .
A UVB meter to me is a must to know for sure and the “IR” gun for temps ! Many types for this, study up on UVB meters , some read (uW/cm²) which is what I have ( an old 6.2) or read some the ferguson zone which is great too and many other types. To bad a single meter cant read all the different ways to read UVB but then it would cost thousands of dollars. I use an old 6.2 model. Here’s agood site for them: https://www.solarmeter.com/

Some articles worth reading :
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=UV ... ORM=VRDGAR

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/usinguvmeter.htm

http://www.reptileuvinfo.com/#lighting-reptile-health

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cklUCpqsBp0

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile ... formation/
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:23 pm   Re: basking temp?/uvb ?

Hi Litefoot! I don't have much to add to the discussion here, but just wanted to say it's great to hear from you. Give my best to Piggley!
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