I did little research and here is 3 links:
http://asrasouthwales.bravepages.com...bulbsfacts.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/uvbanne.html
http://www.anapsid.org/uvtable.html
Most of them state that Mercury Vapor lamp put out TOO much
UVB (hazardous to human and possibly reptile) and light.
They were designed for Zoo and VERY big enclosure (6-10 feet deep and more)
They put off incontrolable heat.
"MV lamps used for reptile applications have an AVERAGE life of 6 months. Some will last shorter, some longer, but with the combined study of over 400 lamps, 6 months is the average. "
"Mercury Vapor bulbs will decay on the AVERAGE of 70%. Some will decay less and some will decay more. Simple terms, a 160wt SBMV FLOOD lamp that starts at 80uW/cm2@12" will decay (on the average) of 64uW/cm2 giving you 16uW/cm2@12". Most of the decay happens very quickly in the first few days."
Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 give off 10 uW/cm2@12" for 1 to 1.5 years.
so it's not worthing having only 60% more UVB and having to buy
3 MV lamp for the life of the Reptisun. you just need 2 Fluorescent tube.
One point is Reptile in the wild aren't under the sun 12hours a day.
Yes they need UVB/UVA but not THAT much.
if they get 1-4 hours/day it's much. we provide them with 10-14 hours a day with UVA/UVB from Tube and calcium supplement + already in food.
so MY OPPINION. I will stick to 48" fluorescent with Basking sport using regular incadescent bulb controled with a dimmer.
Any oppinion/experience ?
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