Compact Fluorescent lighting - Damaging to Reptile Eyes

[jarich]

Generally you should replace the tubes every 6 months, unless you happen to use the really high end T5 High Output type. The UV meters have come down in price quite a bit, and are only about $200 now. It might be worth getting one to check your lights and save yourself some money. So far Ive found that many of mine last around 8 months but sometimes less than 6. If you have multiple lights, over the years you will get your $200 back.

As for the CFLs the OP asked about, there were a couple of problems with them. When they were first released and used for reptiles, the manufacturers (and everyone else) wasnt really aware of the fact that these bulbs emitted a lot of short wavelength UV light due to the cheap glass being used. This short wavelength UV would cause problems with eyes (conjunctivitis) due to the rather destructive nature of the radiation. This was exacerbated by the fact that the bulbs were often poorly placed and too close to the animals. CFLs by their nature shine in a very concentrated way; the coils being wound like that emit a concentrated beam in a small area. So when people would place them close to the basking spot, there would be a tremendous amount of short wavelength UV light in a small spot. Often they were placed on the back wall of an enclosure, where the natural adaptations to shield the reptile's eyes from above was useless.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that they are produced in such a way that they do not emit much of the short wavelength UV light anymore, and that we are generally more aware of placing the bulbs now. They still are generally the lowest level of UV in the smallest spread you can get out of any bulb, but they are no longer dangerous if placed correctly.