lighting?

chamitch · 09-30-03, 06:41 PM

ok i bought a bulb and ficture. its not a zoo med or anythign but it is for aquariums or reptiles. it was pretty cheap and teh color it gives off is puprly instead of that bluish u usually get? anyone have a site that explains uvb output of bulbs(liek that ratign system they have). i know most of u will say no its no good but i jsut want to know the facts.. between that bulb and a grow light basking lamp i think it should be good. there is no herp in there right now. just bougt it cause it was pretty cheap.thanks

chamitch

LISA127 · 09-30-03, 07:39 PM

it depends on the type of herp u will be getting, whether it is ok or not. it won't be good enough for diurnal, basking animals.

Lisa · 09-30-03, 07:42 PM

Some of the UV bulbs we've had give off a purple hue as well. you can't actually see uv light so i wouldn't worry about it.

chamitch · 09-30-03, 08:34 PM

i just thougth the purple could mean what it was made of. and each material that is heated gives of differnent colors.. Spectroscipy i believe its called.

it will be for a beardie... what about those grow light flood bulbs?

thanks guys. has anyone ever nto used Uv and just supplemented

JeffT · 09-30-03, 08:36 PM

Hey chamitch, I replied to your PM but im not sure if you got it? Let me know,

Jeff Terborg

eyespy · 09-30-03, 10:38 PM

Any bulb sold for human use such as plant bulbs, must have coatings that block the UVB so people don't develop cataracts and skin damage. So only reptile-specific UVB bulbs are good enough for basking species such as bearded dragons. What brand of bulb is it? You can do a Google search to see if anybody has taken a radiometer to it in order to test UVB output.

chamitch · 09-30-03, 10:56 PM

well it is for reptiles and aquariums. but was very inexpensive. just his basking bulb is a plant light. is 35 too hot in basking area with heat tape? thanks

eyespy · 09-30-03, 11:09 PM

It's the "and aquariums" part that concerns me. It's usually only the reptile-specialty bulbs that throw enough UVB. Bulbs made for fish don't need to throw so much UVB and the mercury needed to generate UV is expensive so it's seldom added to bulbs not specifically made for basking species.

Heat tape isn't very useful for beardies, they are heliotherms that absorb infrared and ultraviolet radiation into their bony armor plating to thermoregulate properly. Ambient heat from mats, tape or ceramic heat emitters doesn't penetrate into their bones so they can store up that heat. You are better off with a good quality basking/UVB lighting setup without heat tape.

It depend on the beardie himself as to whether 35 C is too hot or not hot enough. Juveniles often enjoy basking temps as high as 45 but adults often prefer it around 30. Try it and see, if s/he is gaping and moving away gradually lower the basking temp a few degrees at a time until you find your own dragon's comfort zone.

Beardies need a core body temperature of 103 degrees F in order to properly digest their food, I believe that is somewhere around 39 to 40 degrees C, so I'd start with temps at least that high if the dragon is less than around 200 grams. By the time they reach that size, if they are exposed to enough infrared and ultraviolet radiation they can get a high enoug core body temperature at lower cage temps, but little ones just don't have enough bone mass and body fat to achieve that kind of heat without it coming directly from their environment.

chamitch · 09-30-03, 11:18 PM

heat is heat though. wether teh energy transfers through tape or hits the beardie on teh back its all the same kenetic energy flows from hot to cold.

explain please.i can see how teh armor may store heat on its back. not trying to snooty or anything i just have a science midn that needs to be at rest

yes i do belive the uvb wont be enough from it as it was cheap. but somtimes u get ripped off by buying expensive stuff. anyway it was cheap enough and i got a fixture out of it. it was only 10 bucks so no worrys. thanks again

chamitch

eyespy · 09-30-03, 11:25 PM

Radiant heat from solar energy is actually radiation which is capable of penetrating deep into bone tissue and exciting chemical reactions. It's far different from just plain old warmth, it's actually radiation which creates biochemical reactions in the bony armor plating.

Rather like how the exact same temperatures feel much different when sunlight is involved. You can be so hot you are sweating like crazy in direct sunlight when the exact same temperature indoors keeps you very cool. It's all about the radiation.

chamitch · 09-30-03, 11:34 PM

but it does create the same heat after it touches the skin(creating exited electrons just the same way) heat is a form of radiation. i kinda get what your saying though. anyway we are deviating. i wonder if supplementign and this little bit of uv do.. not that i or anyone woudl take the chance. im gunna go buy a good bulb when i get him. i jst question everthing haha

thanks for helpign me out though

peace

chamitch · 09-30-03, 11:35 PM

ohya and what about those new neon bulbs that scre into normal sockets for reptiles? those are supposed to lst longer and better?

eyespy · 09-30-03, 11:41 PM

I have yet to see anybody publish radiometry readings on those compact bulbs so I don't know how well they rate.

Solar radiation produces way more heat than the actual temps. Ever get a sunburn? Notice how much heat was created and is now being dissipated through that very red skin? That energy has nothing to do with temperature, skiers can get those sunburns in below-freezing temps. UVB is not at all hot, no raise in the ambient temperature in the cage, but it raises the core body temperature of reptiles quite nicely.

Beardies are set up to store up sunburn-type energy in their bony armor plating and generate that kind of heat all the time. Without UVB, they just plain can't do it though and they don't tend to get enough heat in their bone marrow. Immune system problems are often seen in beardies without access to good quality ultraviolet light and there's no supplements for that.

chamitch · 09-30-03, 11:47 PM

the feeling of burning is nor really from the "radiation" its teh bodys response to a damaged area redness is the blood. the damage is cause by uvb rays that break ,mutate. cells

i dunno

later

eyespy · 09-30-03, 11:54 PM

It's that kind of reaction inside a beardie's body that fuels their fires too, except that there are no broken blood vessels, it's all done with thermal receptor cells. It's more than just blood that causes the heat from sunburn, as that goes much higher than a human's core body temp, anyhow. The cells are actually excited by stored radiation that gets trapped in the blood and all the movement from that energy creates heat.

Thermal heat is blocked from deep tissue absorption because fat, skin, muscle, etc. all absorb and dissipate it. Radiant energy penetrates right to the bone where it does the most good.