Re: To IgChick

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Posted by Ig Chick on June 16, 2001 at 19:38:27:

In Reply to: To IgChick posted by Samcin on June 16, 2001 at 19:16:32:

I think the majority of the humans on this board have pretty lucky iguanas! It seems that most people who have been around reptiles for awhile or who took the time to really research iguanas utilize natural sun whenever possible! I wish I had enough outside enclosures that everyone could stay out for as long as they wanted -unfortuantly we fill up with throw aways so quickly it's hard for us to keep up with construction.

I have been told by a few sources that they no longer make the Vita-Lights. Our vet sells them and when I gave him a hard time about it he said that he doesn't think they make them anymore and he doesn't sell them to reptile people any more. I'm not sure exactly the reason why they aren't making them anymore.

What I do know is that I had problems with them when I used them but could never figure out why. Then I got David Krughoff's book "Reptile lighting 2000" and began to understand why. He has the Boston University study available on his website and in his book he gives measurements from a report provided by Wild Inside, he also verified the report with readings he took with his photodiode radiometer. The readings from the Vita-Light and Lumichrome bulbs, both of which I have tried with no success, were only slightly higher than the measurement from a regular household fluorescent. There were no readings taken from a ZooMed 2.0 thatI can find. The Zoo Med 5.0, which we now use, has decent levels of UVB but I now, after spending the last few weeks really researching the subject, I understand why it is stressed that people use them correctly. Too far away or too old and you might as well be using a regular fluorescent.

Krughoff also talks about and gives references and examples to back up most if not all of what he writes about. He says that the reason everyone thought that the Vita-Light was a miracle bulb was that anyone who actually cared enough about their reptiles to purchase something new was probably also supplementing with vitamins and natural sunlight. I have to say after all the reading and fact checking I have done, unless we start using ActiveUV lights, I will never use anything less than a ZooMed 5.0.

Boston University Study on UVB

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: I think the majority of the humans on this board have pretty lucky iguanas! It seems that most people who have been around reptiles for awhile or who took the time to really research iguanas utilize natural sun whenever possible! I wish I had enough outside enclosures that everyone could stay out for as long as they wanted -unfortuantly we fill up with throw aways so quickly it's hard for us to keep up with construction. : I have been told by a few sources that they no longer make the Vita-Lights. Our vet sells them and when I gave him a hard time about it he said that he doesn't think they make them anymore and he doesn't sell them to reptile people any more. I'm not sure exactly the reason why they aren't making them anymore. : What I do know is that I had problems with them when I used them but could never figure out why. Then I got David Krughoff's book "Reptile lighting 2000" and began to understand why. He has the Boston University study available on his website and in his book he gives measurements from a report provided by Wild Inside, he also verified the report with readings he took with his photodiode radiometer. The readings from the Vita-Light and Lumichrome bulbs, both of which I have tried with no success, were only slightly higher than the measurement from a regular household fluorescent. There were no readings taken from a ZooMed 2.0 thatI can find. The Zoo Med 5.0, which we now use, has decent levels of UVB but I now, after spending the last few weeks really researching the subject, I understand why it is stressed that people use them correctly. Too far away or too old and you might as well be using a regular fluorescent. : Krughoff also talks about and gives references and examples to back up most if not all of what he writes about. He says that the reason everyone thought that the Vita-Light was a miracle bulb was that anyone who actually cared enough about their reptiles to purchase something new was probably also supplementing with vitamins and natural sunlight. I have to say after all the reading and fact checking I have done, unless we start using ActiveUV lights, I will never use anything less than a ZooMed 5.0.

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