Can anyone recommend a Mercury Vapor lamp?

MadMod":2psfts2x said:

Hello everyone!

I'm wanting to get a MV lamp for Hunter, my Bearded dragon. The reason I want to get him a MV lamp is because it seems to be easier to manage his basking area (since he has only about a 4x7" of spotlight to lie directly under). He's under a 75 Watt basking bulb (can't say what the brand is, because I don't want to turn his lamp off just to check) in a 36x18x16" tank. His basking temperature DIRECTLY under the spotlight ranges around 110 <<< 110 degF is way too hot for a bearded dragon see viewtopic.php?f=5&t=233516

, ambient hot side around 85, and his cold side ~75.
I also have a 15 watt Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 bulb, 18", which is pretty cumbersome to adjust (and I talk about it in a separate forum), but since his gradient isn't that good (guessing there's quite a temperature wall between the 2 sides), I'd think a MVB would be a good replacement instead of his current bulbs. << is it a T8 tube or a T5 tube ?
I don't see a reflector behind the tube .... in either case, a slip on(to the tube style) reflector will be very helpful because it will
<< make the UVA and UVB emissions from the tube focus were you need them (where the beardie basks mainly ,
<< this will create a better UV gradient , like temperatures , a bearded dragon needs a good UVA and UVB gradient from very intense to weak.
<<

Could anyone suggest a good bulb that should not harm my beardie? I hear of some MV bulbs making their bearded dragons sick, but some having an amazing difference from the ReptiSun UVB bulb.
<< look at Arcadia , Zoo Med and Exo Terra MVBs , Arcadia have an 80W MVB that might be suitable , a 100W or 120W - 130W MVB will be too hot (for your existing viv).

Is the viv height 16" or 18" ?
.....this might mean the difference between an 80W and a 100W MVB to achieve a 40-42 degC basking spot and warm zone at about 32 degC.

Also, here's some pictures if you wanna check out my setup (but it's darker than normal, partially because of light balance, partially because it's getting darker out and closer to his bedtime).

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CooperDragon":2e86nxc6 said:

I would look into MegaRay, Arcadia, or ZooMed MVBs. You may want to read through some of the lighting docs at uvguide.co.uk to get an idea for the intensity and beam width of each of them.
<<< unfortunately their MVB survey and studies are currently being revised and no data is up

They need to be mounted at a set distance based on UVB output and they can't be dimmed so sometimes a second bulb is required in order to achieve a proper heat gradient across the tank along with the UVB output from the MVB. That's the downside in my opinion because you can't control heat and UVB output independently the way you can with a plain basking light and a UVB tube.

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kingofnobbys":2vzv8sev said:

MadMod":2vzv8sev said:

I note you have a shade cloth type mesh hammock , beware of this , bearded dragons often do themselves serious toe/finger foot/hand leg/arm hip/shoulder injuries when they get their toe or finger nails snagged and struggle / panic to pull themselves free.

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His nails are usually pretty short, but still, he could get his scales stuck on it, so I will intend on removing it. I used to have a pile of slate rocks, but I was afraid he'd get his feet stuck between them, but nothing happened when I had them.

CooperDragon":2vzv8sev said:

I would look into MegaRay, Arcadia, or ZooMed MVBs. You may want to read through some of the lighting docs at uvguide.co.uk to get an idea for the intensity and beam width of each of them. They need to be mounted at a set distance based on UVB output and they can't be dimmed so sometimes a second bulb is required in order to achieve a proper heat gradient across the tank along with the UVB output from the MVB. That's the downside in my opinion because you can't control heat and UVB output independently the way you can with a plain basking light and a UVB tube.

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I've heard of MegaRay and ZooMed MVBs, but I have never heard of Arcadia. Doing a quick Google search shows that they most commonly sell 240 Volt bulbs, which is unfortunate since I live in the US (120 volt system). I guess I should've thought that would be useful information to provide, since I've read somewhere that the 120 volt bulbs are more unstable depending on brand, but that may collide with the information that there was a defective batch of ZooMed bulbs being released. As for offering a proper heat gradient, a second bulb is definitely doable.

AHBD":2vzv8sev said:

I've used both the Exo terra Sloar glo 125 as well as the Powersun 100 with good results. I jut wanted to mention that your uvb tube may bother your dragon's eye, they are best mounted from above. Also, if it's a 10.0 t5 the bulb is too close and should be on top of the screen. People are really getting confused by the recommendation to mount the bulbs inside where it beams right in the dragon's eye at very close range. This is going to become a problem with the high output bulbs being recommended to be placed at such a close distance. They are recommended to be at least 14" away , but can be closer if shining through a screen because the screen diffuses it by about 20%.

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AHBD":2avtchum said:

If you get a MVB, don't buy the black dome fixture for it, buy an aluminum one with a porcelain socket from Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's , Agway. That way it projects more heat + uvb down in to the tank.

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AHBD":3j4d5tgw said:

That's fine......the advantage of the ones that are not from the pet stores is that the dome is wider + projects + reflects heat + uvb to a wider range.

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