Dave47164":12k8otq0 said:
However, the original article was written in 2011,
I'm still slightly confused. Are you referring to the Newbies lighting guide?
Dave47164":12k8otq0 said:
I used to be able to get t-5 fixtures EVERYWHERE, Home Depot, Lowes, PetSmart, Menards, and even the local owned ACE Hardware, but now everything and I mean everything seems to be LED.
This is simply because those home improvement stores weren't selling them to reptile owners, they were selling them to people who needed lights. And now that LED's are the new efficient thing, it makes sense that they have been replaced. I still find t5 reptile fixtures at my local petstores, but they are double the price of what I can find online.
Dave47164":12k8otq0 said:
If the t-5 is best lighting why is it not readily available?
Once again, you're comparing two separate worlds here. the T5's are not the most efficient in regards to energy consumption to light output. LED's are and that's why these stores are selling those. Not very often someone walks into a homedepot looking for reptile specific lighting. So they sell what people come in there for, efficient lighting.
Dave47164":12k8otq0 said:
OR I find a fixture online and have to buy a replacement bulb right away because it sips with the wrong bulb....
Nothing wrong with that. The sunblaster fixture also isn't made for reptiles. It comes with a grow light bulb. But you'd be buying a reptile specific bulb anyways, and still buying the fixture with the included bulb ends up still being 20 bucks cheaper than buying the reptile specific fixture.
Dave47164":12k8otq0 said:
Also in reference to CFL's made specifically for UVB due they still putting off spurious emissions of "bad" light causing the lizards to need a seeing eye frog?? Or has this just been accepted as the first ones was bad and they have not improved in 8 years?
The first batches of them put out did cause eye issues. That has been fixed for the most part though. However, besides a very select few, the CFL's still aren't very suitable as their output greatly diminishes with distance. They have to be very close to the dragon for the dragon to get adequate exposure. Arcadia makes a CFL that seems to work pretty well. But once again, when compared to a tube, the output isn't as widespread.
Dave47164":12k8otq0 said:
Why is it every pet store seems to ONLY sell dome fixtures
Well remember, dragons aren't the only creatures around :wink: I'm not well versed in other creatures, but i'd imagine the CFL's do put out enough uv for other creatures. Maybe. But it's also a convenience thing. The goal is to make money, not necessarily provide what is perfect. And to most people, a bulb that screws into a regular socket like they are accustomed to is much less daunting and much more likely to encourage someone to buy it.
And, t5's really aren't any "better" than t8s depending on how you use them. They both put out the wavelengths of the UV spectrum that promotes vit D3 synthesis. The difference between the two is how far away they stay effective.
A t5 is good for bigger taller tanks as most likely the dragon will be further away from the bulb than it would be in say a 20g tank.
On the other hand, if you had a 20g tank, a t5 would likely be too strong, and a t8 would be "better" than the t5 in that case.
-Brandon