How long can a bearded dragon go without a UVB tube? Has anyone else dealt with Zoo Med’s return policy?

sunnystunna

Member
Beardie name(s)
Oslo/Ozzie
Hi! So I woke up this morning and my three month old reptisun uvb fixture was not working. I went and bought a new bulb, and it still doesn’t work. It’s the fixture itself that is broken.

I have contacted zoo med since it is still under warranty, but with it being a holiday weekend, and it saying they reply within three days, it could be Friday before I hear from them. On top of that, the warranty says expect it to take 4-6 weeks to get a replacement. My pet store doesn’t sell the actual fixture that I use, just the bulb, so I’ll have to order it online which will also take a few days, even if I don’t wait to hear from zoo med. I also thought about just buying a cheap uvb coil or something for the time being, just as a temporary fix. I really don’t know what to do in this situation.

I’m quite upset with this being the policy of a pet care brand that sells something so vital to a loved pet’s life, and I also really don’t want to have to chip into my savings to buy a new fixture when I have the right to a replacement.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hi! So I woke up this morning and my three month old reptisun uvb fixture was not working. I went and bought a new bulb, and it still doesn’t work. It’s the fixture itself that is broken.

I have contacted zoo med since it is still under warranty, but with it being a holiday weekend, and it saying they reply within three days, it could be Friday before I hear from them. On top of that, the warranty says expect it to take 4-6 weeks to get a replacement. My pet store doesn’t sell the actual fixture that I use, just the bulb, so I’ll have to order it online which will also take a few days, even if I don’t wait to hear from zoo med. I also thought about just buying a cheap uvb coil or something for the time being, just as a temporary fix. I really don’t know what to do in this situation.

I’m quite upset with this being the policy of a pet care brand that sells something so vital to a loved pet’s life, and I also really don’t want to have to chip into my savings to buy a new fixture when I have the right to a replacement.
I would replace it and contact them tell them you have replaced it and to refund the money- keep your receipt and shipping info etc so they refund the money - in the meantime you can take him outside for good uvb till you get the new one- 30 min or so sitting on you - watch the heat tho I don't know what the weather is like where you are --
 

sunnystunna

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Oslo/Ozzie
I would replace it and contact them tell them you have replaced it and to refund the money- keep your receipt and shipping info etc so they refund the money - in the meantime you can take him outside for good uvb till you get the new one- 30 min or so sitting on you - watch the heat tho I don't know what the weather is like where you are --
Would they be willing to refund me the money? I’ve never dealt with them so I don’t know what to expect their customer service to be like.

It’s pretty warm here, just extremely humid. I’ll try to take him out when I can, it’s just hard because I’m usually at school or work from 9:30 until dark.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Would they be willing to refund me the money? I’ve never dealt with them so I don’t know what to expect their customer service to be like.

It’s pretty warm here, just extremely humid. I’ll try to take him out when I can, it’s just hard because I’m usually at school or work from 9:30 until dark.
I would call them -- they should be able to refund the money if you have the new receipt for the one your getting now- how high is the humidity?
 

sunnystunna

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Oslo/Ozzie
I would call them -- they should be able to refund the money if you have the new receipt for the one your getting now- how high is the humidity?
It’s like 85% outside. I have two dehumidifiers in his enclosure, my fan on, and an air conditioner constantly running and I still can only keep his humidity in his enclosure at 45-50. But I wiggled my uvb tube a little yesterday and it suddenly turned on. Seems like it just has a short in it, so hopefully I’ll get my replacement in before it decides to go dead.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
It’s like 85% outside. I have two dehumidifiers in his enclosure, my fan on, and an air conditioner constantly running and I still can only keep his humidity in his enclosure at 45-50. But I wiggled my uvb tube a little yesterday and it suddenly turned on. Seems like it just has a short in it, so hopefully I’ll get my replacement in before it decides to go dead.
Yes that is pretty high humidity -- 40-50% humidity is optimal so your good there -- are you using a digital probe hygrometer?
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
I have other threads about the zoomeds, i bought the 1st one at Christmas. It was dead straight out of the box. The pet store exchanged it. Bought 3rd and 4th in April they failed within a couple months. The 2nd (the one that was already a replacement) failed a few weeks later. Now I'm Using the Arcadia's in all 3 habitats, so far so good.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
That is the link to my thread with a video of what the 3rd and 4th fixtures did. I could only see it with the camera, not at all with the eye. My two beardies in those 2 habitats were acting really weird and i didn't know why till i accidentally caught that on video trying to video the dragon acting funny. They can see a spectrum of light we can't, it was literally driving them crazy. As soon as i threw the zoomeds out they went back to normal.
 

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