**Mega Ray Issues** / Megaray RECALL

[Germ]

DBL Post - My Apologies

 

[vickson420]

Hello Germ
I am sorry you are not getting such bad heating/lighting from the MVB.You said you bought it 3 months ago? I assume then it is one of the bulbs with the coating over the glass which would indeed explain the heating issues.With the previous bathches of bulbs I would need 1 100 watt MVB at 14 inches to reach more then adequate temps which was fantastic.It is disheartening that for the time being this no longer seems to be the case so I understand your frustrations.Also I have to tell you that with 160 watt that absolute MINIMUM distance requirement is not 15 inches but actually 18 inches as anything closer could expose them to low wavelength UVB and harm their eyes even if the bulb itself is made to perfect specifications. The only thing I can say is you like many others just first started using them at the wrong time. I hope one day soon this will no longer be the case and the MVB will once again be the gold standard of reptile lighting and hopefully by the time you are ready for new ones this will all have been resolved.

 

[Germ]

I appreciate your comments and most make sense, although I don't think I will change my mind. But time will tell, if once again they earn the raving reviews that they once had, possibly, but I highly doubt it without waiting a couple of years for them to prove themselves again. Mine is a coated bulb from the L1 Batch.

Also I have to tell you that with 160 watt that absolute MINIMUM distance requirement is not 15 inches but actually 18 inches as anything closer could expose them to low wavelength UVB and harm their eyes even if the bulb itself is made to perfect specifications.

Do you know something that I don't, or are my eyes deceiving me in some way or another?

Looks like it says '15" Minimum' to me. :wink:

Germain

 

[vickson420]

Yes i know what the box says and honestly I am not sure why but if you were to speak with Bob Mac directly he would indeed advise you as well to use the 18 inch parameter for safety as well as will most uv lighting specialists as well. In using some of the "lower" quality mvb you might get away with 15 inches but I don't recommend it regardless. I believe the reasoning behind the box is for light to beardies head while basking but please don't quote me on that.

 

[Germ]

I see, well there is another reason that I will definitely not be replacing it with another. If that is the case, Mr. Bob Mac should label the info on his product properly, he is supposed to be the expert that cares so much about these & all reptiles, why would he purposely mislead people that he doesn't personally talk to, that 15+" should be safe? His label is not talking a lower quality MVB, it is specifying his own particular specific bulb.

I like to make my BDs climb to their basking spot, makes the lazy guys move around a bit and get some excercise. In my opinion, making them bask on the floor with no place to climb around, is just wrong & boring to boot, for them & me.

3-4" of substrate +8-12" climb +18" =29-34". A 2.5-3 foot tall enclosure is simply ridiculous. I would have to go to a 100w, add yet another fixture and heat source. Just not feasible in my situation.

But that is just my choices in husbandry, has worked well for me & mine for years. The more info I receive on these bulbs, the less I think of them. I'll stick with the tried and true, more functional, linear tube Fluorescent UVB & a regular halogen bulb for basking. So much cheaper to purchase & run, serves the purpose every bit as well when setup properly, covers more of the enclosure with UVB.

This bulb has been a worry and a pain in the butt since day 1, quite contrary to the original info I had researched, which led me to beleive it was the almost perfect choice. A choice that I now regret and don't plan on repeating. The Pros don't outweigh the Cons, in my situation.

Again this is just my personal opinion, for me & mine. Just making 'My' personal views on the subject known.

Germain

 

[JMWolff12]

Hi Germain,

I have been following this particular thread for quite awhile now, and I want to say thank you for sharing your opinion, and for bringing this to our attentions. I also want to address a few points with you. Bob really is a caring person, especially when it comes to these animals. Most of the profit from this business go towards donations, research, and rehabilitating these animals. In addition to this, this started not as a business venture for Bob, but as a hobby. His one desire was to improve the quality of life for these animals, which are often misunderstood, and rarely get the kind of care and concern they should.

Germain, I really am sorry that your experience with our bulb has ended on such a sour note. Unfortunately, this really was one of the worst timeframes to purchase the bulb, though we still stand behind our bulbs as being the best on the market. I wish that I could make things better for you, and if there is ever anything I am able to do for you, please feel free to let me know. But don't insult Bob. He cares more about these animals, and has done more research and put more of his own hard earned money and time on the line than anyone else I have ever met. If that was not the case, I would not have chosen to work for him. Profit for us is merely a means to try to improve things even more, and for this company it has never been about the money, but the animals. I do hope that you will contact me if you have any other concerns that I can help with. I am also certain that Bob would be more than willing to speak with you directly, if that is your wish.

Again, thank you for sharing your opinion, that is what these forums are all about. We are all here to learn from one another, and to try to make things better for our pets. So lets move forward on that positive note.

John

 

[vickson420]

I have to agree with John on this one.Bob has always been there for us in the past and I dont see that changing. I have spoken with him in the past and he helped get me a bulb for a rescue quicker then I could have ever gotten it from anyone some years back. I think this is a temprotary hiccup so I do ask everyone not to give up just yet. All that said people must do what they feel is right for them.
Germ
Either way please give Bob or John a call. I am sure they will do there best to do right by you.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

I also agree give them a call, they are awesome people.

 

[Germ]

Hi John,

If you check you'll find I was in the process of editing my previous post when you replied. Please check it again.

There was no insult meant towards Bob at all. I was referring to the 15-18" issue. Which is Safe?

The bulb I have now, is simply not suited to my enclosures, the way I want to house my animals, particularly if the minimum safe distance is 18". Others may want to think about that.

Other than that, I have been treated very well by Reptile UV, my correspondence with you has been very helpful, cordial and so prompt, I don't know how you do it. I can definitely appreciate the efforts that the company went to, to quickly rectify the situation with the problem bulbs.

The long and short of it, is it is simply not the Bulb for me & mine.

Germain

 

[JMWolff12]

Germain,

I can certainly appreciate that. I hope you did not take that as me 'fussing' at you, that was not my intent. To be frank, I get several phone calls a week where I flat out tell people that they CAN'T use our bulbs, because their enclosure just won't allow for it. But the way I look at it, if I were to push for the sale of the bulb over the safety of the animal, then we might as well close our doors now. Thank you for trying to work with us, and hopefully in the future we can supply something for you and yours.

John

 

[beardie parents]

I originally wanted to use the 100 watt megaray but I purchased a t-rex instead, this was more than one year ago. It did o.k. but we had to raise the height up to more than 20 inches due to the way it made the temps in their cage go up to 120 in the middle of the day. They don't even like it at 100f. We talked about wether to go back to the reptisun 10 tubes or go with the 60 watt eb setup. I like the fact that I don't have to worry about changing bulbs every 4 or 5 months. When the reptisun 10 tubes are on all day, after 4.5 months Goldie's appetite decreases to just about nothing. We ordered 2 60 watt eb mega rays on Friday the 2nd of April and got them on the following Monday (4th). I installed them on the morning of the 5th. I am happy with the way they have increased Goldie's appetite. Rosie's did increase, which for her isn't really saying much. When she was about 4 months old her idea of pigging out was to eat 22 crickets in one day. The next day she ate almost nothing. Most days (at that age) she would eat about 7 to 9 crickets every other day.

We are both very happy with this setup. Our girls both have improved appetites within just the last two weeks of having that bulb on. This improvement is much better than the improvement when we last replaced the reptisun 10 tube for them. I do need additional heat but I can keep the heat where I need to easier with this set up than I could with the t-rexs and I can keep their bulb at the correct height. We live where it gets hot in the summer and their vivs are next to the window, facing south which gets hotter usually and our house is usually in the high 70's so that's why we decided to go with what we did.

 

[kdoney]

just replaced my 160W with a 100W SB last week, and my beardie has been having his eyes closed alot. He is basking under it, but with his eyes closed. He is not eating like he normally does. He seems to have no appetite. Are there still issues? What could be the cause?

 

[JMWolff12]

Please contact me directly. You are one of three people I have seen whose animal has had an adverse reaction to the new bulbs. I would love the opportunity to discuss replacing your bulb, or refunding your money, since the new modification is not settling well with your particular animal.

John

 

[Germ]

Here are some pics of the coating of my bulb from the L1 batch. The coating, to me appears very thick. I have sent these pics to John to get his input. This was his prompt reply ...

Germain, we hand modify all of these bulbs to make sure that the UV levels are safe. If you have on that has a heavier coating, that means that it’s UV output was very high before we started the modifications.

Sincerely,

John M. Wolff
Shipping Manager
Reptile UV
(252)-241-4584

Here's a few of the pics

Quote of part of a PM from a well known member, which gives my exact feelings about this bulb.

You are right your bulb was dipped and while it is safe the dipping did seriously inhibit the true point of the bulb IMO which is to be a 2 in 1.

It is not hard to see why such little heat for the wattage of the 'Modified' bulb is being reflected. Once again, not what I expected when I purchased this particular bulb, although it is safe (I have had no health/eye issues @ 16"), it does not provide sufficient heat at the minimum required safe distances, that seem now, from what I've been told on here, to be further than what is specified on the website or the box. I ordered the original working Mega-Ray (There were no postings of problems on their site when I originally ordered the bulb (Jan 11), but were, 2.5 weeks later when I received it [Jan 28]), not a fixed up, modified version, so it will get by, for the price ($70.69 CAD incl. shipping) of the original.

Germain

 

[JMWolff12]

One of the biggest things you will see repeated over and over again on our site is that reptile lighting is a process, not a bulb. We have never claimed that our bulb will get the temperatures perfect in any enclosure, just as we don't claim that the bulbs will provide adequate lux lighting. In an ideal world, one bulb could serve all of these purposes, but unfortunately this is not an ideal world. Germain, I really am sorry tht your having such a rough time with our bulb, I wish that this was not the case. And you are correct in thinking that prior to these issues, our bulbs did have better heat output. We are working round the clock to get back to the original glass so that this issue can be truly behind us.

On a side note, prior to this, I was always getting emails that the bulbs were TOO hot, just so you everyone is aware. I wish that we had it perfect, but there are simply too many variable for us to ever be able to guarantee a bulb we sell will get the temps in your enclosure exactly where you want them.

John