"Pet Store Bulbs" vs. Regular Bulbs

[SlabOMeat]

I'm just curious...

I was at Lowes in the bulb aisle and they had a ton of variety...They have all the same sizes, wattages etc. that would fit in my dragons light fixtures...
My question is:

Is there a difference between the pet marketed bulbs and the ones you can get for house hold use?

 

[Angiecountrygirl]

As far as the basking bulbs- you just need the correct wattage to maintain the proper temperatures. For the tube lighting, you must make sure that it is a UVB bulb, which I don't believe you can get in a household light. Just make sure it's UVB- that is where they get the absorbsion and Vitamin D, that they need to digest food, etc... that's very important. I would stick w/ a Reptisun 10.0 for the tube light, and the basking bulb you can use a Lowe's product (again, justcheck you basking and cool side temps).
Good Luck!!! :wink:

 

[SlabOMeat]

Thanks. To clarify, I'm not looking to cheap out on my viv, but if the bulbs are more or less the same with pet marketing on the packaging, one could save a good bit of money...

 

[Claudiusx]

Pretty much the only difference between "reptile bulbs" and regular bulbs is..... Price. And don't think of it As cheaping out, think of it as being smart lol ;p

-Brandon

 

[SlabOMeat]

I'm kind of surprised no one has gone to the trouble of taking light readings and comparing the two. Hopefully, some more folks will chime in...in the meantime I'm gonna look into it some more...

 

[SlabOMeat]

Found this...a bit old but seems to be good info...

http://www.anapsid.org/liteheat.html

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

The difference between the marketed basking bulbs and ordinary household bulbs is indeed the price. There is nothing special about the petstore basking bulbs, except maybe a little tinting for effect. They do not provide anything special... just heat.
You are only using this bulb for the heat and nothing else... so therefore it is best to go with the household bulb, especially when you are trying to figure out which wattage will work best for your beardies enclosure. You can go through a few bulbs for that.

 

[beardie parents]

I'm just curious...

I was at Lowes in the bulb aisle and they had a ton of variety...They have all the same sizes, wattages etc. that would fit in my dragons light fixtures...
My question is:

Is there a difference between the pet marketed bulbs and the ones you can get for house hold use?

To me, the difference is the price. The regular house bulbs are cheaper and work just as well, sometimes better.