ReptiGlo or ReptiSun?

[XxReptileGrlxX]

What's the difference? ReptiGlo is significantly cheaper, but I've heard people say it's bad... why?

 

[sunkist]

glo supposedly hurts their eyes. the way it's made. Sun doesn't.

If you go online to petmountain reptisun is very affordable. not at Petco.

 

[misslacie788]

I had a ReptiGlo for 2 or 3 days, with a rescue I just got. His head started to spasm and shiver. The herp vet I took him to said it was likely the bulb was damaging his eyes. Go for the MegaRay, it's a uvb and uva, lasts twice as long, and is about $45 including shipping to US.

 

[herpfreak]

Not ReptiGlo. It can seriously hurt beardies. Go for either a ReptiSun 10.0 or a MegaRay, which is a type of Mercury Vapor Bulb. MVBs are much more expensive than UV strip lights, but they also give off heat, unlike strip lights, and last longer. But a ReptiSun + heat source works just as well as a MVB.

And like the above poster said, don't shop at PetCo. First of all, I encourage everyone not to support such a place that does not know how to care for reptiles. Secondly, everything is SO much cheaper online. I use reptilesupply.com, but I hear petmountain is also good prices and quality. Pretty much any online store will be cheaper than going to PetCo.

 

[misslacie788]

Actually the MegaRay including shipping costs the same as a Reptisun 10 that you would get at a pet store, it also costs the same as a uvb strip AND a heat lamp online. A UVB strip and heat lamp are NOT the same as an MVB. With an MVB the minimum didstance from the bulb is 12-18 inches depending on the bulb wattage, where as your beardie will need to be within 6-8 of the uvb strip to get the full benefits.

 

[newbeardiemom19]

i had repti sun and it burt out so i had to go get a new one yesterday, i went to 5 different pet stores and they only sold reptiglo.
i asked them about it hurting their eyes and they said they only heard tht happening in one case with the coil spot lights. carlos seems to be doing fine but ill keep an eye on him.

 

[akingsley9000]

Honestly, your best option is to return it and order a reptisun online. Its not worth the damage it will do. He'll be find without it for a week or so.

 

[newbeardiemom19]

all the stores use reptiglo and all their lizzards are fine. but its too cold here to let him not have any lights, ill just have to keep them till i can find repti sun

 

[Ethelia]

all the stores use reptiglo and all their lizzards are fine

They may be fine but they wont be as healthy as they should be.
Im sure you want your lizard to lead a happy healthy life and not just survive

Holly

 

[akingsley9000]

For the period of time that they are at the store (usually) the damage is minimal

all the stores use reptiglo and all their lizzards are fine. but its too cold here to let him not have any lights, ill just have to keep them till i can find repti sun

you would still use your heat light just not the UVB. :wink:

 

[Dawnrider]

In regards to the Reptisun vs. Reptiglo there have UVB tests on the individual bulbs (not sure if yall are familiar with it, don't mean to insult anyone's intellegence if you have. I'm new here).http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ The compacts had serious problems and are extremely harmful over prolonged time spans, no matter what brand including zoomed. There was some comentary on the Repti-glo 10.0 which had slightly higher UV index to it, but it was no where near the amount of hurt that the compacts where doing, I believe (this is from memory) the UV index on the reptisuns where around 3, the repti-glo 10.0s where around 6, and the compacts where around 13, or 14. The lower the better. 13, or 14 would be like living in a solar storm. 6 would be a very bright day at a hot beach or taking a sun bath at the south pole.
3 would be a normal day (a little above normal) the sun is about 2 on most days (forgive me if I messed up the understanding of this method, i'm no meterologist). Anyway the reptiglo 10.0 was passed and is perfectly acceptable, with the note the your lizard should not come within 6 inches of the bulb itself. Even then the damage would be minimal and likely unnoticable if it even occured, the light is constantly closer then 6 inches from the lizard then it could become a problem. As for the other repti-glos, like the 8.0 and 5.0 where nearly as great as the repti-sun brand, and have no faults at all or complaints to my knowledge. I have used a reptiglo 10.0 on my past beardie kept at a distance of 16 inches away and located over the basking area (which discourages them from looking directly into the UVB tube), and had no ill effect even to suggest. I have used repti-suns as well with equally good results. Of course I also make sure that I use that I also used D3 supplements as well as a insurance policy to keep up the health of the dragons. I am recently switching to repti-suns for the high quality of their product, but not as a preventative of health problems. Once again NEVER use compact UVB bulbs ZooMed or other.

 

[threecupsofcoffee]

Dawnrider,
Thanks for that info that made much more sense to me. excuse me for interupting on this thread, I have a beardy rescue who is in a four foot viv which is 15 inches high, now he is under a reptiglo 10 which runs right across so no hiding from it, so do you think i should try and get a reptisun. His eyes don't look right anyway a bit sunken do you think maybe that might help him? Julie

 

[herpfreak]

Dawnrider,
Thanks for that info that made much more sense to me. excuse me for interupting on this thread, I have a beardy rescue who is in a four foot viv which is 15 inches high, now he is under a reptiglo 10 which runs right across so no hiding from it, so do you think i should try and get a reptisun. His eyes don't look right anyway a bit sunken do you think maybe that might help him? Julie

Sunken eyes is usually a sign of cold or sickness, but I suppose a bad UV light could cause it too. What is the basking spot temperature? It doesn't sound like the ReptiGlo has done much damage, yet. If I were you, I'd definitely get a ReptiSun.

 

[threecupsofcoffee]

it looks like the whole time he's been in this viv with a 100 watt basking bulb with no temperature control whatsoever so your talking exposure to some major temps for the last couple of years or even from the begining 130 +. He's very dark, poor things been cooking your a long time. but he is eating and friendly. I will be altering an awful lot of things to make his life a lot better.

 

[herpfreak]

it looks like the whole time he's been in this viv with a 100 watt basking bulb with no temperature control whatsoever so your talking exposure to some major temps for the last couple of years or even from the begining 130 +. He's very dark, poor things been cooking your a long time. but he is eating and friendly. I will be altering an awful lot of things to make his life a lot better.

If you want to get the basking temp down without buying a new bulb, you can get a rheostat. That's what I have; its a little dimmer. Using this little sliding box thing you can dim the light. I have a 50w halogen bulb above my beardies basking spot and I use a rheostat for that.
Well, its good that you're making some updates to the enclosure. If you have any questions, ask!