Unfortunate News regarding Solar Glo MVB

[Seiryu]

They are most definitely not resolved.

I know of at least 8 people who had their "new" MegaRay burn out within a week of use. Some within a day. I would not buy anything from MegaRay for the time being.

 

[civicblend97]

I just bought a Solar Glo 160W from the repticon show in concord this past weekend....set it up as soon as we got home, was having problems with the temps getting up. It wouldn't get hot at all. I think 80 was the highest. We had it plugged into a surge protector......pulled it out after getting aggravated that I spent money on the bulb and it wasn't working. Plugged into the wall, works wonderful. Her basking spot is between 100-115...she ate ALL of her greens the for first time yesterday since I have had her. She's eating superworms, hornworms and her crickets!!!!!

So was there jsut a bad batch of bulbs out...or how do you even know if the bulb is working properly...

 

[sweetiepie9]

We bought two Solar Glos, one is still working fine, but the 2nd stopped giving out UVB. Didi kept avoiding the lamp by going to his cool side all the time. So we got him a power sun 160, I'm not sure how long it takes for the bad effects to stop. He's doing better & pooped for the first time in 6 days there was much celebration, I don't like my babies getting back effects from their UVB lights. They depend on those UVB lights, be it MVB or tube, they can't live well without it.

Deb

 

[LigerZero]

So my bd hasnt gotten the UVB rays she needs. Well I can tell you one thing, if that company doesn't get their act together they're going to lose a customer.

 

[BeardedDragonCo]

FYI, a friend of mine told me that their parents took their dragon to the vet which was diagnosed with calcium deficiency due to using a Solar Glo for the past 8 months. She has never eaten well and is stunted, now has to be hand fed and put on liquid calcium. The vet (thankfully) recommended a Reptisun 10 for therapy. Hopefully she will recover and put the word out that those bulbs are junk.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am very sorry to hear that your dragon developed metabolic bone disease. I recommend keeping him on liquid calcium for quite awhile if his bones are thinning.
I hate to hear that there have been no improvements on the bulb. I had used them for a short period & then purchased two solar meters to measure the bulbs. Thus, the reason that I started this thread to share my results & help others.

Tracie

 

[BeardedDragonCo]

Hi Tracie,

I got a chance to meter a month or two old Solar Glo and it did have lower levels of UVB, similar to the levels emitted from a Reptisun 10. The range was 30 to 40 on the Solartech meter at a 10 to 12 inch distance with an index of 2.3. At the same time, I metered a Powersun 100w that was the same operating age and its output was double that of the Solar Glo. The Powersun metered between 60 and 70 with an index of 5.

I am under the assumption that the Solar Glo has improved some what, but most likely only has a usable life of about 6 months like a fluorescent. I hope to meter it again in a couple months to see if I'm right. The person using it is not depending on it as the only uvb source and has a Reptisun 10 in the cage as well. The Solar Glo is very bright and makes an excellent basking bulb, but I would not count on it for sufficient UVB. It just goes to say, you get what you pay for.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks for letting us know about the output. We had a solar Glo in our Leo's tank, noticed he didn't have the same energy, so bought him a 160W Power Sun. When I got it to the correct distance, he was pleased, as he's now got his regular energy back & is basking alot. Didi also had a Solar Glo that stopped emitting UVB, but caught that in time & got him a Power Sun, too. So all our beardies (5) have power suns now & no problems. I make sure to take the boxes & keep them so I know when the lights are almost a year old & get them changed. We were going to change to Reptisun 10.0, but already had all the lamp stands, so we're staying with the Power Sun. So far, they all work great & the dragons like them.

 

[lauraj1055]

Hi Tracie,

I got a chance to meter a month or two old Solar Glo and it did have lower levels of UVB, similar to the levels emitted from a Reptisun 10. The range was 30 to 40 on the Solartech meter at a 10 to 12 inch distance with an index of 2.3. At the same time, I metered a Powersun 100w that was the same operating age and its output was double that of the Solar Glo. The Powersun metered between 60 and 70 with an index of 5.

I have a question, so if the Solar Glo emits the same lower amount of UVB as the Reptisun 10, than why does everyone recommend the reptisun 10.0?

 

[PudgysMom]

I wrote about this in another thread, but July 1, 2011 I got Pudgy a new PowerSun 10.0 160W. Her left eye shut that night.

I have been reading threads from two years ago, and then a few other stories from this year and I am quite concerned. I even took out the tape measure just to make sure that her bulb was 14" from the basking spot.

Took her to the vet. She had a clean fecal. Ear infection. 30 days of Fortaz (injected every three days). It's been 9 days, three injections. Doesn't seem to be working. Her energy has dwindled and she is eating less and less. Also seems to be having a lot of trouble chewing/swallowing.

Pudgy is a rescue, and I have tried to keep myself educated. These boards have been an absolute godsend. I am just so unsure of what to do at this point. I want to get the best thing for her. Does this require more than one bulb? If I go with the ReptiSun 10.0 what wattage do I get? Do I need to get anything else to go with it? I don't care about cost, just whatever is healthiest and best for her.

Many thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[beardie parents]

You should get him some probiotics, they help him to recover from the meds he's on. About the powersun, I've looked at two petsmarts and in both they had two powersuns in stock, I looked at both bulbs before buying them and one store had one bulb with what looked like little round holes in the spray that is on the bottom of the bulb, the other bulb was fine. The local store I checked them, as we thought we'd have to buy another one for Rosie, anyway, both bulbs in this store had the spray with holes in it. I haven't tried the ones with the holes in the spray but the one where the spray was solid has been a good bulb, so far.

I would prefer to have the 60 watt mega ray back that we had but the last time I checked on the reptileuv site they were still out of stock and when I called they said they'd call me back but didn't, so I'm assuming they are still out of stock.

 

[lauraj1055]

I am using the Powersun 160 that I bought from Cheryl at Rio Reptiles, along with the baby I bought from her.. and It is working awesome for me, with no side effects.. Only side effect is that Butters is getting HUGE.

 

[PudgysMom]

You should get him some probiotics, they help him to recover from the meds he's on. About the powersun, I've looked at two petsmarts and in both they had two powersuns in stock, I looked at both bulbs before buying them and one store had one bulb with what looked like little round holes in the spray that is on the bottom of the bulb, the other bulb was fine. The local store I checked them, as we thought we'd have to buy another one for Rosie, anyway, both bulbs in this store had the spray with holes in it. I haven't tried the ones with the holes in the spray but the one where the spray was solid has been a good bulb, so far.

I would prefer to have the 60 watt mega ray back that we had but the last time I checked on the reptileuv site they were still out of stock and when I called they said they'd call me back but didn't, so I'm assuming they are still out of stock.

Could you tell me more about the probiotics? Where to get them, and how much to give? Thanks so much.

 

[beardie osk]

You should get him some probiotics, they help him to recover from the meds he's on. About the powersun, I've looked at two petsmarts and in both they had two powersuns in stock, I looked at both bulbs before buying them and one store had one bulb with what looked like little round holes in the spray that is on the bottom of the bulb, the other bulb was fine. The local store I checked them, as we thought we'd have to buy another one for Rosie, anyway, both bulbs in this store had the spray with holes in it. I haven't tried the ones with the holes in the spray but the one where the spray was solid has been a good bulb, so far.

I would prefer to have the 60 watt mega ray back that we had but the last time I checked on the reptileuv site they were still out of stock and when I called they said they'd call me back but didn't, so I'm assuming they are still out of stock.

Could you tell me more about the probiotics? Where to get them, and how much to give? Thanks so much.

Hello there,
Let me see if I can help you........ Probiotics is almost like us eating yogurt, (don't give beardies yogurt unless its made with soy) but it soothes the stomach especially when beardies are on an antibiodic. There are many brands, but here is a link that shows 2, http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Reptilestore.html One is acidophiluz+, and the other is a multivit with acidophiluz, (acidophiluz means the same as probiotics) I sent you this link because the whole site is a wealth of info, read up on the nutrition list too, it's great.
As far as lighting, all the MVB are very unstable right now, the Reptisun 10.0 fluorescent bulb is what you should use, along with a heat basking light, I use a halogen 100 watt flood light along with the reptisun. You can buy the halogen at home depot or store like that. Depending where you are and the time of year, the halogen can differ in wattage. I use anywhere from 50 watts to 120 watts, depending on the time of year......... and that's why it's important you have a digital thermometer with probe to make sure the halogen is maintaining 100 to 110 degrees under that light. I hope all this helps. Your doing a great job!

 

[PudgysMom]

Christine,

THANK YOU!!!! SO MUCH!!!

I appreciate all this info.