type of bulb?

what bulb do you guys use for your skinks? I read that I need a full spectrum UVB bulb for the skink. as I posted elsewhere, the one we got (reptisun 5.0) didn't work and I'd like to know if there are any other options in the Canadian market

Personally, I do not use UVB lighting on my skink (BTS). We've had him since Jan 2008 since he was a baby, and he has grown tremendously, is still active, eats readily, and has never shown any signs of any kind of ailment that is often associated with lack of UV lighting.

It is my honest opinion that skinks (along with several other species of lizards) are perfectly capable of thriving without UVB, providing their heating and dietary requirements are met. This is still somewhat of a controversial issue; I'm only going by my own experience as well as others who have kept skinks w/o UVB.

However, I still agree that while it may or may not be a necessity for them, they still benefit from it regardless. Do with this information as you will.
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As far as UV lights go, I greatly prefer the mercury vapor bulbs (MVB). However, these bulbs only are available in 125 watts and 160 watts, both of which simply emit too much heat for smaller enclosures.

My next favs are the UV coil bulbs, which are essentially a UV light that can be used in an incandescent fixture. These are great for providing UV in very small enclosures.

Then there are the T-5 florescent fixtures. These are much slimmer than a normal T-8 or T-10 florescent light strip, and also, are 2-3x more intense in their emittance of UV than them as well.

Remember that with any of these bulbs, you need to replace them approximately every 6-8 months, as their ability to emit UV radiation diminishes over time, essentially leaving you with just a very bright bulb.

the bulb that i have on my merauke bts is a uvb and a heat light the uvb light i have is a slimmer light and you only have to replace it once a year we got it from reptilesupply.com.and most uvb strip lights donot emit heat. And as for them not needing uvb, i would say that they definitly need it and it takes along time for problems to develope but they will and once they do they are irreversible.

There are 60 watt external ballasted bulbs that emit all the UV but a lot less heat than the 100-160 wat bulbs. They are also Mercury vapor They also put out the same UV as the 160 watt bulbs. As the previous posters state even the one who doesnt use it they benefit from it. Df it is beneficial then it is a necessity. The same company also has or will soon have metal halide uvb bulbs. Metal halide is far superior to Mercury vapor.

Digby Rigby balboa28279@mypacks.net

How can anything be superior to MVBs??? Well, if it can be done, Bob Mac will do it.

There are some lizards that can absorb enough D3 in supplement form that they don't technically need UVB. However, which do you think is healthier: supplementing D3 and risking over or under dosing or allowing the lizard to make its own D3? If you use a Mercury Vapor bulb, you do not need to supplement D3, but you must still supplement calcium.