# Exo Terra Sun Glo Halogen Neodymium Lamp- replacement advice



## kaosfusion (Oct 20, 2008)

I use Exo Terra SunGlo Halogen Neodymium Lamp 75W, PT2182 in addition to an Exo Terra Repti Glo 2.0 PT2154. 





Advice please - should the SunGlo Halogen Neodymium Lamp be changed once a year as you do for the Fluorescent strips?

On the Exo Terra website you can register to 'Restore the Rays' which is a super little reminder service that send you an email one year after you purchase the your Repti-Glo to remind you that it needs replacing does not give you the option for a reminder service on the PT2182 so I am thinking that they must be good until they blow? 

I would appreciate any feedback as Neodymium bulbs are not cheap and I would prefer not to waste money if there is no need to annually replace.

Thanks


----------



## lee young (Oct 14, 2009)

the basking bulb (Neodymium one) doesnt need replacing until it stops working, and once it does stop working you can replace it with a standard R80 or R63 household spot bulb, does the job equally as well. The reptile branded ones are just the same bulb in a fancy box, and are about ten times the price.

As far as your UV goes, you dont say what reptile it is for, but going from your pic I assume a beardy? If so, the repti glo 2.0 is nowhere near strong enough for a beardy, its more for forest dwelling reptiles that don't get much sun. Also, despite what it says on the box the repti glo tubes need replacing every 6 months, not 12.

The Repti-Glo tubes are pretty useless, and a 2.0 one is going to be giving out next to no UV. Replace it with an arcadia D3+ 12% bulb with a reflector, these tubes give out much more uv and last 9-12 months before you need to replace them.

(a dragon that is 3" away from a 12% tube with a reflector on is still getting less UV rays than outside on a cloudy day in england, and theyre from australia!)

You need to get your tube sorted asap as no UV is the main cause of MBD. 

Search for UV guide on here and have a look, its interesting reading.


----------



## kaosfusion (Oct 20, 2008)

I will try and write the correct information this time:
CORRECTION: I currently use:

I use Exo Terra SunGlo Halogen Neodymium Lamp 75W, PT2182 in addition to an *Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 PT2174* with reflectors.

I have read all the UV guides and hence why I chose this combination. 

As for the Repti-Glo - my Beardie is nearly two years old now and has regular check-ups with my local specialist vet. He has never been of ill health despite my changing his lighting strip on an annual basis so unless my vet prescribes otherwise I will stick to changing annually for that one.

The Exo Terra SunGlo Halogen Neodymium Lamp is not a standard heatlamp. It also emits UVA light is my understanding which is why I asked if it needs replacing annually? I am guessing no then.


----------



## lee young (Oct 14, 2009)

Ok, an exo terra repti glo 10.0 with a reflector is much better, although for a few pounds more I would definitely recommend upgrading to the arcadia 12% next time you buy a new one, I first read about them on here and I have noticed a massive difference in my dragons colours, activity and appetite since changing mine.

There are some experiments documented on here which clearly show that the Zoo Med and Exo Terra branded 10% UV tubes have as little as 10% of their original UV output after 6 months, which is why a lot of people replace them after 6 months. In fact, using a UV meter, someone on here recently found that their 4 month old arcadia 12% tube was giving out more UV than their brand new Exo Terra tube.

It is perfectly possible that your dragon is fit and healthy even thought you only change your tube once a year, he might be getting enough UV/vitamin D through supplements and natural sunlight in the summer, but please bear in mind that MBD is almost impossible to detect until it gets very serious, and unless your dragon has annual X-Rays and blood tests then you probably wouldnt know what his vitamin D and calcium levels were, or if his bone density had fallen.

I'm not making any of this up, there are lots of UV experiments regarding reptiles out there, and most of them conclude that even the best UV tubes are not good enough, which is why more people are switching to megarays and the such. Even the best UV tubes, replaced every 6 months still dont give out optimal UV levels.

The Exo-Terra SunGlo bulb you use for a basking spot does give out UVA, but as all UV tubes give out UVA as well as UVB (and UVB is much more important for reptiles), a UVA basking spot isn't essential. It's not going to do any harm though, and if you are happy spending a bit more cash on them rather than normal spots then by all means keep using them.


----------



## kaosfusion (Oct 20, 2008)

Brilliant! Thank you.

Following your advice and due to the fact the strip needs changing as well now (he woke form brumating last Saturday) I have purchased an Arcadia - lets try it out!

Great for the other bulb thing......as for his wellbeing, all the light in world doesn't seem to make him eat his greens, little monster that he is!

Apart from that great advice much appreciated.

Thanks :blush:


----------



## lee young (Oct 14, 2009)

No worries, glad I could help. I couldn't believe how much difference it made to mine changing to arcadia 12% tubes, and ive been going on about them to everyone else since!


----------



## kaosfusion (Oct 20, 2008)

OK so now thinking far too much - how about Arcadia vs Zoo Med ReptiSun lights?


----------



## lee young (Oct 14, 2009)

If I remember rightly, the conclusions from the UVB meter in the experiment I saw were that the Arcadia 12% was only slightly higher output than the Zoo Med 10% one to start with, but it lasted a bit longer. The Exo-Tera one was the lowest output and barely lasted 6 months. So, Exo-Terra lasted 4-6 months, the Zoo Med ones roughly 6-9 months and the Arcadia ones a year before being replaced.

Search in the lizard section for UV experiment, you should be able to find it. I think there were two parts to the thread too.


----------



## kaosfusion (Oct 20, 2008)

I found it, just wondered if your memory would serve you better. The next issue would appear to be that 42" as a length is uncommon :S the joys of adopting another's viv.


----------

