Brett:
I live in a place that's even colder then NYC now LOL. It's at least 10 degrees colder and from what I have been told---the winters are longer.
Even in NY the animals did not get consistant outdoor time. So if you get a chance to leave your animals outdoors for half the year---that's great.
gemisnake:
I remember before I got m meter---I spent a fortune on bulbs---MVBs---and after I started measuring microwattage I was really upset. Some were producing readings of FIVE at 6 inches after 1 week of use. The sun at any ground level basking point, let's say in The British Virgin Islands, reads in the 240's. Nowhere on the globe does it read five.
What will these bulbs produce after 2 months??
These were bulbs I spent money on. Nature Zone, zoomed (back then Powersuns were pricey),etc. Then I switched to Trex--which is still a descent bulb but was still not as strong as the sun.
Then when Mac Industires joined forces with Westron---all those new bulbs were developed and tested and retested.
The zoologist bulb will not even be sold to zookeepers without a phone consult...but the self ballasted floods are onsale at REPTILE DRECT.com for under $40 with free shipping. These bulbs show hardly ANY decay. When I spoke with an admin recently at RD he told me they can't keep these bulbs on the shelf. The other companies are now trying to mimick them. It's all good because if all the other bulbs are improved as a result I'm happy--
this is probably more then you wanted to read LOL
I go off with UVB...sorry.
If you want some more info here's some links:
RESEARCH GROUP:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Me...yguid=99475151
MAC INDUSTRIES:
http://reptileuv.com/
REPTILE DIRECT:
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.a...ROD&ProdID=937
(MAC BULBS IN REPTILE DIRECT ARE CURRENTLY SOLD OUT)
good luck
