Hi
I am wondering if you could advise me on what wattage and type of Megaray UVB/Heat lamp I need to be looking at getting in preparation for the hatchlings next month. I am really confused as there seems to be many wattage variations and also 'external ballasted' and 'self ballasted'. Please can you guide me as I do not have a clue what I should be looking for when it come to electrics! I also see that MegaRays are not in great supply and was also looking at Powersun lamps but I see that Megaray seems to be the one that is recommended. Help.....!!Many thanks for your help again...really appreciate it :o)
Thanks, Nicole

Hi Nicole,

I'd be inclined to use the Megaray, as do many keepers now:-

http://www.kimbosreptileworld.co.uk/megaray-120w-self-ballasted-p-145.html

When setting the lamp up, it's important to ensure a tortoise can escape the heat also.

The Powersun are OK too, but personally I've had problems with them in the past - bad batches. The quality of the UVB in the Megaray lamps tend to last a lot longer and they aren't as fragile as the powersun lamp - which tend to blow more easily; especially if knocked.

What species are you thinking of getting?

There are species specific care sheets here:-

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/80.asp

HTH

Kindest Regards
Darren

Hi Nicole,

The megarays are very good lamps. The 120 watt lamp should provide a good basking spot temperature with plenty of UVB rays.  The 60 watt external ballasted one does not give out enough heat to be used as an all in one solution, it would require an addtional heat source. Go with the 120 watt megaray. You can email the guy who runs the online shop Darren has linked above, he's very helpful and will put all the needed "kit" for the megaray together for you I'm sure.

Dave.

Thanks for you reply Dave, I will look for the 120W lamp.  Do I go for external ballasted or self ballasted...I don't have a clue what the difference is..do you know? Many thanks for your help. Nicole

Hi Nicole,

Sorry for the delay been having a few connection problems.

Simply put an externally ballasted bulb has an electronic ballast box attached which in effect  "jump starts" the bulb. The self ballasted bulb use's a tungsten filament within the bulb itself to do the same.

The pro's of the externally ballasted bulb is that the bulbs tend to be cheaper to replace and you only buy the ballast box once obviously. The claim is that the levels of UV these bulbs produce deteriorates very slowly. The main advantage of the self ballasted is that its all self contained but the self ballasted Megarays also have a long UV life.

Megaray also produce a 70w Metal Halide bulb now which apparently shows little deteriation in the UV levels it puts out. However this particuar bulb cannot be used as a sole UV source for a tortoise, it is extremely bright and I believe it is currently being used as part of the lighting setup in professional environments like zoo's, only used in conjunction with other bulbs to replicate a full daylight cycle.

I'd say a Megaray 120 Watt will be just fine, remember to get a ceramic lamp socket as they get very hot. I use the Exo Terra Porcelain wire clamp lamp holder. These are very good, the wire frame means even if the unit falls the bulb cannot touch the substrate (or tortoises). These holders don't have a reflector but with the Megaray the bulb is designed so that the light beams shines straight down from the face of the bulb so a reflector is not really necessary.

In all that I forgot to say the 120 Watt megaray is only available as a self ballasted lamp. Please pay close attention to the minimum distance requirement that are on the side of the box. I thimk the minimum distance the tortise can be from the face of the bulb was 12 inches with the old 100watt bulb. As this is slightly stronger it may be further away so please check, there is a good explanation on the side of the megaray box. I always measure the minimum distance as the distance between the lamp face and the height at the top of the shell of the largest tortoise that will come into contact with it.

These bulbs easily reach the required basking spot temperatures for Med tortoise species (31-33 degrees C is what I aim for) without any additional heating requirement.

Hi there, thanks so much for this invaluable information. I have gone ahead and ordered the 120W SB Megaray along with the 8.5 Zoomed Clamp Lamp - I do hope that will be OK. We are looking at an indoor 120 rabbit cage to use as a tortoise table which has a height of 49cm (appx 17") - do you think this will give enough scope to raise the bulb a minimum of 12 inches above the hatchlings. I was anticipating clamping the bulb inside the cage. This is our first clutch of eggs and as you can probably tell I am rather naive!!
Thanks for your much appreciated help.
Nicole

The clamp lamp holders are fine. You can also get a wire mesh guard that fits over the front. You might not need this though as using a rabbit cage you could position the lamp outside the cage shining in. Its going to be a close thing inside the basrs as the lamp holders are quite big. You would have to have a very low substrate in the area the basking lamp is directed at. Maybe a piece of slate pleced directly on the bottom of the cage (at a slight angle so they roll away from the hot spot if they tip themselves up). You may have to play around with how you position the lamp, the clamp holder will allow you to do this though I've found with recent Zoo Med clamps that they are not as good at clamping the lamp in postion as the old ones, bit weak. If the rabbit cage has a top opening you may be able to position the lamp through the opening.

Thanks for this. Actually this information is very helpful as with you saying about positioning the clamp above the cage has given me some ideas. Once of the rabbit cages I have looked at has a domed grated roof that rolls all the way back. I am thinking now that this would be the better option as it would allow the clamp to be positioned higher. Many many thanks, these tips are extremely beneficial - also good tip about the slate beneath the lamp.
Thank you :o) Nicole

Hi Nicole, just to add to the comments, I suspect you will need to have the megaray outside the cage.  The 120W combined megaray produces quite a lot of heat and in 'summer' times your background temp will be higher than in winter.  This means that you might need a fair bit more than 12" gap from lamp face to tortoise. Its also important that the lamp is hanging vertically and as said above you also need an area that is not being bombarded with heat and light from the lamp.

I've had a good experience wiht the mega ray lamps.  The distance from the lamp to the tortoise is crucial and I find I have to fiddle about for a while to get the height right for the desired temperature.  We cannot use any thermostats on these lamps so its either on or off.  and when its on there is a lot of heat and bright light.

Hi there, yes unfortunately I went down the Megaray route but have found it to be too hot. At 18inches I am getting 34.7 degrees and I can't raise the bulb any higher. I am at a bit of a loss what to do. My hatchlings are due in the next 2 weeks. Is there some other type of self ballasted bulb UVA/UVB that is a lesser wattage that perhaps will not be so hot?
Help!!!

Hi Ozric, can you tell me why you cannot use a thermostat with a Mega ray bulb?

Sorry if I am being a bit stupid with this question!

Depends how you read the tempatures !

I use the IR thermomemters, i have found the probe ones whilst very good can absorb the heat a little too much and give screwed readings, also the hottest point of the bulb is the centre, move a few cm's to the left or right and the temperature drops off.   Tortoise's are very good at thermo regulating, they will find the best thermal spot.

You can not use a thermostat with any of the Mercury Vapour bulbs as the arc tubes need to be a specific temperatures to vapourise the mercury and produce visable light.  If the bulbs are hot when they turn off they do not re-ignite until cool.  Plus is will shorten the life of the bulb.

We are hoping to go back to the 100w, i just got a test batch of 100w to test so if this goes well, we will be back in production of 100w Megaray.

Darren

This is interesting Darren. I am wondering what was the reason that production of the 100W stopped? Would I be right to assume the 100W would give lower temerpature from same distance than the 120W?
Nicole

hiya i,m thinking of getting a new lighting/heating setup i like the sound of them megarays is it right you only need the one bulb and is that all right in the winter also as my shelby has.nt had along sleep yet. as a new owner  i want to read up on it make sure everything right for her i,m getting her new table ready and because i never bought the lights and basking lamp she,s got( they was in the viv when i got her)i dont even know if they work so i,m gonna start fresh all help welcome as a new owner i, worry about everthing. we all want the best for our babys

Hi there!

I am also relatively new to this site and was very confused by the lighting/heating issue and TPG gave me great guidance.  I have now got a Powersun 100w self ballasted flood lamp by ZooMed.  It is expensive (appx £50-£60) but is the only lamp you need as it provides heat and UVB from the one bulb.  My babies freely travel in and out of the heat on thier table getting their UVB at the same time.  I have it adjusted at a height (on an adjustable zoo med lamp stand) that gives about 32 degrees heat which I understand is the preferred temperature. The lamp is on a timer to come on at 7am and goes off at 6pm and I plan to do this throughout the winter as they are still tiny.  My babies go outside if the temperature is above 20 degrees to get some real UVB rays but other than that it seems to be working perfectly.  Good Luck!  This is a great site and a wonderful source of information so I am sure you can pick up lots of tips for your little babies.

Nicole