Hobby UV Reptile Vital Terrarium Lamp - 100W

Hobby UV Reptile Vital Terrarium Lamp - 100W is a self-ballasted mercury vapour lamp giving light, heat and UV-B from a single bulb. For an arid-zone reptile - a bearded dragon, a uromastyx, a desert tortoise - that one bulb covers three of the four things the animal needs from its lighting.

Key Features

• All Three In One Bulb: bright light, basking heat and UV-B together, which keeps the number of fittings down.
• UV-B Output: Hobby quote around 150 microwatts per square centimetre at roughly 50cm from the animal.
• 100W, No Separate Ballast Needed - it runs from a standard E27 ceramic holder.
• For Arid Species that bask hard and need high UV.

Getting UV Right

• Replace it on a schedule, not when it dies. UV output falls away long before the lamp stops giving light. A lamp that looks fine can be producing almost no useful UV-B. Write the fitting date on the base.
• Distance is the dose. The figures Hobby quote only apply at the distance they state. Too close risks eye and skin damage; too far does nothing at all. Measure it.
• No glass or plastic in the way. UV-B does not pass through either, so the lamp has to shine through mesh or directly into the enclosure.
• Never look into it, and do not run it where people sit.
• UV is species-specific. A desert lizard and a crepuscular gecko need very different amounts. If you are not sure what yours needs, ask us or ask a reptile vet before you pick a wattage.

Using A Hot Lamp Safely

• Fit a guard. A basking lamp reaches a temperature that will burn an animal that climbs onto it, and reptiles do climb onto them. Hobby's Clamp Lamp Protector grids are listed separately and are not an optional extra in our view.
• Mount it so it cannot fall. Check the clamp or bracket every time you work in the enclosure. A lamp that drops into a terrarium is a fire as well as a burn.
• Run it on a thermostat, and measure what you get. Wattage is not temperature - the same bulb at 20cm and at 40cm gives completely different basking temperatures. Use a thermometer at the basking surface and adjust the distance.
• Leave a cool end. Heat one end of the enclosure only, so your animal can choose. A uniformly hot enclosure is the commonest husbandry mistake.
• Keep water off a hot bulb. Misting a lamp that is already up to temperature can shatter it. Switch off and let it cool first.

Good To Know

• This listing is the 100W lamp. Note we also list the UV Eco Vital, whose 100W option is the same article number - if you want the 100W, either listing gets you the same lamp.
• UAE mains suits this. Hobby build to 230V 50Hz, which is what comes out of the wall here, so there is no voltage problem. The plug is the European two-pin type, so you will want an adapter or a UK plug fitted - and it is worth running tank and terrarium equipment through an RCD-protected socket.
• These lamps cannot be dimmed or run through a thermostat. A mercury vapour lamp needs full voltage to strike and to hold its arc, so control the temperature by changing the distance, not the power. That is a real constraint - plan the enclosure around it.
• Use a ceramic E27 holder, never plastic, and fit a lamp guard.
• Replace it on schedule even if it still lights. Write the date on the base.
• If you are unsure what UV level your species needs, ask us or a reptile vet before choosing a wattage. Too much UV is as much of a problem as too little.