UVB Placement

[j5ive]

Currently I have my Fluoresent light standing straight up behind the enclosure. It is mesh. My question is, will my iguana still get the same UVB as when it was on top. It is closer to him now its just hitting him from the side instead of up top.

[Brandon]

i'm not sure what size light you have but i know for a uvb the general rule is; X amount of inches from sed iguanas back and you are good. I would assume that follows no matter which plane the light is from. There are uvb sensors which will actually tell you how much uvb output you have in a certain area. Kinda vague i know....i just saw that your post was hanging so i thought i'd try.
Someone with a little more experience should be coming along soon. I know that I.K. has done alot of research with his particualr types of uvb lights

[j5ive]

It's 48''.

[prism_wolf]

Actually...from the side is not the best placement for any UVB. It should always come from above simply for the safety of the eyes. UVB is a dangerous source of radiation if used incorrectly. From above iguanas have eye ridges to help guard the eyes from the ultraviolet light. From the sides there is no protection which can lead to eye issues...including, but not limited to, blindness...and it's no fun having the imitation sun shine directly into the eyes, either. Time to rearrange... .

[j5ive]

I got off the phone with my vet a couple of hours ago. She told me he should be fine. She said if eye problems become an issue that he would retreat to another side. She also said he should be fine because iguana's usually close their eyes when basking, and that in the wild the sun isn't directly above them. She said basically that having it sideways will not hurt him and that she thinks it will be better because its closer to the basking surface. Thanks prism because I was thinking the same thing about eye problems. It took a long hold but I did get in touch with her.

[IguanaKing]

I'm sorry j5ive...as much as I hate to second-guess your vet, she is wrong. Iguanas do not close their eyes when basking, and if they ever have ANY reaction in their eyes while basking, it comes from the level of visible light. We are talking about the Sun though, and not a man-made source of UVB. Man-made UVB sources, especially fluorescent tubes, do not produce sufficient visible light to induce normal reactions in the iguana's eyes. Iguana movement is not triggered by their eyes, it is triggered by their core temperature, coupled with input from their parietal eye. If the light source is in a lateral relationship to the iguana, his parietal eye does not do its job the same way. Also, UVB light is very directional, and the iguana's body is designed to absorb it from the largest sphere of radiation...which is...from above.

[Merlin]

I would have to also go against your vet. Iguanas do not close their eyes when basking. If they did something would quickly walk over and eat them!
The purpose of having the light longways on the top is to get the iguana stretched out under the light allowing as much of the body as possible to be in the light path. A vertical orientation places very little of the ig's body in the light at any given time. This might be functional if the iguana spent all its time hanging vertically in front of the light but this is rarely the case.
And if you look at the way the sun shines,... most of the day it is shining down from above. There is very little of the day that the light would be shining directly from the side.

[prism_wolf]

To add to all of this...

Zair is basking as I type...and his eyes are wide opened. He was basking outside yesterday...eyes wide opened. He loves to watch the birds and the butterflies...:-)

The UV bulbs we provide are low-light bulbs...however the bulbs have a relatively high amount of UVB in comparison. The low light keeps the pupils from adjusting properly allowing higher amounts of UVB to enter the eye causing UV damage. This is why tanning salons offer eye caps. The low light and high UVB causes blindness...even if the eyes are closed.

She may be a very good vet, but this is something that has been being looked at seriously and has been documented after mysterious blindness in animals with these lights started to occur. She just needs to update her info.

[j5ive]

Ok, well I will have to find a way to get it above the enclosure. Which will be very difficult considering its a 48'' fixture. I would hate to have to put the enclosure back on its side which would give him less room to climb.

[Merlin]

How big is the enclosure?

[j5ive]

It's a 175 gallon Apogee reptarium.

[Merlin]

Unless the bulb is located inside the mesh you already have a problem. The mesh of the reptarium is so fine that it actually filters out most of the UVB light. And you are going to have to get something larger, much larger, soon anyway. The current cage is too small to last very long and the claws of a larger iguana will rip the mesh to shreds!
You also need 2 of the flourescent tubes. For now, assuming the ig is a hatchling and hasn't already outgrown the enclosure, you could cut an opening in either side of the mesh and place the lamps through it. Just make sure tha you have the openings are sealed shut well so that there is no way the ig can find its way out.
If there is one he will find it!

[j5ive]

Yes, ofcourse my iguana is a hatchling...15'' STL. The reptarium is a cheap temporary cage until I order a larger enclosure. The reptarium is flipped on the long side now and the UVB fixture is on top. I do know that mesh MAY filter UVB but it is only 2-3 inches away from the basking spot. I'm not going to put a bulb/fixture inside of the enclosure because my iguana would burn him/herself.

[prism_wolf]

j5ive said:

I do know that mesh MAY filter UVB but it is only 2-3 inches away from the basking spot.

Not "MAY"...it does. Window screen filters out literally half of the suns UVB. That's one of the first things I tested when I got my meter. The reptarium screen is even finer. 2-3" from the basking spot is actually too close. There are SO many technicalities. It's not really rocket science, but there are rules that need to be followed.

You'll get there...I promise!! ;D

[Merlin]

Yes, of course my iguana is a hatchling...15'' STL.

No need to get defensive. You would be amazed at the things we see well meaning people do!
And there is no MAY about it the mesh does screen out the UVB. Many of us here have and use UVB metering devices to check up on this things. It isn't just hearsay or opinion.