HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Does anyone ever have problems with the ZooMed day bulbs? It seems that every time I buy them, they dont last very long. Example: I bought a 60 watt day bulb on Saturday, by the very next Saturday it was blown. Thats an $8 bulb lasting only 1 week, not worth it.

What brand of bulbs do you all use??

Wow you must have a bad batch...I have a 100watt and a 60 watt..I go through them about every 4 months or so..

I go through them about every month. But here is a tip that works for daytime bulbs. Buy a regular incandescent from the grocery store for like 2 bucks.

What is the difference in the incandescent bulbs form the grocery store & the reptile specific bulbs? Doesnt the reptile bulbs have certain things the crabbies need? Like uva or uvb or whatever?

I am all for the cheaper incandescent bulbs if they provide the essentials that the crabs need.

It is unknown as to if hermits need UVA/UVB lighting. I have it cause I have exotics, and I want them to the the UV rays, just in case.

The Zilla bulbs that you are talking about only provide UVA, and not much at that. I personally don't think UV is necessary, with UVB being more important, unless you have exotics, especially straws.

I have a straw, ruggies, E's, Viola's, & PP's and I also have a leopard gecko so should i just stick with the reptile bulbs then?

The incandescants do not generate the heat that a reptile lamp would. While they do put off heat, it's not the same amount or as directed as the heat lamps. I have a regular lamp shining on my tank, and my tank was still cold until I added an actual heat lamp right beside it.

Ok, so today i was in Wal-Mart in the light bulb isle & found a bulb made by GE. Its called "Reptile Rays" "Neodymium Daytime Heat Light", the one I got is 60 watts & they also had it in a night (black) bulb also. I paid around $4.
I just put it on my leopard gecko's tank, I will let you all know my review in a few weeks, or whenever it goes out.

Has anyone else used these??

I bought the night bulb last night - two of them actually, one for my main and my iso. Thank you for the head's-up that they had them at Walmart. I had looked the day before and didn't see anything I thought I could use. Here they were hidden on the bottom underneath the night-lights.

I can't tell the difference from a normal party black-light bulb other than they were twice the price! They are 60W and heating very well. I've got one suspended about an inch over my 10G iso and the temp is up to 82. I have the other inside my 29G and had to put it on a rheostat from Home Depot - half strength and the temp is at 80.

I do like the color, though. Since the tanks are in the living room, the black-light is not a distraction, although if I walk over I can still see the crabs moving around. And unlike the night-glo bulb from Petsmart, the crabs are not glowing red anymore!

Well, so far so good!! I am going to buy a night bulb also.

My local Wal-Mart also has "critter" bulbs in the pet section, I have had bad luck with those. The 3 I bought, the glass separated from the metal base. I do not recommend those at all.

Make sure your night bulbs do not produce UV...black lights do and UV may bother the hermit crabs at night. I'm not positive if UV is visible to hermit crabs, but since many invertebrates can see UV, I wouldn't doubt that hermit crabs can as well.

I have 3 clamp lamp fixtures above my 55g for heat and light. I use a 75w moon-glo bulb for heat all the time, a 60w normal incandescent bulb for additional heat during the day, and a flourescent reptile bulb (I think it's the ReptiSun 5.0) for UVA/UVB during the day. Although I don't know if UV light during the day is necessary, I'm sure that all crabs get UV light in their natural habitat, so it seems like a good idea to provide it for them.

I have been through about a bulb a week lately! I bought the critter bulbs at walmart and they seem to "pop" for some reason and shatter! It might be the humidity coming from the tank, i have the fogger set up and keep the humidity about 82-85 % for the straws and violas. Actually the E's love the fogger! My PP's stoped bathing as often with the fogger. I think the gills love the fog. The UTH just did not cut it for my 20 long tank so when i got the second tank a 29 gal i just want with dome lights. I have two on each tank but in the day when its not as cold i keep one on. I dont know if its the humidity or the turning them on and off that is making them go so fast. This is getting to be expensive. I havent seen the other bulbs in walmart.. Im going to check that out. Does anyone have a photo of what the box looks like?

Ive heard the party black light bulbs are bad so not to get them? Our local dollar store had a huge box of them, I would love to know if they are ok.

suebee wrote: Ive heard the party black light bulbs are bad so not to get them? Our local dollar store had a huge box of them, I would love to know if they are ok.

The problem with them is that they produce UV light, which would probably disturb the hermit crabs at night.