I have a question about lighting. I have been using a reptile lamp for my ig. It's one of those purplish ones about 75W. I have read that they don't produce UVB though. I also read about a lot of different lights that do produce UVB. I'm just a little confused about all the different kinds. What kind is the best?

There are several different kinds of UVB lights. You are right the purple spot bulbs don't produce UVB and the basking bulbs don't either. There are three basic UVB producing bulbs: flourescent tubes, coil lamps, and mercury vapor lamps.

The flourescent tubes have been around for a long time and have been proven to be safe and to produce UVB. The best two are the IguanaLite 5.0 and Reptisun 5.0 (ZooMed) which are the same except for the packaging. ESU produces some good ones as well. On the packaging, make sure it says specifically UVB, not just 'full spectrum' or 'ultraviolet wavelengths'. The best lights produce between 3 and 7% UVB. The flourescents generally cost about $20. They stop producing UVB at about 6 months old, even if the light continues to work.

The coil lamps are handy because they produce UVB and fit into a regular sized socket (the flourescents require a pricey long fixture). After they stop producing UVB, they can be used around the house and are very energy efficient because they don't use up much energy for amount of light they produce. They generally cost about $20 as well. Coil lamps are basically just very compact flourescent tubes.

Mercury vapor lamps are nice because they produce heat (flourescents and coil lamps don't produce much heat) and are a UVB source so you don't have to buy separate lights for heat and for UVB. However, they come with some controversial issues. They do conatin mercury, which is a VERY harmful chemical when it comes into contact with anything (iguana or human). If the bulb's protective coating that traps the mercury in the lamp gets broken, mercury can be released without you even realising it. keepers of various herps have gotten permanent damage done to them from mercury exposure. I refuse to use them until more research has been done on them or they are proven safe for animal and human use. They are the most expensive as well (about $40)

So take your pic! lol. the coil lamps are probably the easiest and least expensive to use just because they are small and can fit into your average socket. The only real downfall to them is that they can't stretch all the way across all or most of your iguana's enclosure like the flourescent tubes can. But you can put them in the most accessed spot in your ig's enclosure to somewhat make up for it: the basking area. It's your decision from there. :D

Heather

its combo light good enough?

A good light set up is the mega ray eb 60 watt from reptile uv.com . Its a little pricey but very worth it, I set mine up and at 14 inches it is putting out 175 on the uv meter, :thumbs: which is also a worthy but exp. item. Good luck,