Monthly Archives: November 2022

Tips for choosing the UV lighting in the terrarium

Modern UVB lamps have different wattages. The distance between the UV lamp and the animal as well as the daily exposure time can also be changed. We therefore recommend the following procedure:

1. Choosing the right wattage (35 - 150 watts)
2. Choose the right distance between the lamp and the animal (often between 20 and 40cm)
3. The daily exposure time (6 – 12 hours)


UVB Matrix


The UVB matrix developed by Reptiles Expert is helpful here. We try to imitate the sun in their natural habitat for our reptiles as much as possible. Desert animals will require more UVB, more heat, and also longer exposure times than jungle animals or Mediterranean reptiles.
Example: A desert reptile (bearded dragon) needs a 70 watt UVB lamp at a distance of approx. 30 cm. This distance is chosen so that...

GRRR@#! ...My UVB lamp in the terrarium suddenly won't start anymore - what's wrong?

Who doesn't know this: The expensively bought UV lamp suddenly no longer starts or suddenly goes out. After the first anger, we start troubleshooting...

Modern UV metal vapor lamps (the best UV lamps in the terrarium) require a so-called electronic ballast for operation. Without an electronic ballast, the UV lamp would not start at all. So why do you need this extra device?

There are two reasons:

1) As a starter for igniting the UV lamp: The electronic ballast sends a very high starting current of approx. 5000 volts into the UV lamp in order to ignite the gas mixture. The terrarium lamp ignites, the gas mixture heats up and after a few minutes full brightness is reached.

2) As a current limiter: During operation of the UV metal halid lamp, the discharge current increases and would destroy the lamp without electronic limitation...

Modern UVB metal halid lamps - also called UV lamps, HID lamps or UV spots - have the following significant advantages over all other terrarium lamps.
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