Let's Talk Herps! (Live) Let's Talk about VivTech Lights

Описание: Let's discuss what's being discussed! A lot of people have come to me with questions, and I have a lot of questions too. Ryan and Erica have always supported this channel and I support them. Let's try and have a communal discussion on what to do with this information.

Thank you to those of you who have tuned in. If there is anyone watching during this and have questions we’ll turn this into a discussion, if not, I’m happy to let this just be a statement from my channel on this topic.

Thank Vivtech for being an early supporter, wonderful guest, great people to speak with at the expos or just in general, and genuinely passionate about advancing reptile husbandry.

They have amazing products, their smart monitor technology makes monitoring my pets simple and convenient.
Their line of LED UV Bulbs stands as a benchmark in our hobby’s quest to replicate the sun and provide the most for our reptiles.
BUT
there’s a report from Thomas Griffiths that was posted on the Facebook Group Reptile Lighting that I’ll read:

“Lamp Report - Vivtech Sursun UVB LED Lamps
For the most up to date version of the report please use this link: http://tinyurl.com/5f9bp6vu
In short, I'm not a big fan. The dangerous short-wavelength UVB is worrisome. I'm also not a fan of some of the marketing (podcasts, social media, etc) for these lamps that has insisted that animals are safe to touch the bulbs and even sit on the bulbs when they are turned on. This is VERY dangerous, and should not be done with any bulb.
There is a near-complete lack of activity in the parts of the spectrum associated with the safe regulation of VitaminD synthesis.
I have seen evidence of alleged damage to skin and eyes of animals from these lamps.
In the past when speaking to them, Vivtech have responded with kindness to all messages. I sent this report to Vivtech in January 2024, and I gave them opportunity and time to respond to it, but I never heard back from them.
I will say that Vivtech's position is that they use these lamps on a range of animals and have many customers that also use them.
Their position is also that they do not measure shortwave UVB or UVC when conducting tests on this range of products. But I can confirm that my Spectrometer is more sensitive to UV than their equipment, I conduct tests in a controlled environment, and I had the device recalibrated shortly before conducting these tests (I recalibrate it once a year with the manufacturer).”

There are things in that report that we were already aware of. That the UVA level was much higher than what we receive from the sun, and that the UV spectrum wasn’t complete and would lack the “brakes” of the Vitamin D cycle. I thought this was pretty simply counteracted with the linear T5 tubes and that these two bulbs together was the best solution to recreating the visual spectrum for reptiles.

However, this report concludes that there is light in the non terrestrial spectrum. The First Call measured as .05% in the UVC spectrum and .1% in the Non Terrestrial UVB spectrum. This is light that causes skin issues and cancers.


I want to know if these bulbs are dangerous. I haven’t observed any negative effects from any of the 6 snakes I’ve had use it. If you want to continue using them, I suggest dimming them, but I have turned mine off until I get more concrete proof that these are safe bulbs.

I love Ryan and Erika and I think they pushed the UV light industry forward for our hobby, and I genuinely hope this is a setback towards more advanced and amazing innovation. I’ve spoken briefly with VIvtech for comment on this issue, and have been told they will have one. But otherwise I make no attempt to speak for them.

Wasn’t there another test from Sarina Wunderlich? Did that one not show that amount?