Question about his lights

[hammons]

I have always used the Reptisun 10.0 17 watt T8 bulb. Are there other options that are just as good that I can maybe purchase at lowes or home depot that are just as good? What is the difference between T5 and T8?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Most of us use Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 fixtures/bulbs or Arcadia 12%
Differences would be T5 10.0 bulbs will penetrate thru the wire mesh screens and are still beneficial to them towards the floor of the tanks. These bulbs only need to be replaced once a year.
T8 bulbs need to be placed on the underside of the screen lid so that it's closer to them and doesn't penetrate as far into the tank. These bulbs need to be replaced twice a year.

 

[PatsyB]

There are no bulbs at the hardware store that provide UVB, you need to buy reptile specific bulbs. The fixtures however are different. You can buy a T8 fixture at the hardware store. Not sure about the T5 since with the T5 you want to have a reflector. I think that PetMountain is having a blowout Easter sale, they might have T5 fixtures for sale.

T8 is a bigger bulb, T5 is a smaller bulb. So they won't fit in the same fixtures. Hdrydr31 already explained the other differences.