Full spectrum tubes work equally well in standard household or industrial fluorescent fittings which can be obtained from electrical and hardware suppliers at considerable discounts. When installing full spectrum or UVB producing tubes, it is absolutely critical that nothing is placed between the envelope of the tube and the recipient animal. The amount of UVB received also diminishes extremely quickly with distance. At greater distances than this, the amount of UVB actually received will be minimal. It may be necessary to install fittings on a sub-framework located within the terrarium in order to achieve this.
Tubes also have a very limited life.
Most will require changing every at least 12 months in order to guarantee continued UVB output. There is evidence that some tubes fail to produce advertised levels of UV-B after only 6 months of use. Although there may be no visible deterioration in the performance of the tube, there is ample evidence that the invisible UV content decays rapidly as the tube ages. It is a good idea to place a small adhesive label near each fitting with the date the tube was last changed clearly marked. Full spectrum UVB tubes produced for reptile use are often classified according to their percentage UVB output.