Lighting for Beardie ( First day with beardie )

[JezyBrittnie]

Hello, I got my first bearded dragon today and its about 2-3 months old. i have the tank all set up for the beardie. i am using a heat chord that i attached under my tank that i bought today at petco ( it was recommended by a bearded dragon owner at the store ). I have a UVB Light and a heat lamp. I was told that i don't need a night light for the beardie because i have the heating chord attached under the tank that I'm supposed to be using 24/7.

Now my question is: Since i am using my Air Conditioner at night before i go to sleep, temperature set up to 65 degrees, Do i need to keep both Heat lamp and UVB light on, or just the heat lamp? and should i turn the heat lamp off during the day, and keep the UVB light on 24/7?( this is for the summer season )

Please somebody tell me how/when I should use the heat lamp and the UVB Light.. Thank you!

 

[RockHound]

My overhead heat lamp and UVB tube fluorescent are both on the same timer. Something like 14 hours on a day. 7ish to 9ish. Depending on the time of year, their activity routines change.

I wouldn't use an under tank heater. It isn't necessary and bearded dragons are designed to detect heat from above, not below. They benefit from bright lights. Underbelly heat can cook them without them even noticing. If you need night heat, use a ceramic heat emitter. Beardies need darkness to sleep well, and the ceramic heat emitters do not emit light.

Temps and lights are very important, but also a trial and error process. Do you have a digital thermometer or temp gun to measure with? If not, you'll want to get one and get readings for your basking spot, warm end and cool end of the tank. You want to have a temperature gradient set up so the beardie can digest and thermoregulate properly. I'd take back the under tank heater if you can.

 

[JezyBrittnie]

I am also currently using a Zilla Slimline Desert Fixture with Desert 50 UVB T8 Florescent Light. I took of the plastic cover, but it is currently on top of the screen lid/cover. i am still on the process on trying to figure out how to hang it inside the tank below the screen top. I also currently have the UVB Light on the front side of the screen and I have the basking lamp on the back side of the screen top/cover. I got a 40 breeder tank.

I also placed the UVB Light close to the basking lamp. I also have half side of the tank with under tank heater and other half with none. So i placed the under tank heater part on the hot side, and none on the cool side. But i guess i'll bring it back to the store and get a Ceramic heat emitter.

For the measuring of the temp. Since I'm a beginner with Beardies, I am currently using one of those circle thermometers that you stick on the tank. I'm currently waiting for my other check to come this week, since im low on budget at the moment, and get everything that's important and needed. For now i just have a basic set up, not too fancy, but according to the people at petco/petsmart, that owns beardie's, said that my set up should be fine for now, but need to upgrade in the future. For example, switching to 10.0 Reptisun, getting digital thermometer, etc.. My beardie is about 8-10 inches long since i got a 2-3 month old one from Petco.

I appreciate your comments/advices! If there's anything else that you think i need to know please let me know! Thank you so much!

 

[RockHound]

Sounds like you're on the right track. The only thing is, husbandry is more critical for young beardies than it is for adults. You'll want to get the Reptisun 10.0 as soon as possible. If your beardie will tolerate going outside, sitting in the sunlight for ~30 minutes a day would be great while waiting on funds. Make sure you have a harness - they can be quick and you certainly don't want him/her to get lost!

Many people use command hooks to mount their fluorescent fixtures inside the tank. I use a custom wood tank top instead of screen, so the fixtures are screwed into the top of it. There are endless ways to engineer glass tanks to be more efficient.

Don't buy a digital thermometer from a pet store. They are way cheaper at WalMart in the outdoor section, around $7-10. One that has a probe is perfect. They have "in" and "out" readings, so you can stick the probe on the basking spot and velcro the actual thermometer on the cool end. Two birds with one stone.