Glass Enclosure With Metal Mesh Cover - Looking For Opinions

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Xazzak

Hatchling Member
I'm eventually going to buy Smaug an adult enclosure for our living room, but for now he's in a 40 gallon breeder. I want to move the enclosure (glass with mesh top) into the living room so he won't get so depressed in a separate room when he's not out socializing. We actually have a basking spot setup on the back of our couch so he can hang out with us. I know he gets depressed because his color darkens when in there too long and he immediately brightens up when he's around us/sees us.

Current Setup
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As you can see in the picture, I currently have his lighting suspended from a tension rod and the top off because this is what the breeder said I had to do. The reason the breeder said this, is that a mesh top will block a large majority of the UVB rays (ReptiSun 10.0 - 24") which will lead to MBD. I have the fixtures and taller furniture/basking area to accommodate a "sit on top of a mesh lid" setup. The current distance between his basking spot and the UVB source is 9 inches. So my question for the community is, has anyone out there had any bad experiences with mesh lids and their bearded dragon developing MBD?

Just as an FYI, I cannot keep the current setup for our living room, primarily because I have no where to put the tension rod for the suspended fluorescent fixture, and secondly cause of our cat. Also, we're not that concerned with our cat Berlioz since he actually nuzzles Smaug when we let him out, and seems to enjoy being around him. They get along very well, even without constant supervision.
 

Taterbug

BD.org Addict
If you use a better fixture (with a reflector) it will be less a problem, the reflector makes up much of the loss to the screen. I would recommend the T5 lighting in a reflected fixture though, personally. It's quite a bit stronger than what you have now.
 

GizmosGrammie

Hatchling Member
I used Velcro to mount my UVB tube light inside my tank. I have a 40 gal breeder tank & use a 24" Reptisun 10.0 UVB. I found a plastic light weight fixture at Meijer. My heat lamp & an additional lamp for lighting sit on top of the mesh screen (not shown in pic as I had just installed the light in the tank). The mesh is critical in Indiana; as I get those horrible nasty smelling orange lady bug like bugs.
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Xazzak

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
GizmosGrammie & Taterbug...thank you both for your suggestions.

GizmosGrammie - This would be a cool idea as my 40 GB tank has a cable management hole on the inside, but we don't have any Meijer locations near me in Georgia. I had a hard time just finding a fluorescent fixture at all for a 24" fluorescent bulb, which was of the "shop light/hanging" variety at Home Depot. Any other suggestions where I could find something like you have that is light enough for Velcro? The one I have is certainly way too heavy as it's made out of metal.

Taterbug - This too is a helpful suggestion, but I need some clarification. When you say a T5, I take it that is a smaller variety of 10.0 ReptiSun I believe? I think mine is a T8? I have read that the use of reflectors and a bulb that is too strong could cause blindness if too close to their eyes. I would likely have to order stuff online as all I really have near me are places like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Pet Smart. Any suggestions as to where to buy a fixture with a built in reflector or is the reflector a separate part you install (universal comparability with any fixture)?
 

GizmosGrammie

Hatchling Member
Pretty sure this is the one I have only the "black light" version which I bought close to Halloween for $11.99 at Meijer. This is the same brand but in white. I could not get the link to post so snapped a pic w/my phone. This should help you. Read specs it's only 1.4 pounds.

I bought a generic pkg of 3-4" Velcro advertised for securing a fire extinguisher; so I knew it w/b strong enough for the light fixture.
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GizmosGrammie

Hatchling Member
Finally found it! If you Google: "lights of america halloween black/glow light", you'll see a link for a 24" black light by Lights of America.
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Taterbug

BD.org Addict
T5 are a newer generation of lights, they are more powerful so can compensate for the screen and be mounted further away. You'd likely want to buy online, some petstores sell the T5 reptisun setup. Some fixtures have built in or detachable reflectors, and you can buy ones that clip to the bulb.

Any lights can cause blindness when used improperly. UV lights should always be mounted at the distance appropriate for their strength and really mounting them overhead is best. Mounting it to the wall can be a problem because it will shine into the dragons eyes more.

You may find this helpful to see the differences in the light types. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides
 
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