Beginning Lighting Questions!

Hey guys! I've had my beardie in his 40 gallon breeder for about two or three weeks now. He loves it! The thing is... He just hangs on on his tree under his basking light all day! Occasionally he'll do a lap or two around the tank bit even to sleep he stays in the same spot. Basking temps get to about 90-105 F depending on where he feels like laying on the tree. Middle of the tank is 85, cool side is 75ish, 70 at night. He as a 125W basking light, a reptisun 5.0 T5 light that spans across the tank, and I think his moonlight bulb is 75w. Without it his tank gets mid-60s at night so I made the call to keep it.

My question basically is... Why does he stay on his tree all the time?! He has so much to climb on but he even sleeps on the darn thing! I'm getting some more things to climb on but even when he was tint and in his 10 gallon he would move to the cooler side at night!

He probably just enjoys that spot. His temps are fine with a nice range available. How far from the top of that branch is your UVB light? He may be moving around more than you think during the day but if he just prefers basking in that spot that's not unusual or a problem as long as he can easily access other ares if he wants to.

It's about 6 inches, if that, at an angle. But his vine is right under the it. It's just funny that as soon as I turn the lights off he's asleep on that tree ?

Is a reptisun 5.0 T5 ok to have..? I'm legitimately asking. I believe the 5.0 are for tropical/shaded reptiles and would recommend a reptisun 10.0 T5, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also with the night-time heat, if you need something to keep him warm at night, I recommend a ceramic heat emitter. This produces heat with no light and will be better for their sleep.

I think for him a 5.0 is fine for now because he gets a good amount of sunlight during the day. I honestly don't know though. He healthy and happy according to the vet! His hood breaks half the time and the light is out anyway ? Then the replacement hood I got didn't even turn on... But that's a story for another day.

Would you mind linking me the heater you're talking about?

hblack":11q2zzep said:

I think for him a 5.0 is fine for now because he gets a good amount of sunlight during the day. I honestly don't know though. He healthy and happy according to the vet! His hood breaks half the time and the light is out anyway ? Then the replacement hood I got didn't even turn on... But that's a story for another day.

Would you mind linking me the heater you're talking about?

Click to expand...

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/environmental-control-and-lighting/heaters/all-living-things-reptile-ceramic-heat-emitter-5195326.html?utm_id=500%7Cpg55903%7C73161275424&gclid=CKzzoejk_NMCFQePaQodfAULCw&lsft=utm_source%3Agoogle%2Cutm_term%3A5195326%2Cutm_medium%3APLA%2Cutm_content%3AGSC%20-%20PLA%20-%20Specialty%20%7C%20Reptile%2Cutm_campaign%3AGSC%20-%20PLA%20-%20Specialty
Similar to this but does not need to be this make or wattage. I've personally never used one as my house is set to kick the heat on if it gets below 68, but they are highly recommended by others who need additional heat or nighttime heat

Here's what I found regarding the Reptisun 5.0 T5 on the packaging
"*Ideal for all tropical lizards, aquatic turtles, Old World chameleons, box turtles and tortoises"
Definitely good he gets a lot of natural light! But I'd recommend getting a reptisun 10.0 T5 when you can, sorry to be the bearer of bad news :silent:

Oh! I think I actually have one of those. I've tried a bunch of different stuff with him so I have a little bit of everything ?

As soon as I get a hood that actually works right I'll bump up to a 10.0. It just came with a 5.0 so ? Currently in the talks with Zoo med. Not very happy at all with getting 2 dud hoods, one which came straight from them.

Yuck, I have no experience with ZooMed's hoods but I hope they get it figured out for you!

I was reading someone else's post about how having a 5.0 T5 mounted inside the enclosure will be "ok for now" but would recommend getting it upgraded as soon as you can. A couple hours a day outside in the sun would also really help anyway.

I use Arcadia T5 bulbs and fixture which I definitely recommend but it took a while to ship, however I ordered it after they just sold out. Super reliable though and awesome customer service. Direct one on one emails, no auto generated stuff. Here's what I have but the 22" bulb version which I can no longer seem to find..
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/34-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

They're sending me another one. The customer service rep I've been speaking with through all this said she'll test it out herself before shipping so fingers crossed!

Yeah, Suga is good with his 5.0 for now. He'll get a 10.0 as soon as I get the working hood. It can't go on the inside because he'll try and touch it or climb on it. Almost did that with his basking lamp once and scared the hell out of me! Yeah, I've been having trouble finding longer bulbs/fixtures as well... Ill for sure check that brand out though if Zoo Med fails me again.

No problem! Best of luck with this new one :wink:
Reminds me when I returned a fish tank hood that wouldn't light anymore. Got to the store, they plugged it in, and it turned on. I looked like a liar.

Hoods can be very finicky, like the cord needs to be wiggled and bent in a specific way. Frustrating. My salt rock lamp is trying to pull this **** on me now. Can't bump it or it goes off.

I am sorry, I went on a cord rant.

that basking temp is rather low from my experience. my guy was better off with his basking area at 110*. he would bask for a few hours and then go play on the cool side then go warm up again. I also noticed he ate and digested food better with the higher temp.