My bearded dragon is currently about 4 months old and around 9 inches long. We just recently purchased a new 20 gallon tank with the dimensions of 30in. by 12in by 12in. Our bulbs from our prior tank seem to not be strong enough. We have researched a ton and talked to vets and also reptile store owners. Everywhere we look everyone seems to say something different about the types of bulbs to get and the correct temperatures to get the cage to. So our question is what wattage of a bulb should we get and what kind of bulb(s) to get. We currently have a dual-dome light system with a 26 watt UVB bulb and a 75 watt day basking bulb. These stay turned on the whole day and only get the warm side of the cage to around 90 degrees and the cool side to only 75 degrees. At night we shut both lights off and just leave the heating mat on at night which was recommended by one of the store owners we talked to. If someone could clear this up for us it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Heating
- Thread starter Stewie150
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VenusAndSaturn
Sub-Adult Member
Usually that gets it up there however possibly a 100 watt would work if the 75 isn't doing what it needs to. Make sure the basking spot is 100-110, no higher than a 110 and that your monitoring it with a temp gun or digital temp gauge with a probe.
The heat mat is really unnecessary, however if you want to still use it make sure its on a good thermostat so theres no burns. Make sure the probe is underneath the glass sitting on the heatmat so the glass above doesn't get too hot. Also make sure there is some sort of air circulation going on underneath the tank.
I'd say 90 at the most for the heat mat.
You'll also want to mount your uvb compact bulb inside so your beardie gets any uvb. Even though it is a 26 watt it needs to be mounted inside at around 4-6 inches above the basking spot or have the screen removed from that area. When you upgrade to a 40+ gallon you'll most likely have to buy a reptisun t5 ho 10.0 22" or 34" uvb tube light with a reflective fixture so the beardie gets proper uvb.
The heat mat is really unnecessary, however if you want to still use it make sure its on a good thermostat so theres no burns. Make sure the probe is underneath the glass sitting on the heatmat so the glass above doesn't get too hot. Also make sure there is some sort of air circulation going on underneath the tank.
I'd say 90 at the most for the heat mat.
You'll also want to mount your uvb compact bulb inside so your beardie gets any uvb. Even though it is a 26 watt it needs to be mounted inside at around 4-6 inches above the basking spot or have the screen removed from that area. When you upgrade to a 40+ gallon you'll most likely have to buy a reptisun t5 ho 10.0 22" or 34" uvb tube light with a reflective fixture so the beardie gets proper uvb.
VenusAndSaturn
Sub-Adult Member
Definitely not, in fact having any colored lights (blue, purple, black, red) is bad for them. They can see it so having it just makes everything look pretty distorted and not normal. It also irritates them at night.
Make sure the light you get is just a regular bright light.
Make sure the light you get is just a regular bright light.
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