Hi everyone,
Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm new to beardies.
So I have a little juvenile named Pickett. My partner and I bought the 40 gal National Geographic beardie tank for him, and it came with a little color changing card that lets you check how much UVB the light puts out, similar to a pH scale tester. Well, the tank comes with a steel mesh top, and we put the UVB light hood on top of the mesh. It was a ReptiSun® 5.0 Compact Florescent (came with the Zoo Med 20 gal tank we originally bought) and the UVB output didn't even register on that little card. So we bought a second light, a Reptisun T5-Ho Terrarium Hood 14". Much bigger, and I bought it because it's range would fit the height of the tank which is 16". I plugged that light up and turned on both, and still barely any UVB registered on the card, almost but not quite making it to the "low" color. I held the card up to the light without the mesh, and the card read between low and moderate.
I'm worried that Pickett isn't getting enough UVB, and it's clear that the mesh is blocking a good amount of the light. However, I don't think we can mount the light in the tank. As I said, he is a climber, and he hangs high up on the foam background 95% of the time. When we first got him he even climbed on the mesh top itself! So the risk of him touching the light and getting hurt is too great for me to mount it inside. At the same time, we need to have some kind of top because otherwise he would climb right out the tank. He's an explorer.
I'm at a loss for what to do, honestly. I did look up glass that lets UVB through, but none come in big enough sizes as the top is 35" x 16". I considered plastic too, but we have the basking and night time heat lamps resting on the hood directly and I wouldn't want it to melt. I have no idea what to do. All I can think of is getting a new top with a wider mesh, but I'm not sure I can find one to fit my tank.
Thank you so much in advance. This forum has been an incredible help to me and my partner as we learn how to care for our new son!
Edit: here are some pictures of our set up
Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm new to beardies.
So I have a little juvenile named Pickett. My partner and I bought the 40 gal National Geographic beardie tank for him, and it came with a little color changing card that lets you check how much UVB the light puts out, similar to a pH scale tester. Well, the tank comes with a steel mesh top, and we put the UVB light hood on top of the mesh. It was a ReptiSun® 5.0 Compact Florescent (came with the Zoo Med 20 gal tank we originally bought) and the UVB output didn't even register on that little card. So we bought a second light, a Reptisun T5-Ho Terrarium Hood 14". Much bigger, and I bought it because it's range would fit the height of the tank which is 16". I plugged that light up and turned on both, and still barely any UVB registered on the card, almost but not quite making it to the "low" color. I held the card up to the light without the mesh, and the card read between low and moderate.
I'm worried that Pickett isn't getting enough UVB, and it's clear that the mesh is blocking a good amount of the light. However, I don't think we can mount the light in the tank. As I said, he is a climber, and he hangs high up on the foam background 95% of the time. When we first got him he even climbed on the mesh top itself! So the risk of him touching the light and getting hurt is too great for me to mount it inside. At the same time, we need to have some kind of top because otherwise he would climb right out the tank. He's an explorer.
I'm at a loss for what to do, honestly. I did look up glass that lets UVB through, but none come in big enough sizes as the top is 35" x 16". I considered plastic too, but we have the basking and night time heat lamps resting on the hood directly and I wouldn't want it to melt. I have no idea what to do. All I can think of is getting a new top with a wider mesh, but I'm not sure I can find one to fit my tank.
Thank you so much in advance. This forum has been an incredible help to me and my partner as we learn how to care for our new son!
Edit: here are some pictures of our set up
