Am I giving my beardie too much light? Pls help

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Hey all you lovely people,

I'm a first time bearded dragon owner and I want to provide the very best for her, so I'm in the middle of setting up a vivarium so she feels right at home. Problem is, I worry that I'll have too much lighting in the tank, don't know if there would be any unwanted effects because of that. Please refer to my crudely drawn lighting diagram for my tank. Any advice would be very helpful :)
105234-7513950360.jpg
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
What is the LED strip for? and what is BL? Lighting in the tank should be the UVB that you have and a good bright white basking bulb that will keep basking temps 105-110 for a baby and 95-105 for an adult-- if you want extra lighting in the tank I would use a regular house hold bulb like a 60 watt that does not produce heat which mine does not --- no LED--- the basking bulb will be trial and error as far as wattage of bulb-- make sure you have a Infrared temp gun as that is going to give you the most accurate temps in the tank --- and you want a digital probe therm on the cool side --- temps there should be 80's during the day and not below 65 at nite -- the UVB is that a T 8 bulb or a T 5 bulb?
Karrie
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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What's the height of your tank? A 24'' T5 is a good choice for a tank that length. The basking light wattage you need will vary depending on the surface temperatures you are reading. Shoot for around 100-105 basking surfaces while providing a gradient down to around 75-80 or so on the cool side. You want the UVB light next to the basking light as you have it designed. That will allow areas to have little to no UVB away from the main basking area which is good. The T5 bulbs are pretty bright so you may not need the LED for additional visible light so I'd see how it goes without it first and maybe add it later if needed.
 

lightingishard

Member
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BL means basking light :) I already have my basking temperatures set. The LED is going to be for plant growth. The tank is 18" tall as well
 

lightingishard

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CooperDragon":42h9g04e said:
OK great. It sounds like you've got a good fit in terms of lighting =)

The LED is for full spectrum lighting for plants that im planning on adding, would the uvb bulb provide enough for the plants or would i need the LED? My concern is that all the lights would make it too bright for the beardie
 

CooperDragon

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As long as you have areas of shade/hides then the light probably won't be too much. Sometimes the issue with plants in a tank is that they can get trampled pretty easily. The combination of UVA and UVB from the basking lights might be enough, but broad spectrum LEDS over the cooler area (where the plants are, I'm guessing) might be beneficial.
 

lightingishard

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CooperDragon":nmja14x5 said:
As long as you have areas of shade/hides then the light probably won't be too much. Sometimes the issue with plants in a tank is that they can get trampled pretty easily. The combination of UVA and UVB from the basking lights might be enough, but broad spectrum LEDS over the cooler area (where the plants are, I'm guessing) might be beneficial.
Yea my plan is to have the LED on the cooler side of the tank, I'll make sure to provide some shade. Thank you lots!!
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
CooperDragon":3non0yea said:
As long as you have areas of shade/hides then the light probably won't be too much. Sometimes the issue with plants in a tank is that they can get trampled pretty easily. The combination of UVA and UVB from the basking lights might be enough, but broad spectrum LEDS over the cooler area (where the plants are, I'm guessing) might be beneficial.

I don't think the plants will survive long once the dragon decides to dig them all up or eat their leaves.

Where is the hide ?
 

lightingishard

Member
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kingofnobbys":2ejdoshu said:
CooperDragon":2ejdoshu said:
As long as you have areas of shade/hides then the light probably won't be too much. Sometimes the issue with plants in a tank is that they can get trampled pretty easily. The combination of UVA and UVB from the basking lights might be enough, but broad spectrum LEDS over the cooler area (where the plants are, I'm guessing) might be beneficial.

I don't think the plants will survive long once the dragon decides to dig them all up or eat their leaves.

Where is the hide ?
Havent put one yet, just moved her into the tank a couple of days ago. Ive seen vivariums with plants that keep growing well.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
lightingishard":2cq2bw7e said:
kingofnobbys":2cq2bw7e said:
CooperDragon":2cq2bw7e said:
As long as you have areas of shade/hides then the light probably won't be too much. Sometimes the issue with plants in a tank is that they can get trampled pretty easily. The combination of UVA and UVB from the basking lights might be enough, but broad spectrum LEDS over the cooler area (where the plants are, I'm guessing) might be beneficial.

I don't think the plants will survive long once the dragon decides to dig them all up or eat their leaves.

Where is the hide ?
Havent put one yet, just moved her into the tank a couple of days ago. Ive seen vivariums with plants that keep growing well.


I'd get her one (even a converted cardboard box will do).
Bearded dragons like to be able to retreat into their hide to sleep and nap and it will help the dragon feel more secure.

I have 2 hides in each of my pet lizard's tanks , a warm zone hide and a cool zone hide.
 

lightingishard

Member
Original Poster
I'd get her one (even a converted cardboard box will do).
Bearded dragons like to be able to retreat into their hide to sleep and nap and it will help the dragon feel more secure.

I have 2 hides in each of my pet lizard's tanks , a warm zone hide and a cool zone hide.[/quote]

Prob just gonna get one of those tree looking ones
 
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