So I recently bought my first baby bearded dragon about two weeks ago. I’ve been trying to get the lighting right and have been conflicted on what to use. I have a 40 gallon tank and for UVB I’m using a 12” reptisun t5 HO 10.0 and I have it mounted in the middle of the of the screen on the inside. I wasn’t sure if I could put it on top of the tank because the top is metal with smaller holes in it and wasn’t sure if enough light would get through. I’ve been considering getting the 22” reptisun but I’m not sure if it will leave my beardie enough room in the tank without uvb. Please help.
Need Advice on lighting for enclosure
- Thread starter JCur
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The 12'' is probably OK for now but for an adult it won't be wide enough to allow for even basking. The 22'' is a better choice for an adult dragon. It's hard to tell for sure without a solarmeter reading, but you can probably put a T5 10.0 on top of the enclosure as long as you bring the main basking area to about 10'' or so below the bulb. You can use branches or vines etc to allow closer access if you want. You can set the UVB light along the front or the back of the enclosure to help make a gradient along the depth. How are the surface temps around your enclosure?
The temps at the top of the basking spot is between 100-108 and is around 7” away from the light when mounted on the inside. At the bottom of the basking spot on the ground is around 85-90 and the cool side is around 75-80. However, when I mount the light on the top it doesn’t seem like any light is getting through at all and I’m worried he’s not getting sufficient light which is why I mounted it on the inside right in the middle so his basking spot isn’t directly under it but it’s close enough so he is getting light.
That is pretty thick mesh so it is likely blocking a lot of light. Do you have any other animals in the house? if not, you may be able to suspend the lights and leave the top off. That's how I have mine set up. Basking lights are on an adjustable light stand and the UVB light sits across the front.
with the 36'' T5
with the 22'' T5
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