Lighting??

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Hey everyone. I have questions.
I've had my dragon Toothless since November of 2020. We bought him (or her, but Will refer to as "him" for sake of sanity) from Petco. We bought a 40 gallon home for him that included lights, basking spot, ect. I have since done extensive research on my scaly friend and know that his UVB light is inadequate.
I currently have the coil UVB light that came with his set up. His tank is Thrive Front Double Door Opening Terrarium Desert Essentials Kit - 40 Gallon. I also have a digital prove thermometer that I take his baking temperature with (between 105 and 108). His baking temp wasn't getting hot enough with the bulb that came with the kit so I've replaced that with a 150 watt bulb. I can't remember the name of the bulb right now. He eats crickets, dubia roaches, meal worms, wax worms and green beans cut into small bite sized pieces. I haven't been able to find a salad that he really likes yet but I am going to get some different types of salads when we go grocery shopping this weekend.
Given the information, what type of UVB light would be recommended? I tried my local pet store today for a Reptisun T5 HO housing only to see they were out of the fixture. Although they did have the Reptisun 10.0 T5 HO bulb which does no good without the housing.
They did have a T8 housing but from what I've been reading, the T5 is the better of two, correct?
Any information would be greatly appreciated as I would like to get his UVB light situated this weekend. I plan to go to a few other stores in hopes of finding the housing.
I would like to be able to place the UVB on top of the screen of possible...l
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Mbrown2572

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Ok thank you. I see this fixture comes with a bulb. Would you recommend buying the 10.0 to use instead of using the 5.0 that it comes with? I know the store that I had gone to has got the 10.0 bulbs. They just didn't have anymore of the fixtures that I was looking for.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes you want to change the bulb out but hang on to it as a back up- just this week I was changing out one of my bulbs I had bought last March w/ a couple others - I wanted the Arcadias but it was during the start of the pandemic and couldnt get them so I got the Rep's well I had gotten 3 of them it turns out one was a dud-- I had kept the 5.0's from the fixtures so at first I thought maybe it was the fixture but after putting in the 5.0 it worked fine then tried the 10.0 and it went on flickered and shut off --- so that is a example of how the 5.0 can be used --- of course I had to change the distance of the fixture in the tank but it will work - I am going to use it till the expiration on it since then I have gotten my Arcadias as well -- they came here the other day -- but you want the 10.0 ---
Karrie
 

Mbrown2572

Member
Original Poster
Ok great. I'll get that ordered. You mentioned Arcadias. How are those in comparison to the ReptiSun bulbs? I have seen them on the site as well in the 12% and 14% bulbs. What's the difference in those?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Arcadias are very good bulbs --- I have used the 14% bulbs which are good for tanks that are 24" high or higher - the 12% bulbs are like the Rep's 10.0 T 5 bulbs they require the same distance
Karrie
 

Mbrown2572

Member
Original Poster
Just to update. I was able to get the hood and light from a local pet store. I have the Reptisun 10.0 HO uvb light placed kinda sideways on the top of the tank. I think my he might be a she but still not 100% on that. Either way, my toothless is growing and seems to be a happy little thing. Loves to try to fly off my bed. Tried that today and wound up catching him or her self on my sons backpack so he didn't manage to drop far and was definitely ok after. I wanted to thank you for your input on the light.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
So the bulb you got is the T 5 or a T 8 distance and placement are key
Karrie
 

Mbrown2572

Member
Original Poster
I got the T5 10.0 i do believe. The hood i purchased came with a bulb but I purchased a separate bulb for the fixture because from what I was reading, the bulb that came with it wasn't very strong. Toothless can get within I think between 6 and 8 inches of the full spectrum of the light when climbing on basking area and decor.
https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/categories/reptile/basics/heatinglighting/lightingfixures/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-hood/5217
That's a link to the fixture I purchased but I replaced the 5.0 bulb with a reptisun 10.0 HO UVB light. But the bulb is also a T5.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok correct lighting - the screen is a fine mesh like a screen door or wide hole type?
 

Mbrown2572

Member
Original Poster
It's a wide hole type. The difference in the way the light was showing in the enclosure compared to the coiled bulb that I had made a world of difference. The light from the coil didn't hit nearly as far as the new light does. I can see the light on the bottom of his enclosure now which definitely made me feel better. Also, kind of off topic but.. With the coiled light that I had his scales seemed to be soft-ish and now they are much harder. Could that be something that was happening because of the lighting issue? He seemed much softer before we got the new light.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Wide hole type the UVB can sit on top w/ basking decor directly underneath approx 8-10 inches-- I am sure the UVB has effect on the scales and it should be better
 
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