Spartan101":18za6n9c said:
The bulb I am using is a desert 50 uvb t8 fluorescent bulb, this morning he woke up and was able to open his eyes fine. I’ll keep an eye on him this weekend and if it continues I’ll take him to the vet. Since it’s winter and there is snow what is the best way of transporting them so that they don’t freeze?
VERY IMPORTANT: As an extremely important FYI about your Zilla Desert 50 T8 UVB tube, there are 2 serious issues with this particular UVB tube that you need to make sure you are doing correctly.
#1) If you bought the Zilla Desert 50 T8 UVB tube along with the Zilla Slimline Fixture (they usually come as a combo package that includes both for around $40), most all of those Zilla Slimline tube Fixtures have a clear, hard-plastic, safety cover on them that is attached to the bottom of the fixture with 2 screws, and this clear plastic cover goes over the actual UVB tube. NO
UVB LIGHT CAN PENETRATE CLEAR PLASTIC OR GLASS, AND AS SUCH YOU MUST ABSOLUTELY REMOVE THAT CLEAR PLASTIC COVER FROM THE FIXTURE, AS IF IT'S ON IT, YOUR DRAGON HAS GOTTEN NO
UVB LIGHT AT ALL!!!! This particular problem has resulted in hundreds of Bearded Dragons developing severe Calcium Deficiency and Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), and even death in many cases. So please check your Zilla tube fixture Immediately if you haven't already, and if that clear plastic cover is on the bottom of the fixture you must remove it right now, as he's gotten no
UVB light at all since he's been under it. Zilla has been contacted about this problem several hundred times by angry and devastated Dragon owners, but refuses to do anything about it...
#2) The Zilla Desert 50 T8 UVB tube is an extremely weak UVB tube. It's only a 15 watt tube (in comparison the 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube is 17 watts and these following rules apply to it as well, so you can see how weak the Zilla UVB tube is and how important this is to do). As such, you absolutely cannot have the Zilla Desert 50 T8 UVB tube sitting on top of any kind of mesh tank lid or have it obstructed by anything. No T8 strength UVB tubes are strong enough to sit on top of a mesh lid (even the T8 Reptisun 10.0 tube), as the mesh lids block around 40% of the
UVB light emitted by any UVB tube, and the T8 tubes are far too weak to penetrate adequate
UVB light through the mesh to your dragon. The Zilla Desert 50 T8 UVB tube is the weakest T8 strength UVB tube made today, so again, many hundreds of Bearded Dragon owners have permanently disable dragons due to Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) because they just allowed the Zilla UVB tubes to just sit on top of the mesh lid to the tank.
If you haven't already, you need to mount the entire UVB tube and fixture INSIDE the tank and underneath the mesh lid. You can easily do this by poking holes in the mesh of the lid, and then use long, plastic Zip Ties, Shoelaces, Wire, Twine, etc. to strap the entire fixture to the underside of the mesh lid. In addition, his Basking Spot/Platform, whatever it is that he lays to bask on, must be within at least 6" of the unobstructed Zilla UVB tube and no further away, as the tube is too weak to emit adequate
UVB light to your dragon if it is any further away.
Also, you must replace any and all T8 strength UVB tubes, especially the Zilla Desert 50 T8 UVb tube, every 6 months like clockwork, because they have an extremely fast decay rate, and at 6 months old T8 strength UVB tubes stop emitting any and all
UVB light. They will not be burnt-out at 6 months old, they will still turn-on and emit plain light, but they will not be emitting any
UVB light at all, and must be replaced.
In the future you may want to think about upgrading to a much stronger and better UVB tube and tube fixture for Bearded Dragons, preferably a much stronger T5 strength UVB tube, which can sit on top of the mesh lid, must only be within 11" of the basking spot/platform, and must only be replaced once every year, as their UVB decay rate is much slower. Something to think about, because not only is it better for him by far, but it will save you a ton of money because you won't have to replace it every 6 months, but rather only once a year.
As far as transporting a Bearded Dragon in the cold, you must always heat your vehicle up first before taking him out to the car and putting him in it, and it's best to buy a little fabric carrier for him, the collapsible kind, and then put lots of blankets/towels inside it, along with at least one "Hot Hands" heater pack (be sure to wrap it inside one of the towels so it doesn't touch his skin directly, they get very hot). And always cover the carrier over with a blanket or a large towel to block wind and cold air while you're carry him to your vehicle. Once inside your pre-heated car you can take the blanket off of the carrier and sit him on top of the blankets/towels that are inside the carrier, but always be sure to cover him up well while you have the carrier outside in the cold.