Bearded Dragon UVB Mesh PLEASE HELP

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reiddragons

Hatchling Member
Hello everyone,

I read that you shouldn't put a UVB light above a mesh screen. The tank I have has a mesh screen, but I've had two beardies, both starting as babies, live in the tank and neither has gotten MBD.

I have a few questions I need answered (I'm seriously worried):

1) How fast do MBD symptoms appear? It's been four months for my current beardie with no signs. And he's still growing (he's 6 months right now.)

2) My last beardie made it to age 2 but died of tumors. I know MBD and tumors are different things but, could the UVB+Mesh be causing tumors?

3)What can I do about this? Could I cut the mesh under the uvb light? How would I do that? (Literally, is there a specific wire cutter tool or something?)

4) Is it too late? Is my beardie now going to have MBD or tumors?

5) Is this even anything to be concerned about? I've gone to the vet with my current little guy 3 times for checkups and NEVER had him say it looks like MBD (and I've actually asked.)

Here's the light:
105535-2860602937.jpg
 

Tfulton30

Member
Hello.

What kind of light are you using? If you get the reptisun 10.0 t5 bulb that one can sit on the mesh cover and you will be fine. That is the one you should go for otherwise I think they have to be mounted inside the tank. I think in the UK it’s called Arcadia but someone else here could give more details on that. Also are you housing them together? Beardies are sort of anti social and prefer to be in a cage alone so I would separate them ASAP. There could be serious consequences if they are together. Not sure how fast mBD comes but I would get that t5 light. The sooner the better.
 

reiddragons

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Tfulton30":1dpck7f6 said:
Hello.

What kind of light are you using? If you get the reptisun 10.0 t5 bulb that one can sit on the mesh cover and you will be fine. That is the one you should go for otherwise I think they have to be mounted inside the tank. I think in the UK it’s called Arcadia but someone else here could give more details on that. Also are you housing them together? Beardies are sort of anti social and prefer to be in a cage alone so I would separate them ASAP. There could be serious consequences if they are together. Not sure how fast mBD comes but I would get that t5 light. The sooner the better.

Thanks, i have the bulb you are referring to. Reptisun 10.0.

To clarify, i only have one beardie. My first one died of tumors before we got our current one. Thats why I wonder if this light setup has anything to do with tumors.
 

Tfulton30

Member
Oh ok. Sorry about that. I just lost mine recently from a tumor/illness. You should be good with that bulb on the mesh. When I switched to that one mine was like another dragon. She had all this energy and ate more than ever before. Don’t think the light has anything to do with the tumor but I’m no expert. Captivated beardies are getting tumors frequently and I don’t think anyone can explain why.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi there,

1. All dragons are different. You have a uvb bulb, and there will be some exposure (although not necessarily the ideal exposure) so it's not really so bad. Were you supplementing with D3 also? This would also help fill the gap that the uvb wasn't able to provide.

2. No

3. You have a couple options here. All the options I give you, are acceptable options, you just need to pick which one you'd like to use.

  • Mount your uvb bulb underneath the mesh. You can use hooks, wire, velcro, etc. IF you do this, the ideal distance of bulb to basking spot will be 6-8 inches for the 10.0

    Move your basking spot closer to the bulb that is ontop of the mesh. That mesh isn't too fine, so you'd want your basking spot to be around 5 inches or so from the bulb to provide proper exposure.

    Switch to the reptisun 10.0 HO bulb. This is a stronger bulb and it will require a new fixture too. The benefit is, it's strong enough to be placed ontop of the screen, you just want to make sure your basking site is around 9 inches or so from it.

4. It's never to late to at least try to remedy something! :) It's not too likely that your dragon would be suffering from MBD. Or at least be suffering from any serious symptoms of it.

I'm confused by your last statement though. What have you been to the vet for? What did the vet say didn't look like MBD? Is there something wrong at the moment? Or are you just worried about it?

What is the distance from the basking site to the bulb as it stands right now?
Could we get a picture of your guy in his tank too?

-Brandon
 

reiddragons

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":3n8t1cbz said:
Hi there,

I'm confused by your last statement though. What have you been to the vet for? What did the vet say didn't look like MBD? Is there something wrong at the moment? Or are you just worried about it?

What is the distance from the basking site to the bulb as it stands right now?
Could we get a picture of your guy in his tank too?

-Brandon

1. What is D3? I have fluker's nutrient dust for crickets and put Calcium with Vit. D powder on his salad 6 days a week. (Multivitamin powder on the 7th day.)

2. Phew

3. I think the best option would be the 10.0 HO Reptisun. Could you send me a link to that on Amazon or Chewy? And the fixture I would need?

4. That's comforting :)

5. The reasons I went to the vet were different. My current little guy had coccidia as a baby (probably from being in the same tank as others that the breeder was selling.) I had to take him to the vet to get checked out and then take in poop samples. He's clean now.

Then when he was little, he didn't eat his salad and I was concerned he wasn't getting enough calcium. He seems to have grown out of that, but I did have to take him recently when he was losing interest in crickets (turns out he just needed to start eating bigger crickets.)

I just asked about the MBD while I was there anyway. I did worry that my little guy was exhibiting tremors like MBD causes, but it seems to be something else - his nails got too long and would get stuck in his terrarium liner. I ask my vet to make sure my little guy isn't showing any signs of MBD and he always says no signs are shown.

Here's my enclosure right now. I would say about 8-9 inches from top to basking area.

105535-4818109241.jpg
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Thanks for the picture.

So you ideally want your uvb bulb to be over your basking area too. Alongside the basking bulb. So in your picture, you need to scoot that uvb bulb all the way over to the side where the basking bulb is, as opposed to letting it be in the middle.

Are you using those dial thermometers to get your temp readings? Or do you have another device to check temps? I only ask because they are wildly inaccurate, and temperatures are just as important as proper uv! :)

1. d3 would be vit d. So the powder you are giving him has bit d in it. Vitamin d (or vit d3) is required by the body to absorb the calcium the body ingests. Without sufficient vit d in the body, the calcium won't be absorbed. That's why UVB is important. Because it naturally produces Vit d in the body (in humans too!) so without proper vit D, the calcium doesn't get absorbed well and MBD can develop.

2 :)

3. Here is a link to the bulb:
https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26061-Reptisun-Fluorescent/dp/B00AQU8HAO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=reptisun+10.0+ho&qid=1574475121&sr=8-1
And here is a link to the fixture:
https://www.amazon.com/Sunblaster-904296-NanoTech-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B00AKKUBDQ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sunblaster&qid=1574475086&sr=8-1
Do note that this fixture isn't really suitable for being placed on the mesh. If you want a fixture that will sit on the mesh easily you'll probably want this fixture:
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/18088331239379185792?q=reptisun+ho+fixture&prds=epd:1359699290196548314,prmr:3,tpim:CK-yhcOz7omRPhDm0bj4npqn9wkYoKuxGCIDVVNEKP-rmO8FMLSr_gI,pdprs:5&utm_medium=tu_cu&utm_content=eid-lsjeuxoeqt&utm_campaign=6264244&gclid=Cj0KCQiAq97uBRCwARIsADTziyaLaJWKorwbzM7Qi219UM6LCKm6x0PS1tKuW0uF8_1r55SgT7LQdVQaAjeJEALw_wcB

So if you go with the HO bulb ontop of the mesh, you will want it to be over his basking site, just like his heat lamp, and you want the distance from the bulb to his basking spot to be about 9 inches. That will expose him to the proper amounts of UV :)

Hope this helps

-Brandon
 

reiddragons

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":3jhtaw4g said:
Thanks for the picture.

So you ideally want your uvb bulb to be over your basking area too. Alongside the basking bulb. So in your picture, you need to scoot that uvb bulb all the way over to the side where the basking bulb is, as opposed to letting it be in the middle.

Are you using those dial thermometers to get your temp readings? Or do you have another device to check temps? I only ask because they are wildly inaccurate, and temperatures are just as important as proper uv! :)

1. d3 would be vit d. So the powder you are giving him has bit d in it. Vitamin d (or vit d3) is required by the body to absorb the calcium the body ingests. Without sufficient vit d in the body, the calcium won't be absorbed. That's why UVB is important. Because it naturally produces Vit d in the body (in humans too!) so without proper vit D, the calcium doesn't get absorbed well and MBD can develop.

2 :)

3. Here is a link to the bulb:
https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26061-Reptisun-Fluorescent/dp/B00AQU8HAO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=reptisun+10.0+ho&qid=1574475121&sr=8-1
And here is a link to the fixture:
https://www.amazon.com/Sunblaster-904296-NanoTech-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B00AKKUBDQ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sunblaster&qid=1574475086&sr=8-1
Do note that this fixture isn't really suitable for being placed on the mesh. If you want a fixture that will sit on the mesh easily you'll probably want this fixture:
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/18088331239379185792?q=reptisun+ho+fixture&prds=epd:1359699290196548314,prmr:3,tpim:CK-yhcOz7omRPhDm0bj4npqn9wkYoKuxGCIDVVNEKP-rmO8FMLSr_gI,pdprs:5&utm_medium=tu_cu&utm_content=eid-lsjeuxoeqt&utm_campaign=6264244&gclid=Cj0KCQiAq97uBRCwARIsADTziyaLaJWKorwbzM7Qi219UM6LCKm6x0PS1tKuW0uF8_1r55SgT7LQdVQaAjeJEALw_wcB

So if you go with the HO bulb ontop of the mesh, you will want it to be over his basking site, just like his heat lamp, and you want the distance from the bulb to his basking spot to be about 9 inches. That will expose him to the proper amounts of UV :)

Hope this helps

-Brandon
Thanks man, major help. :)
 
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