Lighting question

ca3782x · Feb 25, 2017

I have my 6 m/o beardie in a 40gal breeder. Tank measures 36L 18W 16H

Here is what I have now:

24in UVB hood
50 UVB 18in bulb
150W CHE

I use the CHE as his primary heat source.

I have a friend who helped me set the cage up this way and I do trust her. She has several beardies in excellent health. But after reading some stuff on here it sounds like I should be using a basking light as well. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. Any help would be great.

diamc · Feb 25, 2017

Hi and welcome. Congrats on your new beardie.

Beardies actually do better with a bright white basking light rather than just a CHE for heat but a lower wattage CHE is fine to use during the day for supplemental heat if needed. A CHE that is 150 watts seems like quite a bit of heat in that sized tank. Could you tell us if you're using a digital strip, round gauge (dial), temperature gun or digital probe thermometer to check the temps?

Also, what brand is the UVB that you have?

ca3782x · Feb 25, 2017

The thermostat is a digital probe.

The UVB is Zilla. I have a reptisun 10 24in UVB but it doesn't fit in the hood. So I'm looking for a new hood/fixture. Possibly inside the tank.

I'm following the advice of a friend with a few beardies. She uses the same set up for hers. I'm still very new at this.

diamc · Feb 25, 2017

That's good that you're using a digital probe thermometer. Please make sure you are waiting about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading with the probe resting on (touching) the basking log or rock. Is that the way you have been doing it?

Is the Repti-Sun 10.0 a T8 or T5 (high output) bulb?

We are glad you are here & always like helping new owners.

ca3782x · Feb 25, 2017

The reptisun is a 17W 24in 10UVB T8 bulb. I have not used this bulb because my hood only fits 18in bulbs and I accidentally ordered the 24in instead of the 18in.

The zilla hood I ordered came with a 15W 18in 50UVB T8 bulb.

Drache613 · Feb 25, 2017

Hello,

Your setup isn't too bad. I am glad you are using a digital probe then to measure the temperatures correctly. Were you able to find a Halogen flood/spot light for the basking light?
Great, I am glad to hear you will replace the Zilla UVB. It's unfortunate the hoods are not compatible for all T8 lights. The Reptisun 10 is a much better, higher quality UVB light.
The Zilla is "ok" but personally, not nearly as good.

Tracie

ca3782x · Feb 26, 2017

I have not even looked for a basking bulb because I was told the CHE was enough. What do yiu recommend?

CooperDragon · Feb 26, 2017

Go with something that produces heat and bright white light. ZooMed ReptiBasking spot light is a decent choice. You can also use a PAR38 halogen flood light from the hardware store as long as it produces sufficient heat. You want it to get the basking surface between about 100-110 and a gradient down to about 75-80 or so on the cool side. You can use the CHE overnight or if the temps need a bit of a boost. It's important to have bright white light with heat and UVB to simulate sunlight as closely as possible though.

ca3782x · Feb 26, 2017

Thank you for all your help. I'll definitely be picking one up. I will most likely switch to a lower wattage CHE for night time only - tends to get low in my house. Nothing crazy but I want to be safe.

Lighting question

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