Basking Spot

CaramelBeet · Jun 24, 2017

Ok so I kind of have 2 questions in one. I'm trying to get my beardie closer to the UV tube.
First, what's the best basking spot placement in my viv? My heat lamps and UVB don't really line up. It looks sort of like this from a bird's eye view:

At the moment his basking spot is under the two heat lamps, but that puts it kinda far away from the UVB.
I am about to put a CHE in, so I suppose the other option would be to place that next to the UV light, use that for his basking heat, and then take out the heat lamps and chuck in some LEDs for light. Just means I'd have to change the temp on the thermostat every morning/night.

My other question was about the basking spot itself. At the moment, the one I have isn't very high, and it's like the outer part of a tree (so he can climb on it or under it). I'm looking for something higher, but also fairly fall-proof (I have a baby who thinks he can fly sometimes

), and was wondering if you guys had any ideas?

charmander16 · Jun 24, 2017

Can you post a pic of the viv?

Why can't you move the UV light closer to the basking spot? It doesn't need to be right on top of it.

Also, you shouldn't need to 2 heat lamps. Have you checked your temps? Yes, getting a higher basking spot is generally better than using 2 lamps.

CaramelBeet · Jun 24, 2017

charmander16":3vjm5nty said:
Can you post a pic of the viv?

Why can't you move the UV light closer to the basking spot? It doesn't need to be right on top of it.

Also, you shouldn't need to 2 heat lamps. Have you checked your temps? Yes, getting a higher basking spot is generally better than using 2 lamps.

Sure, I'll go take a picture now if you think it'll help.

I can't move the UVB because it's screwed to the top of the viv (I have a wooden top, so it's attached to the underside of the roof rather than sitting on top).

The two lamps is the only way I've been able to get the right temps (even now my cool side is a bit too cool). Basically, some ungrateful cheapskate put plastic bayonet sockets into my viv. There's three sockets, but each only takes up to 75w. Trying to find bulbs with bayonet caps over here is nearly impossible, and on top of that they need a reflector to put out any decent heat in my experience. The highest one that bunnings sells (at all, according to the guy who looked it up for me) is a 60w spotlight (30 degree angle), which isn't quite hot enough by itself (both the basking spot and the full viv are too cool) but is perfect with the second reflectorless globe (although maybe it'd be hotter with a high basking spot).

CaramelBeet · Jun 24, 2017

Ok so here are some pictures:

This is his current basking spot, complete with a little bit of driftwood on top (he hates me picking him up, so I just move that piece to move him in/out of his feeding tub).

This shows where the two lamps are (one looks much brighter than the other because it doesn't have a reflector to block the light from the camera)

This sort of shows where his UV tube is in comparison to the basking lights

charmander16 · Jun 24, 2017

Given that the light is inside the viv, the setup looks fine to me, unless someone else here with more experience says otherwise.

Gormagon · Jun 24, 2017

You only heed one basking bulb and he needs a much higher basking spot to perch his little cute self one. He is way to far from the uvb to do him any good. Needs to be at the least, 12" to 14" from the uvb if it is a t5 and, 8" if it is a t8... This is a must!
You can adjust the basking heat with different wattages and within those distances. This will also create better temperature gradients across the viv.
I heat my viv with a 75watt bulb its 2x2x4!

CaramelBeet · Jun 24, 2017

Gormagon":27zmknv5 said:
He is way to far from the uvb to do him any good. Needs to be at the least, 12" to 14" from the uvb if it is a t5 and, 8" if it is a t8... This is a must!

Yep, which is why I'm trying to make a higher basking spot to get him closer. It's a T5, but he's still way too far away at the moment.

Gormagon":27zmknv5 said:
You can adjust the basking heat with different wattages and within those distances. This will also create better temperature gradients across the viv.
I heat my viv with a 75watt bulb its 2x2x4!

Trust me, I'd love to put a 75 watt in, but I can't find one with a bayonet cap anywhere. I had the guy at bunnings check to see if they even sell any, and according to him they don't... Although if you really think he's suffering with the two lights, then I could probably buy a bayonet/screw converter and use that instead...

Gormagon · Jun 24, 2017

What do you mean when you say bayonet bulb.... I'm not familiar with it.

CaramelBeet · Jun 24, 2017

Gormagon":3cp8hnqr said:
What do you mean when you say bayonet bulb.... I'm not familiar with it.

In Australia, we have two types of bulb caps:

The left is the bayonet cap (which I have fixtures for in my viv) and the right is the screw cap (which is pretty much all that's sold for halogens here)
So just to clarify, I'm not talking about the bulb itself, but the bit that screws into the fixture

Gormagon · Jun 24, 2017

Yup, never seen one, lol

CaramelBeet · Jun 25, 2017

So an update, I've made him another climbing spot using some wood, it's not under his heat lamps but it's just about under the UVB light. He can now get as close as 25cm (just under 10 inches) to the UV if he wants to. I'm still a bit worried about him falling, I've put his fake grass underneath the highest bit to cushion him if he does.

He wasn't impressed with the change though... I put him in his viv after feeding and he shot straight back out again (gave me a fright!!)
Will this be adequate, or do I need to build something where he can bask and have UV at the same time? Still not sure how to do that with the placement of my lights :?

CaramelBeet · Jun 25, 2017

Well... That didn't take long...

charmander16 · Jun 25, 2017

All depend on the temp at the top of the perch. It could well be that the temp there is good enough. Honestly your lights don't look that far apart to me, and since your UV is inside the enclosure it looks to me like he'll be getting plenty of UV.

Here is a UV lighting guide: https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides

A lot depends on the type of bulb you are using.

If you are using a Reptisun 10.0 T5 then you are totally fine and it looks like what he really needs is more warm shade to be able to get out of the light, and getting him within 10" of the light would be getting him too close.

If you are using a 10.0 T8 then he's probably close enough at the top of the perch, but not getting much when he's not on the perch.

If you are using a 5.0 anything then he's not getting enough UV most likely.

But I also thing that with all those white walls I'd bet he's getting more UV that you would think due to a lot of reflection at all.

So, the exact type of light matters a lot here. If you've got a 10.0 T5 then I'd think you are good to go. Also, I'd secure that perch a little better. Unstable and falling perches are a leading cause of injury for pet dragons.

And make sure you measure the temp at the point on the perch where he sits.

CaramelBeet · Jun 25, 2017

charmander16":qx6ma7tm said:
All depend on the temp at the top of the perch. It could well be that the temp there is good enough. Honestly your lights don't look that far apart to me, and since your UV is inside the enclosure it looks to me like he'll be getting plenty of UV.

Here is a UV lighting guide: https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides

A lot depends on the type of bulb you are using.

If you are using a Reptisun 10.0 T5 then you are totally fine and it looks like what he really needs is more warm shade to be able to get out of the light, and getting him within 10" of the light would be getting him too close.

If you are using a 10.0 T8 then he's probably close enough at the top of the perch, but not getting much when he's not on the perch.

If you are using a 5.0 anything then he's not getting enough UV most likely.

But I also thing that with all those white walls I'd bet he's getting more UV that you would think due to a lot of reflection at all.

So, the exact type of light matters a lot here. If you've got a 10.0 T5 then I'd think you are good to go. Also, I'd secure that perch a little better. Unstable and falling perches are a leading cause of injury for pet dragons.

And make sure you measure the temp at the point on the perch where he sits.

I'm using am arcadia luminaire t5 12%, and the website + several of the experienced members on here said he needs to be able to get within 10-12 inches of it. He's got a hollow log right under the basking lamps, so he has warm shade if if he wants it.
I'll definitely try to secure the perch better. It's very stable now because he's less than 10g heavy (I spent several minutes wiggling it around to see if it could fall hahaha) but as he grows (fingers crossed!) I'd feel much better if it was screwed together and had a base.
I will measure the temp, I just didn't want to yesterday when he was on it in case the temperature gun scared him and he jumped off !

charmander16 · Jun 25, 2017

If you have the perch half way between the two lights, then I'd bet he's totally fine with an Arcadia 12%. He's almost certainly getting UV even when he's on the floor (lower levels of course), but with it inside like that it seems totally fine.

Basking Spot

CaramelBeet

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