lighting kit Pets at home?

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we are buying my brother a bearded dragon for his 50th birthday (end sept)

Has anybody purchased the all in one lighting heating kit from pets at home it seems like pretty good value but cannot hurt to check over peoples opinions
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
The pack contains:
Medium Glowlight
Daylight Basking Spot (100w) <<< I think it's neodymium (UVA) basking globe
Natural Light (25w)
Reptile UVB 150 (25w) <<< it's a compact rated 5% UVB , so immediately inadequate for a bearded dragon,
Light Unit (2x30w)
Digital Thermometer.

The picture of the "kit" shows two tubes , these are both t8 30W tubes, one a t8 UVB150 , so rated at 5% UVB, the other "natural" .
I'd substitute a T5HO 12%UVB 24W tube and get T5HO controller & slip on reflector or a T5HO 12%UVB 24W tube + a T5HO reflector hood to suit instead of the dual controller shown and the two t8 tubes shown.

You are better off avoiding buying these prebundled kits from pet shops.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
saralouise2776":1rfwx2kf said:
we are buying my brother a bearded dragon for his 50th birthday (end sept)

Has anybody purchased the all in one lighting heating kit from pets at home it seems like pretty good value but cannot hurt to check over peoples opinions

Sorry but if your brother has no experience with keeping bearded dragons , I think this a very bad idea. The dragon is likely to suffer as a consequence if his lack of husbandry knowhow.
Better off buying him a book about bearded dragon care to read , and putting off the purchase of a bearded dragon until Xmas say so he can show if he's REALLY interested and prepared to take one on as companion pet.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I would say to read up on taking care of a bearded dragon as well --- so many get into the hands of people that have not a clue as to how to take care of them and they end up very sick or just die because of lack of experience or know how--- on this forum there is a lot to be learned and I am so glad you came here and asked questions first--- the lighting kit you are looking at is not really any good - the basking light looks ok as it looks like a bright white bulb but the glow light is a no no and the UVB's are not any good either -- you do not want coils for a UVB--- here is some info on the UVB you would need go get -- Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays-- I can give you a lot more info on getting started and it may overwhelm you at first because in order to keep these guys healthy its not alot of work if you enjoy it and you want a healthy dragon but its a lot of time and up keep --- they are however wonderful pets if you like them --- I remember when my daughter got the first dragon - it was a summer babysitting job from the high school and I had never seen a dragon before -- the first thing out of my mouth was " What is that?"--- and it went from there --- we ended up keeping her as the school teacher didnt want her back and so I did a lot of research on them learning everything I could but sadly did not not find this website in time - we had her for 3 years and she passed - she was old however and spent most of her life in a 20 gallon tank -- you would think a Science teacher would know that dragons need a 75-120 gallon tank to grow to full potential and most of all BE HAPPY-- we did get a 50 gallon tank after we were told we could keep her and we did bring her out - she was happy to be part of the family-- but please you should probably ask your brother before purchasing a dragon as he may not want all the responsibility of taking care of a dragon as they are a in detail animal-- NOT a childs pet by no means as well --- please ask if you need more info - there is a ton of info on this forum--
thanks Karrie
 

saralouise2776

Member
Original Poster
Sorry guys thing is I looked at this in a rush in the store when I was having what I call ' a bad Dyslexia. Day' didn't read the contents properly or write down what was in the box. When I read through the contents on the website today quickly realized it was no good. I can assure you all I have done coppiouse amounts of research all ready so much so that my head is swimming due to the great substrate debate ( don't worry I know no sand). Thanks for all your responses though. Think my original plan of buy all the items individually is probably the best bet, I all ready made a list and we still have a few months to go so plenty of time.

PS sorry about my bad Grammer/ spelling I know I can be hard to read as I said before I'm Dyslexia ( Never really got the hang of that stuff).
 

Aaradimian

Juvie Member
Several things I wish I had known or had to discover when I was at this stage were:

1. No red lamp for heat (use a CHE if necessary) and no need to illuminate at night
2. A common non-LED floodlight is just fine for basking. Don't waste money on the ones in pet stores
3. An IR gun is a must-have item to make sure the basking area is the correct temp. range
4. Get a timer and dimmer cord for the lighting
5. Coil UV=bad. Use tubes with no covering plastic suspended UNDER any screening, with high-output T5+ a reflector being generally preferable to T8
6. Tile-and-carpet substrate is easy and safe
7. Beardies grow a lot during year #1 and will need at least one vivarium upgrade during this time as they get bigger

I'd just like to reiterate some of the other posters' thoughts on making sure your brother is read up on husbandry and actually interested in having a beardie as a pet. It's always sad to see and hear about neglected and unloved beardies on this board, but it happens a lot unfortunately.
 

saralouise2776

Member
Original Poster
Well thanks guys. Although we are a little early just finished purchasing all the equipment. Didn't buy anything from PAH in the end.
 
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