55 Gallon Tank Set Up HELP

Bearded Dragon : Honcho
Gender: Female (I think)
Length: 6-8 inches (Roughly)
Tank Size: 55 Gallons (Glass, with mesh top)
Substrate: Reptile Carpet
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Basking (Hot) Side: 150 Watt Basking Bulb
Middle: Sunlight light from petco (Not concerned with this)
Cool Side: 75 Watt Basking Bulb
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The cool side of the her tank is 80 Degrees, 40-50 % Humidity. Her hot side of tank is 90-100 degrees, but the humidity will drop to 20%, and i find myself misting that side VERY often to maintain it at 30%.
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Any helpful information as far as temps would be much appreciated. Side note- I section off part of the tank for feeding live food, since shes so young and i dont want her food to be able to run too far.

Welcome--- what is a sunlight from Petco? Concerning w/ this! Why do you have a basking bulb on the cool side of the tank? I had a 55 gallon and only used a regular house hold bulb 60 watt temp stayed around 80 -- I would try and get basking temps up to 105-110-- your humidity is fine--
Where is the UVB - do you have one?
Karrie

UVB bulb is the sunlight bulb. As far why i have 2 basking bulbs, because the temp was dropping on the cool side to like 65-70 during day and the humidity was 55-65 without the basking bulb. Now the cool side is a perfect 80 as i said before.
You said humidity is fine. But i thought if it drops below 30 % they get sick.

I have not heard them getting sick - usually if humidity is too high like in the 70's is when we get concerned- as for the UVB if it's a coil they are no good-- the only coil I have not heard anything bad about yet is the Reptisun 26 watt-- and since we've not heard anything about the one your using I wouldn't trust it--- we know what works and that is what I am going to recommend - a 24" fixture w/ a reflector w/ a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 or T 8-- coils do not produce the UVB Ray's that are required- at this point I would say your baby is not getting any UVB-- one of the others can weigh in on that UVB your using
Karrie

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/environmental-control-and-lighting/bulbs-and-lamps/thrive-desert-uvb-bulb-55895.html

13 watt desert UVB bulb above is what im currently using

Yes please get rid of it--- they are a terrible bulb--- she is getting no UVB-- they are ok for small tanks like 20 gallon but even then only short term--
Karrie

So just to confirm everything we talked about:
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150 Watt Basking Bulb on Basking Side - Good
100-110 F on Basking Side - Good
20-30% Humidity on Basking Side - Good? (What’s Lowest)
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I should 100% invest in a new UVB Bulb, which should always Be centered on the tank.
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75 Watt Basking Bulb on Cool Side - Ok?
^ Helping keep my cool side at 80 F and 40-50% Humidity
^ - If you have any suggestions as far as a 3rd different kind of bulb let me know, or if my current set up (other than UVB) is fine. Thanks. Sorry for the back and forth. Want to keep Honcho happy n healthy.

Yes the UVB is most important- the other bulbs are fine-- the T 8 and T 5's have certain distances they need to be so the screen mesh is it a fine or wide holed?
Karrie

Id say medium? Not big enough to fit s finger in, but plenty of room to fit a needle or two in it. I tend to use a baby syringe to drop water into her bowl through the screen

Ok so if you go w/ the T 5 inside tank 12-15 inches from basking decor-- a T 8 inside tank 8-10 inches from basking decor - no cover over the bulb leave it exposed- change the T 5 out once per year- the T 8 every 6 months
Karrie

Skylirsullivan":vrway3v0 said:

So just to confirm everything we talked about:
-
150 Watt Basking Bulb on Basking Side - Good
100-110 F on Basking Side - Good
20-30% Humidity on Basking Side - Good? (What’s Lowest)
-
I should 100% invest in a new UVB Bulb, which should always Be centered on the tank.
-
75 Watt Basking Bulb on Cool Side - Ok?
^ Helping keep my cool side at 80 F and 40-50% Humidity
^ - If you have any suggestions as far as a 3rd different kind of bulb let me know, or if my current set up (other than UVB) is fine. Thanks. Sorry for the back and forth. Want to keep Honcho happy n healthy.

Click to expand...

Hi Skylirsullivan,

It's (almost) never a matter of doing A, B, and C, turning things on, and everything is perfect--there are too many variables. Setting up a good enclosure to keep these little guys happy n healthy is always--to some extent--a matter of trial & error until we get things right, and even that can vary for individual lizards & situations, because individual lizards & situations can vary. :lol:

IMO, specifying an enclosure in gallons (or even cu.ft.) isn't very helpful (not a criticism--I'm speaking in general terms). Dimensions give a better idea of enclosure adequacy. That said, 55 gal is fine for this age/size; 4'x2'x2' or larger is now recommended for an adult BD.

Similarly, wattage isn't as helpful/informative as temperatures, which can be monitored by digital thermometers with probes, e.g. my 5'x2'x2' is sufficiently heated (80°F cool side to 90°F hot side) by a single 75W incandescent flood (not a spot). If the air temp exceeds 90° a small muffin fan kicks on drawing air through until the temp drops to 88°. I do have some supplemental LEDs for additional light, but they don't put out much/any heat.

The same 75W bulb provides a range of (surface) basking temps from 90°-110°F (monitored by probes--or better yet--an inexpensive temperature gun), so he can bask at whatever temp he likes. UVB provided by a Reptisun 10.0 T5 at one end of the enclosure (rather than centered) so beardie can get out of the UVB if he wants to.

My targets are 30%-40% RH during the day; up to 55% at night. Targets aren't always hit, but they're what's aimed for. :wink:

There are some good articles on lighting and enclosure setup in the Care Sheets and Articles section (horizontal menu across top of screen)--worth perusing. :wink:

Get rid of the second basking bulb you need uvb across your whole enclosure a flourescent tube light . Reptisun 10.0 and if you needed more heat on the cold side a ceramic heater bulb would be a better choice then a second basking bulb especially since your in such a small tank. In my opinion a 40 gallon is better than a 55 gallon cause it has more floor space its 18 in width instead of the tiny 12 inches invest in a bigger tank no smaller then 75 and for your humidity put a sock with rice in your enclosure hidden somewhere it will lower the humidity and for the sunbul your using I wouldn't use anything besides repti sun tube lights other lights can cause eye issues 25% humidity is absolute lowest too low causes respiratory issues and too high will too nothing over 65% humidity ever on the cool side temps should be 70 to 80 do you shoulndt be freaking out a cold sleep does good for beardes like 65 degrees in sleep nothing lower low usually low 70s

I'm back with maybe a good option for you use one of those double dome lamps and just have two basking bulbs in the fixture