New enclosure, same lighting?

Mollysn28

Member
Hello. Recently we put my adult 3 yr old beardie in a new enclosure. He was previously in an armoire that was built into an enclosure. He was using a 100 watt bulb, which was uvb and uva & heat all in one deal. It worked very well. Well we recently put him in a traditional enclosure for a beardie..Zen Habitat 4×2×2. We put in the same light, on the right side of his enclosure. But the heat doesn't seem to be enough. He'll spend hours basking, but never reach the point of having to regulate his heat with his mouth open. I feel him, and he does feel warm, just not hot like normal. Is 100 watt not enough for a tank that size? I'm not sure of the exact temp as of right now. I need a new temp reader. I have enclosed a picture of the tank and where the light is. Perhaps he needs 150 watt? Thank you so much.
 

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smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
Heat is really a matter of trial and error with the bulbs, so it makes it difficult to recommend a specific wattage. You can also try supplementing with a ceramic heat emitter or deep heat projector and see if that helps. You would need another lamp fixture for that. You want some digital probe thermometers to get accurate temps. I recommend at least two, one for the hot side and one for the cool.

I would also recommend getting a tube fluorescent UVB in addition, just because it will cover more area and give him more choices of where to go to get the right stuff. One of the big drawbacks for the all in one bulbs like that in my opinion. What if the dragon is warm enough but still wants to get more UVB? With only that bulb as a UVB source, he has no choice but to stay in the hot basking area.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
Heat is really a matter of trial and error with the bulbs, so it makes it difficult to recommend a specific wattage. You can also try supplementing with a ceramic heat emitter or deep heat projector and see if that helps. You would need another lamp fixture for that. You want some digital probe thermometers to get accurate temps. I recommend at least two, one for the hot side and one for the cool.

I would also recommend getting a tube fluorescent UVB in addition, just because it will cover more area and give him more choices of where to go to get the right stuff. One of the big drawbacks for the all in one bulbs like that in my opinion. What if the dragon is warm enough but still wants to get more UVB? With only that bulb as a UVB source, he has no choice but to stay in the hot basking area.
Thank you for responding. So you would recommend putting in an additional florescent uvb addition on the warm side? Or the cool side? And that makes sense to add that.
 

smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
Thank you for responding. So you would recommend putting in an additional florescent uvb addition on the warm side? Or the cool side? And that makes sense to add that.
Yes I would add either a 24 or 36 inch T5 inside the enclosure, overlapping with the basking light and directly over the basking spot. Also some places to climb and get closer on the cool side too. This will help create four "zones" inside the enclosure: hot and high UVB, warm/hot and low UVB, cool and high UVB and cool with low UVB.
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
i would start it at the hot side and leave the end of the cool side empty. i have an enclosure that size and my uvb is in the front with the basking bulb right behind it. (some pics in my profile.) i have a 36" fixture, but that is just what came with my custom build. you could easily do a 24" too. it is a 12% arcadia and mounted inside, the distance is anywhere from 6" to 22" (the floor) because of how i have the long vine set up. this gives lots of options for him to choose what uvb level he needs and he can still get out of it completely. ideal distance is 12-15" above basking decor when that bulb is mounted inside. sir henry moves from spot to spot throughout the day.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
Yes I would add either a 24 or 36 inch T5 inside the enclosure, overlapping with the basking light and directly over the basking spot. Also some places to climb and get closer on the cool side too. This will help create four "zones" inside the enclosure: hot and high UVB, warm/hot and low UVB, cool and high UVB and cool with low UVB.
Thank you so much
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
i would start it at the hot side and leave the end of the cool side empty. i have an enclosure that size and my uvb is in the front with the basking bulb right behind it. (some pics in my profile.) i have a 36" fixture, but that is just what came with my custom build. you could easily do a 24" too. it is a 12% arcadia and mounted inside, the distance is anywhere from 6" to 22" (the floor) because of how i have the long vine set up. this gives lots of options for him to choose what uvb level he needs and he can still get out of it completely. ideal distance is 12-15" above basking decor when that bulb is mounted inside. sir henry moves from spot to spot throughout the day.
Ok awesome. Thank you so much. I'm gonna check out your pictures.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
i would start it at the hot side and leave the end of the cool side empty. i have an enclosure that size and my uvb is in the front with the basking bulb right behind it. (some pics in my profile.) i have a 36" fixture, but that is just what came with my custom build. you could easily do a 24" too. it is a 12% arcadia and mounted inside, the distance is anywhere from 6" to 22" (the floor) because of how i have the long vine set up. this gives lots of options for him to choose what uvb level he needs and he can still get out of it completely. ideal distance is 12-15" above basking decor when that bulb is mounted inside. sir henry moves from spot to spot throughout the day.
Sir Henry is adorable. I see how you have it. So is that 36 inch fixture you're talking about going across the middle of the ceiling?
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
Sir Henry is adorable. I see how you have it. So is that 36 inch fixture you're talking about going across the middle of the ceiling?
thanks! we kinda decided we like him just a little bit. LOL!!!

yes that is a 36". it is the middle of the front third of the enclosure. not dead center front/back, left/right. if i were to have installed it myself, i would have had it all the way to the hot side wall (right). but it winds up just as well this way because henry likes to sit at the very top of the vine which isn't directly below the uvb, but he still gets some of it. that's the spot i say is about 6" from the light. he actually uses the entire length of the vine at some point in the day. then he'll jump down and be either directly under the basking light, or on the platform that is kind of between basking and end of uvb, which gives him a little of both at the same time. i've found they are very good at going to the spot they need at any given time if you give them a good set of options.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
Thank you again, I'm gonna get a T5 I guess for the fixture, some drift wood to climb on, and maybe another climbing place on the other side.
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
no problem! if you are interested in one, i can go look through past orders and see if i can figure out where i ordered the vine from.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
no problem! if you are interested in one, i can go look through past orders and see if i can figure out where i ordered the vine from.
Actually that would be amazing. If you don't mind. Do you think I should add anything extra for heat? Because it's a 100 watt uvb/uva combo that i currently have, but I feel like it's just not enough because he's spending hours underneath it, not reaching its full heat potential.
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
here ya go! it is the link for the large, but they have other sizes too. of course since they are actual vines, each one is unique as far as shape. Wholesale Lugarti Premium Grapevine

heating is really hit and miss. i have no clue how thick the enclosure you have is, but mine is like 3/4" melamine, or something around there or thicker, and retains heat like crazy. so i only have a 50W basking bulb going. last summer i had a 75w but that was before we dropped down to adult dragon temps. part of it will have to do with the temp of the room you have the enclosure in. our house is 72° from our heater in the winter. but in the summer it is near there just off ambient room temp. (i'm actually curious if we need to jump back to the 75W once we stop using the furnace in the house this summer. experiment time coming in the near future.)

if you switch to a long uvb i wonder if you will even need to keep the 2 in 1 bulb or could you drop to just a regular basking bulb. that is another option that would be cheaper to experiment with bulb wise since basking bulbs are cheaper than mvb bulbs. your uvb would be covered and you'd only be adjusting for heat at that point
 

smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
Actually that would be amazing. If you don't mind. Do you think I should add anything extra for heat? Because it's a 100 watt uvb/uva combo that i currently have, but I feel like it's just not enough because he's spending hours underneath it, not reaching its full heat potential.
Just for a little context and maybe a starting place. I am currently running a 80W deep heat projector over my main basking spot and a 100W ExoTerra Intense basking bulb in the middle of the tank. My temps run 100-105 on the basking spot, about 90 ambient on the warm side and around 80 ambient on the cool side. I have a Zen 4x2x2 wood panel, so the same size and brand as yours. If you have the PVC one, I've heard they hold heat slightly better than the wood.
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
Just for a little context and maybe a starting place. I am currently running a 80W deep heat projector over my main basking spot and a 100W ExoTerra Intense basking bulb in the middle of the tank. My temps run 100-105 on the basking spot, about 90 ambient on the warm side and around 80 ambient on the cool side. I have a Zen 4x2x2 wood panel, so the same size and brand as yours. If you have the PVC one, I've heard they hold heat slightly better than the wood.
thanks smaug. it's always hard for me to relate more directly to the regular enclosures since mine is so custom. just a little mom and pop place a guy is running out of his basement in portland, oregon.
 

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