Advice for a new starter

[Doddins]

Hi
My partners uncle is looking to start a new set up from scratch. He is wanting some advice on the kit he will need lighting wise.
He will be having a 36" x (15 or 18") x (15 or 18") viv but im not confident enough to give him advice on the lighting kit that he will need.
we are UK residents so any advice would be appreciated


Adam

 

[jeritta]

***** bump********

 

[Poke]

When you say lighting kit do you mean what lights to use? or the fixtures for the lights? If hes starting from scratch I would go with the 36x18x18 gives you more space and a little height to work with. For my setup I use a 18inch fixture velcro on the back of the cage with a 10.0 uvb from zoo med. For the basking bulb I use a flood light bulb 50 watt to getting the hot spot about 105 degrees. The basking spot itself is around 7 inches away from the uvb and the basking bulb. It just depends on what your uncle wants to use.

 

[Nasubi77]

He will need one basking light. This can be a regular household bulb. The wattage will just depend on how big the viv is, how close the light is to the basking spot, ambient house temps, etc etc, but 75W or 100W usually work well in a 36x18 in most cases. You just have to experiment until you get the right temps.

You can get a metal dome clamp light at most any home improvement store for the basking light.

Speaking of temps, he'll also need a temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe on a wire. This can be an indoor/outdoor digi therm sold at most home improvement and department stores (like Wal Mart over here...don't know what you have over there that compares to Wally World ) The probe should go directly on the basking spot for a temp of 100-110F (37-43C) (upper part of that range for a baby and lower part of the range for an adult). The cool side should be around 80F (25-28C).

THEN, he'll need a good quality UVB bulb. Unfortunately, most types and brands are not good quality. The best one you can get in the UK is the Arcadia 12%. Ideally, you want one long enough to cover the entire tank, but at least 2/3 of the tank. Get the fluorescent tube type, not the compact coil, which have been known to cause some health and eye problems. You can also get a fixture for this bulb at home improvement stores. If his tank comes with a hood with a fluor fixture, that will work, too.

He'll want to arrange it so that the dragon can get within 6-8" of the UVB. Place the UVB as close to the basking light as possible so the dragon can soak up UVB rays as he's basking.

Hope that was understandable and helpful. :wink: