back after 10ish yr lighting ? w/pic kinda bad

[Jami42500]

Hello so I was cruising the craigslist bad Idea I know. seen this ad for a bearded dragon from a woman that could not keep "him" anymore. come to find out looks like its a she so vitra is her name and is in this tank

not sure how to turn the pic hmm. my question is how to I get the basking light off the mesh (I know not suppose to have mesh but this is 55 gal and how woman had HER in. I think the tank is too small for the uva inside and not sure how to get the clamps I bought to work to hold light up it seems to want to angle the dome and lowers the tempI do not have a temp gun yet but the batteries are new in the thermostat I have. also seen these black stripes on the back (not stomach or beard) that are black not sure if bearded is being burned or stress I seen one pic on here that may be showing the lines are about inch inch in a halfl long from middle of back toward stomach ad about 1/4 inch wide. vitra is going to vet tomorrow just for check up but thought id say high and ask on here as well the vet is dr digger in gilber az tried for dr funk since my cats go to vca but he no longer works there and is said to be retired but goes into dr diggers office at times. her appetite is coming around only eating well once a day now with 2 dubia and about 4 bites of greens and a few turnips she loves the turnips though I tried cactus pear didn't like as well as spaghetti squash. I bought dandelion leaves she turned her nose up at me but took a few after a dubia. I use to love this site so glad its still here. I see there is a forum for building own enclosure I may try that here after done with schooling for pharm tech

 

[CooperDragon]

I hang my basking light from an adjustable stand. The fixture I have has a ring on the top that allows it to be hung up easily and I can adjust the height to change the temperatures. The basking light can be on the mesh top if you want. Just need to have enough output to achieve a proper temperature gradient. I like to shoot for about 100-105 in the basking site and about 75-80 or so on the cool side surfaces.

What do you have in place for UVB light?

The dark lines are part of her pattern and will darken and lighten with mood or if she's trying to absorb or deflect heat/light. Based on that photo, she looks pretty good. Especially for a Craigslist dragon.

Here's a photo of how I have mine set up (same tank you have).

 

[Jami42500]

Thank you for your reply your setup looks great and that is what I want to achieve. I have reptisun 13.watt 10.0 uvb as well as another source she had but not sure Brad I'll post more pics. My issue is I don't know how to hang my basking light like that or to put a tube light on the inside of the cage so I'm using the hood light over the mesh that has UVB I know that cuts 50% of the UVB that comes out but I don't know where to get a stand to put on my class that I bought Witch of show pictures of

 

[CooperDragon]

The 13w ReptiSun is a compact fluorescent. That's not nearly powerful enough for a tank that size. The screen intercepts the UVB output to an extent but the UVB output from that bulb is quite weak to begin with. I suggest using a T5 tube which is perfect for that tank. You can set it right on top and it provides plenty of UVB even through the mesh. This is what I use. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

The lamp stand I use is this https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptile-Lamp-Stand/dp/B000255OUO

The dome fixture I have for the basking light is a chicken brooder lamp dome from the local farm supply store. Just removed the clamp and hung it from the lamp stand http://www.theisens.com/indoor-lighting/bayco-brooder-lamp-182-sjeo-x-6-fl-302pdq8

For a basking light I use a PAR38 halogen bulb from the hardware store https://www.walmart.com/ip/General-...ogen-90-watt-PAR38-floodlight-2-pack/21695128

That is hooked up to a Herpstat2 dimming thermostat but you can use a manual lamp dimmer to cut the power as needed and you can raise/lower the lamp to adjust the temperatures.

 

[Jami42500]

here are the pics of what I have

and one of her nice orange beard love it

 

[CooperDragon]

Her orange beard indicates that she's a happy girl =). What is that hood light? It looks like a bank of LEDs. If so, they'll just provide some visual light rather than heat or UVB.

You can hang the dome fixtures you have but need a wire attachment that hooks into the holes on the top of the metal just below the ceramic socket.

 

[Jami42500]

Thank you again ..call me dumb but I'm reading what you wrote but it's coming out like a foreign language. I get a wire but what kind any? Where would I put said wire ? I'm just not following at all I'm sorry I'm trying really..the hood came with cage/ Vitra setup is what woman had and the light has little bead like stickers my be what you said I did buy the reptiles sun to go on other side of hood and new basking bulb if I need to get diff tube bulb so be it or the t5 you mentioned I'll have to see where I can get it. I have not looked at links yet..my ex called after last post my daughter's grandma passedan away so was dealing with that till now

 

[Jami42500]

Ahh ok Imy sorry I understand the linksituation help should have looked first

 

[Rankins]

I also use a stand that sticks on the side of the aquarium, they are $10 on Amazon. I bought them so my cats wouldn't knock the lights off and burn the house down. My cats never get on top of the enclosure...but it makes me feel better having the stand.
The black lines and color changes always stress the owners out. It's the term "stress marks" I don't agree with at all. It confuses new owners and panics them...
Dragons do get darker when sick and "stressed" but there are better ways to describe what they are seeing. The term "stress marks" is not very descriptive and vague. I would much rather hear about behavior than color.
Sorry...just rambling

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah the links should help explain what I have in place. The wire comes with the fixtures. I just remove the clamp arm and hook it to the stand from the wire. I'm not sure if you can buy the hanging wires on their own but if you can tell me the size and model of the domes you have I can look around. I suggest getting that T5 bulb and fixture combo for optimal UVB in that tank. It will make a huge difference.

 

[Jami42500]

I will definitely look into it right now I got to do my final for pharmacy tech vet said she looks good gave me nail polish to stop ovulation and some on index card to test uvb of course she did not want to poop while at the vet but once I got home before I took her out of the car she pooped so I took her back they got the sample and now I'm waiting for the response. I had the lights off while we were at the vet so I'm waiting for them to warm up to where they would be before I use the index card until then it's test time but thank you for all your help I will look into a bigger cage and better lighting but looks like my feeding Exedra is good he recommended lowering temp to 105 due to cage size though

 

[Jami42500]

Got results back all good yea. I'm so glade she doing ok with the eating issues she had. Now that my class is over I'll have to look into bigger cage and trying to have a dubia colony