basting and uvb

[krolmariusz]

hey guys, i have just built one of my two enclosures for the two baby beardies i will be picking up at the next reptile expo, and before i get them i was wondering about heat and uvb. i want to finish my enclosures before i get them and i have a few questions.

1) reptisun 10.0 for uvb (tube), right?
if i can get a uvb bulb, what/which ones are okay? watts?

2) my enclosure is 4x2x2 melamine. the bulbs will be on the inside. (one basking per enclosure)
what kind of brand bulb should i use for basking?
what wattage?
what material should i look for to AVOID and USE?
can i use a regular house/lamp bulb?

3) what brand of ceramic heat emitter can i use? watts?

THANKS!!!

 

[miloandrufusdragons]

Use tile or reptile carpet substrate. Don't use compact uvb bulbs and no other tube lights than the reptisun.

 

[ClydesGirl]

Actually, you could also use an Arcadia 12% UVB tube, but if you live in the US, they are only available from one website that imports them from Europe:

http://lightyourreptiles.com

Otherwise, the Reptisun 10.0 tube is your only option. For a 4 foot enclosure, I'd recommend a 24" bulb placed over on the warm/basking side so your beardie can soak up UVB while basking.

For basking, any clear household bulb will do. It doesn't have to be a "reptile" basking bulb. No one is going to be able to tell you which wattage, since that's is dependent on a lot of things: ambient temperature of the room, distance of the bulb from the basking surface, ventilation within the enclosure, etc. My recommendation is to put it on a dimmer and buy a higher wattage than you'll think you'll need (maybe 100 watt?) and then dim it down to fine-tune the temps.

 

[krolmariusz]

that was perfect! now all i want to know, is which material is bad for the little guy? in a basking bulb that is. ive read here or there that something in the bulbs actually hurts them, do you know waht that is?

thanks1

 

[ClydesGirl]

I've not heard of anything in a basking bulb that can cause problems, unless you are talking about Mercury Vapor Bulbs (MVBs), which you wouldn't be using if you got a tube UVB. As long as your basking light is a clear glass incandescent light bulb, there shouldn't be any issues.

 

[krolmariusz]

thats EXACTLY what i meant =] thank you very much!!!!

much love!