black light

[momof2boys]

Okay, we set up Beardie's tank today and just got him. I read a book about beardie care and it mentioned an incandescent household bulb as well as a fluorescent bulb... The guy at the store suggested to my husband a black light for basking because our home gets down around 60-65 degrees at night. He says then we can leave it on all night and the beardie will be able to get warm.

The fluorescent light stretches the length of the tank except where the ceramic fixture is that is set above the basking spot (a little bridge type thing). Is this okay? Thanks for helping a newbie. I just want this guy to thrive.

 

[spurlee01]

Hi and congratz on your new baby
Black lights really aren't good for beardies. They do nothing for them during the day and keep them awake at night. Just use a bright white basking bulb or household bulb during the day and then a ceramic heat emiter (emits only heat, not light) at night. You will want your day time temps to be as follows for a baby: basking (right under the light) 100-110*F, warm side 90-95*F, cool side 80* F or so. Also you will want to use a digital thermometer with a probe or a temp gun to take these temps because the stick-on ones can be off by 20*. If you don't mind me asking, what UVB bulb are you using?
Sara

 

[Embee]

Okay, we set up Beardie's tank today and just got him. I read a book about beardie care and it mentioned an incandescent household bulb as well as a fluorescent bulb... The guy at the store suggested to my husband a black light for basking because our home gets down around 60-65 degrees at night. He says then we can leave it on all night and the beardie will be able to get warm.

The fluorescent light stretches the length of the tank except where the ceramic fixture is that is set above the basking spot (a little bridge type thing). Is this okay? Thanks for helping a newbie. I just want this guy to thrive.

Hello and welcome.

For daytime basking, your beardie requires BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT. Beardies are desert animals, so the bright light is important to their overall health (physical and mental). A bright white bulb will provide the UVA that your beardie needs, and will also guard beardie's eyes from the UVB rays. A black light will not provide these important daytime elements for your dragon. For basking/heat, you can use a pet store type basking bulb, or simply a regular household incandescent/flood/spot so long as it provides BRIGHT WHITE light and proper temps, which for a young bearded are; basking (temp directly under the heat bulb): 105-110 Midtank: 85-90 cool side: about 80. What are you using to gauge temps btw?

For nighttime, a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) is best for providing supplemental heat as it provides heat but no light. Indeed, if your house goes below 65, it's good to have some warmth in the tank at night, but not overly so. 65-68 is fine, as beardies do like to cool down at night. I'm not much familiar with black lights as nighttime heating sources, so I can't speak as to that. My understanding is that colored bulbs of any kind are not ideal for dragons, but perhaps a black light is a better alternative to say, the infra-reds which are definitely not a good idea for beardies (they can see the light it can disrupt their sleep). We use a CHE in the winter months, and it's a great help for those chilly nights.

Also, it might be helpful to provide the BRAND and MODEL of your UVB tube, as there are several out there that have been causing health issues for beardies (the ReptiGlo 10.0, and the ESU Slimline 7% to name a couple). I myself learned the hard way of just how crucial a quality UVB source is for dragons. And as it turns out, when it comes to UVB, type and brand truly matter.

As to placement on the tank, ideally, you want your tube and basking bulb to align at the basking end of the tank as follows:

____________tube
0 basking bulb

...so that beardie has benefit of both bulbs while basking for optimum UVB exposure/calcium processing and thorough digestion. And as I mentioned before, the bright white light from the basking bulb will also help guard beardie's eyes from the UVB rays.

Hope that helps a bit!

The best,
Em

 

[erdeem]

You can use Ceramic Heat Emitter....

 

[Embee]

Sara, OP, sorry about the double information/questions there. I created my first reply at 8:35 or so, and it took forever to post! :dontknow:

Suffice to say OP, Sara and I pretty much covered the same territory although Sara had some more definitive info on the black light. Thanks for confirming my suspicion on that one, Sara!

Indeed, the digital with probe is as crucial to the enclosure as the heat lamp itself, and of course, the rather ubiquitous question around here of... which UVB are you using?

The best,
Em

 

[momof2boys]

Okay, I need to go out to recycling and get the boxes before trash goes out tomorrow! This is a very good pet store and the guy who worked there called the owner to be sure we had enough of the fluorescent light and we got what the owner recommended. I will come back tomorrow and tell you all exactly the brands.

As far as my basking light, what wattage should the lightbulb I put in there be? The black light I got was supposed to be okay for day and night... But I'll call the owner of the store tomorrow and I'm sure he'll take it back if it's not good for the dragon.

As for a temp probe, what brands are good? I didn't get a thermometer at all... I think the kid working there wasn't as good as the owner would have been. He said he's been keeping lizards for many years, and seemed to know a lot.

It won't hurt the dragon tonight, though, right? I don't really have any option but to go with what we have now!

 

[Embee]

Okay, I need to go out to recycling and get the boxes before trash goes out tomorrow! This is a very good pet store and the guy who worked there called the owner to be sure we had enough of the fluorescent light and we got what the owner recommended. I will come back tomorrow and tell you all exactly the brands.

Indeed, it's always good to check. Let us know what you find out. The best available and truly, the only tube out there worth it's salt is the ReptiSun 10.0. There are two other alternatives: the ReptiSun 5.0 tube, and the ReptiGlo 8.0 tube, but those are really just "ok" bulbs in regard to UVB emissions, but are, at the very least, safe. Sadly, there are way too many UVB tubes available that have been associated with health issues for dragons. *sigh* I may have mentioned this before, but we learned this one the hard way. (Thankfully, our dragon is recovering thanks to this wonderfully caring forum.)

As far as my basking light, what wattage should the lightbulb I put in there be? The black light I got was supposed to be okay for day and night... But I'll call the owner of the store tomorrow and I'm sure he'll take it back if it's not good for the dragon.

As for a temp probe, what brands are good? I didn't get a thermometer at all... I think the kid working there wasn't as good as the owner would have been. He said he's been keeping lizards for many years, and seemed to know a lot.

The wattage you use will be directly related to which gives you the proper temp gradient in the tank (see my first reply). If you can give me the exact size of your tank, I can perhaps give you a nudge in the right direction. Indeed, you need to be able to gauge temps closely which is why Sara and I both asked as to how you are going about doing that. A digital with probe thermometer will give you the ability to gauge temps about the tank with one unit, in particular, the basking temps (temp directly on the basking surface/under the heat lamp). Knowing all the temps is important, but gauging the basking temps is especially important to the health and safety of your beardie. Too low, and digestion can be negatively affected. Too high and beardie can become rapidly dehydrated, which can lead to a whole host of other health issues. Young beardies do indeed, have very particular needs, but they are so well worth the initial effort, special creatures as they are.

I use this thermometer: http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-thermometers/513304/zilla-terrarium-hygrometer-thermometer.html. However, there is a less expensive digital with probe available at WalMart, made by Accurite, for around $12. It also has a built in hygrometer for gauging tank humidity which btw, should run 30-50%.

It won't hurt the dragon tonight, though, right? I don't really have any option but to go with what we have now!

Beardie will be just fine for the night. :mrgreen: Please feel free to post any other questions. We're happy to help. Also, I'd be happy to PM a caresheet for young dragons to you, if you'd like. Just let me know! It was actually my son that got us started on this dragon-journey, and low and behold the whole family has fallen for our dear lizard girl... I never realized how much there was too know, and it seemed a bit overwhelming at first, but over the months (and mostly thanks to bd.org), we've all come to "grasp the elements" so to speak.

The best,
Em

 

[BeardedDad]

Its very annoying when u come home with everything u think u need for ure pet because the Pet shop owner has sold u the best of everything and ALL ull need. It wasnt till i found this site that i realized how much money i had wasted on harmefull and useless products!
Its not cheap to set up a Beardie home but once u have everything its worth it seeing them live healthy strong lives. I personally think theres a lot of pet shop owners/employees out there that know nothing about the animals they sell!
Hope u enjoy ure new guy, they make wonderful family members Lol.

 

[momof2boys]

Okay so I went to the recycling and got the boxes for all the lights and lamps. Our basking lamp fixture seems like it will be great. However, the box for the basking bulb definitely says for maintaining "Night time temperatures" so you can imagine I was not pleased with that.

The tube lights we got are indeed ReptiGlo so that is a relief. However the fixture they're in is for two bulbs and they're both 5.0, not 8.0 as you recommend. The tube fixture does not cover the entire lid of the tank, so I'm thinking this all needs to go back to the store and replaced with a longer leaner model that will cover the entire top of the tank. I'm glad my husband didn't break down all the boxes, so I can return them. We already had to put the cost of this tank on a credit card, which we don't like doing, so I don't want to put even more on there.

But if I'm taking the lights back, will the lizard be okay in the time it takes me to bring them back and set up the new ones?

 

[spurlee01]

The beardies will be fine without UVB for 1-2 weeks. If you are tight on money, let me highly recommend http://www.petmountain.com. I would buy the ReptiSUN 10.0 as that is the best UVB bulb available. They are under $20 there. You can buy a fixture at home depot or lowe's for hopefully $20 or under. You only need to cover half the tank with UVB light.
Sara

 

[momof2boys]

Okay Sara, sorry for the confusion... The UVB is the fluorescent light, right? And that only needs to cover half the tank? It covers more than that. And 2 5.0 ReptiSun aren't enough? Will 2 10.0 ReptiSun be too much?? I'm so confused. It's in a hood thing that reflects light and the tank does look bright except under the black light...

Thanks for the link, that's the type of thing I need!

 

[spurlee01]

Whoops sorry for some reason I thought you were setting up two tanks . You need one flourescent (UVB) bulb and one basking bulb (looks like a light bulb and gets hot). Do you currently have two Reptisun 5.0s? I really don't know how the rating system works on those, but I think you do want one Reptisun 10.0 instead of two 5.0s. I would love it if someone could give you a little more info there, but I've never heard anything about two 5.0s being equal to one 10.0.
Sara

 

[Embee]

Okay so I went to the recycling and got the boxes for all the lights and lamps. Our basking lamp fixture seems like it will be great. However, the box for the basking bulb definitely says for maintaining "Night time temperatures" so you can imagine I was not pleased with that.

The tube lights we got are indeed ReptiGlo so that is a relief. However the fixture they're in is for two bulbs and they're both 5.0, not 8.0 as you recommend. The tube fixture does not cover the entire lid of the tank, so I'm thinking this all needs to go back to the store and replaced with a longer leaner model that will cover the entire top of the tank. I'm glad my husband didn't break down all the boxes, so I can return them. We already had to put the cost of this tank on a credit card, which we don't like doing, so I don't want to put even more on there.

But if I'm taking the lights back, will the lizard be okay in the time it takes me to bring them back and set up the new ones?

Good morning!

First, in answer to you Sara, two ReptiSUN 5.0's are not equal to one ReptiSUN 10.0. To OP, YES two ReptiSUNS would be too much. And so goes for the ReptiGlo. The only ReptiGlo recommended (an OK but safe bulb) is the 8.0, and even then, you'd only want one.

OP, from the sound of your description of the UVB fluorescent, it sounds as if you have a long strip fixture with two ReptiGlo 5.0 tubes, yes? This is a bit of an unusual set up for a dragon, I must say. Usually, one long *quality* tube (covering AT LEAST half the tank) is sufficient. Here is a link to the ReptiSun 10.0 tube, at a great price: http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html. Dust 1-2 meals per week with vites.

While returning the lights, do at least place a household white incandescent in the dome fixture for heat, as you do want to keep your dragon warm. In fact, you may do just as well to use a household incandescent as many here do, again, so long as it offers proper temps.

Hope that helps a bit!

The best,
Em

 

[Embee]

Its very annoying when u come home with everything u think u need for ure pet because the Pet shop owner has sold u the best of everything and ALL ull need. It wasnt till i found this site that i realized how much money i had wasted on harmefull and useless products!
Its not cheap to set up a Beardie home but once u have everything its worth it seeing them live healthy strong lives. I personally think theres a lot of pet shop owners/employees out there that know nothing about the animals they sell!
Hope u enjoy ure new guy, they make wonderful family members Lol.

Oh Yes, BeardedDad, I hear ya...

We paid more than twice the amount for our starter tank, with all the wrong equipment (compact light, CHE instead of basking light, calci-sand, too small of enclosure, all pet store reccommended). Our new tank, a 40 breeder with all the right stuff was obtained mostly on-line, and even with shipping, the internet saved us a bundle. Indeed, even when you can access quality equipment in store, they usually have it so marked up as to be unaffordable. *sigh* It is a great frustration of the sum total of us all here on the forum, indeed!

There has been nothing so alarming in all this as the lack of regulation in the pet supply industry. *sigh*

Em

 

[momof2boys]

Okay... There are two Repti Glo 5.0s... It' is a compact top, with compact bulbs that look like the CFLs you put in a lamp, and it lights more than half the vivarium. The other part has the basking light, which I put a normal household bulb 100w into for now. It might be a bit hot, as Beardie has been doing a bit of gaping, but not much, maybe once or twice. As I've not been able to get to the store, I have check the temperature with a very fancy meat thermomter .... I realize this is NOT accurate!!! But it gives me an idea, and is actually suprisingly accurate about ambient temps in the house and outside. So with the black light the baskingspot was about 80 degrees, with the 100w regular light bulb it is just around 100 so I think it's okay while I go back to the store. The dragon seems very active, happy, eating an enormous amount more than I expected...

So why isn't the ReptiGlo 5.0 good? What does that 5.0 mean? Why is a single 8.0 better than two 5.0s?

I have a friend who wants to get a BD and I told her to just hire a really good reptile expert to come install the whole shebang because this is really truly driving me crazy. I don't think any of my three puppies (who are now 13, 9, and 5) were this much of a nightmare to get set up. Though the BD is sleeping well! Which is more than I can say for a puppy, ha ha.