boosted is having difficulties walking with swollen neck

[Vh621]

Everything looks good except for the nightime heat bulb. I'm not entirely sure about this particular one but I know if it admits a light then you shouldn't use it as it can disturb sleep patterns in beardies if you want to keep temps up at night you can use a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) as it emits no light only heat. Though they're a bit more pricier.

 

[jcfish847]

That's what I was going to buy but on there the company's website site it said not permitted for bearded dragon to get then gave me the link to the one I bought. I don't have any heat source in it right now for the night time and the terms are at 70ish (my house temp) in the morning when I turn the lamps back on. I just read that night it's not a bad idea to have one in there so I picked one up. I'm really just trying to do anything I'm able to so he can get better. I'll have the new basking spots built tonight that will be closer to the heat and uvb lights. Then going to build a big one out of Styrofoam and grout that will be multi lever with multiple dens but that won't be done for a while cuz of all the different dry times.

 

[Vh621]

That's what I was going to buy but on there the company's website site it said not permitted for bearded dragon to get then gave me the link to the one I bought.

That is odd. I know that as long as temps don't fall below 65 it's fine. Not sure if it applies to a beardie with MBD though, perhaps someone else can chime in on that. But in any case if that night time bulb does give off a light it definitely won't do your beardie any good.

Wishing your beardie makes a full recovery

 

[CooperDragon]

If your temps are staying around 70 overnight that's fine. I keep my tank in the low 70s but the rest of the room is colder. If you get seasonal dips in temperature in the house, it's nice to have a night heat bulb on hand. This is the one I use and it's great. Runs much cooler than a ceramic heat emitter but provides plenty of heat without visible light http://www.reptileuv.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=196

 

[jcfish847]

I'll just keep the night time one I got on hand just in case then and being in TX the Temps don't go to low at night so the house says at 70 and the cage dose also at night. I do like that bulb you posted witch looks like a day time light and to show times of 2 years with no replacement is awesome. I may pick one of these up in the near future.. can you have to much uvb? I'm thinking about adding another 24in uvb fluorescent light if it's ok and won't hurt.

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah that's a T5 tube. They're great. Nice and powerful. Perfect for larger tanks.

They can have too much UVB but if you provide a gradient the same way you would with temperature they can move to an area of lower UVB. Based on reading and some of my own measurements, they bask between about 3-6 UVI (roughly) so that's what I try to provide over the basking area. They are exposed to much higher levels of UVB during mid day but from what I've read they tend to hide then so I shoot for mid morning and late afternoon levels when they're usually basking.

This all comes down to the type of bulb and the distance the bulb is from the basking area. You can add additional bulbs, but that just widens the area of exposure rather than intensifying the output which is appropriate in some cases. I like to have the UVB cover the basking area which is just a bit bigger than the length of your dragon to allow for even basking.

Generally, a T5 with reflector reaches optimal output at about 12-14'' while a T8 with reflector reaches optimal output at about 6-8''. Mercury vapor bulbs vary depending on manufacturer and wattage. The 26w coils have output similar to a T8 and the 13w coils aren't really powerful enough to provide adequate UVB at safe distances.

Taterbug put together a really great site that describes this in better detail. It's worth checking out if you're interested in learning more about lighting setups. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides
https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/photogradient

 

[jcfish847]

My fluorescent bulb housing has a clear plastic deflector that goes over the light, should I take that off or leave it on?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yep, pull that off and leave it off. The clear plastic will intercept the UVB and render the bulb useless.

 

[jcfish847]

I guess better now then never cuz I took it off this morning to get bulb measurements and decided to leave it off but didn't know if it was a good idea or not. Now that I know the uvb has been useless this hole time it's makes since why boosted is having issues.. smh man I'm so mad at myself. I for real did so much research before I got them and new I didn't know it all but thought I new more then enough to get me going with no issues and insted I have hurt him. Sorry for the rant its just upsetting cuz these guys mean alot to me being a animal person and how awesome beardies truly are.

 

[CooperDragon]

I understand how you feel completely. I really wish they'd have a warning on the box if they're selling the fixtures as UVB lights. I wonder how much harm the companies have done when marketing lights and fixtures improperly over the years =(. The improved UVB exposure should help quite a bit though.

 

[jcfish847]

I hope it dose and if it dose I hope the new higher out put one will help even more when it comes in

 

[kingofnobbys]

I SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND that separate the pair so they have their own tanks, one reason why one is not doing so well is it is not getting it's fair share of the food (and calcium) and is not getting equitable time close under the UVB and basking lights because of the other is dominance , especially since there is a size and age difference.

If the bullying is not physical yet, it soon will be, beardies are better off kept separate.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thank you all so much for the help. I do to beleave it's MBD and since I've been doing bathing daily and vitamins I've seen a improvement. I'm ordering some new bulbs now cuz I'm not sure the strength of what I got. I'm in the process of building taller basking spots and won't be a issue at all to move the Florissant closer to the heat lamp. I thought it would be ok were it was cuz the heat lamp also said uvb out put but I guess that is not enough to alone. I called the nearest vet to me that will take him witch is like a hour and a half to two hours away and the Dr who see beardies is not in tell next week. I'm going to keep working with him tell we can get him there and hopping for more improvment.

if you are using a compact UVB , is it a 26W and is it a 10%UVB like a 26W UVB200 ? This would be the MINIMUM , a good MVB or a good T5 10 - 14% UVB tube would be better.

If you can't move the basking spot closer (a big tree branch) so the beardies can get within 8 inches of the UVB source, then maybe a dome style reflector can be suspended pendulum style from the roof the existing tank so the basking spot is under 8" from the basking spot, also the reflective surface inside the dome will tend to concentrate the UVA and UVB as well (A PLUS).
Need about 30% UVA to promote activity and feeding.
Need at least 10% UVB so your beardies can metabolise their dietary calcium to produce VitD ,and grow strong bones and more beardie and to develop properly.

The blue globe (night light is worthless) and will disturb their sleep.

I'd recommend adding BSF maggots (phoenix worms) and silkworms to the daily feeding schedule, both are excellent highly nutritious high calcium feeders , and they are soft and slow moving .

 

[kingofnobbys]

Yep, pull that off and leave it off. The clear plastic will intercept the UVB and render the bulb useless.

Highly recommend you buy a clip-on Arcadia Reflector to place behind the T5 tube, this will direct more of the UVB and UVA and the light emitted by the UV tube down where you want it and it will also concentrate the UV flux see http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm

 

[kingofnobbys]

Yeah that's a T5 tube. They're great. Nice and powerful. Perfect for larger tanks.

They can have too much UVB but if you provide a gradient the same way you would with temperature they can move to an area of lower UVB. Based on reading and some of my own measurements, they bask between about 3-6 UVI (roughly) so that's what I try to provide over the basking area. They are exposed to much higher levels of UVB during mid day but from what I've read they tend to hide then so I shoot for mid morning and late afternoon levels when they're usually basking.

This all comes down to the type of bulb and the distance the bulb is from the basking area. You can add additional bulbs, but that just widens the area of exposure rather than intensifying the output which is appropriate in some cases. I like to have the UVB cover the basking area which is just a bit bigger than the length of your dragon to allow for even basking.

Generally, a T5 with reflector reaches optimal output at about 12-14'' while a T8 with reflector reaches optimal output at about 6-8''. Mercury vapor bulbs vary depending on manufacturer and wattage. The 26w coils have output similar to a T8 and the 13w coils aren't really powerful enough to provide adequate UVB at safe distances.

Taterbug put together a really great site that describes this in better detail. It's worth checking out if you're interested in learning more about lighting setups. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides
https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/photogradient

I'd position the UV source if you not using an all-in-one MVB , so it's mostly over the basking spot and the warm zone, this way beardies can move to the cool zone to either thermoregulate and /or to excape higher UV levels.