Brand New - Need Help With Lights +

[Wblaze]

Hello All. I have kept fish for years, but sold off my tanks when my kids were born. My son is now 6 and I just got him a juvenile bearded dragon. I am not sure the age, but I expect he is 2 months old - what do you think.

I have him in a 20g tank that came in a kit at petsmart. I have one heat lamp on the right and a UVB on the right. Here is a picture of the beardie and my set up. Please let me know if it is OK.

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc456/Wblaze/Steeler%20Our%20Beardie/IMG_5040.jpg
http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc456/Wblaze/Steeler%20Our%20Beardie/IMG_5059.jpg
http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc456/Wblaze/Steeler%20Our%20Beardie/IMG_5061.jpg

I want to get the Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 light cause I think he needs more. I saw this picture on amazon and I like it, but am looking for help whether it will work.

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc456/Wblaze/Steeler%20Our%20Beardie/top%20I%20like.jpg


Thank you in advance for the help

 

[Taterbug]

What a cute little guy!
Your enclosure looks fine. I might as some branches and things for him to climb on in the middle/ cool side, they are semi-arboreal so will climb given the chance.

I really like the T5 lighting and as far as I know (don't have one personally) the zoomed hoods are good. However. You tank is rather small for these lights, I would encourage an upgrade in the near future. In the mean time you can use the T5 but I would have it mounted further away (or without a reflector) and add some fake plants or other means of shade. You can over provision the UVB, especially with stronger lights.

This image illustrates the beam pattern from a 22" T5 in a reflective fixture. The reflector roughly doubles the output while screen reduces it by about 35%.

I have made this page with some comparisons of tube configurations. It gives a rough idea of how much UV you can expect. For your small enclosure I would be conservative with how high you go, the shade method might be the easiest to setup for now.

 

[Taterbug]

https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides

Forgot the link. Oops