Can a dragon get too much uvb?

[smackey2]

Just like my title asks, can they be exposed to too much uvb?
Spike has been wanting to hide under anything she can fit under (her Habba hut and one of her basking rocks has an opening underneath to make like a cave). I was chalking it up to the icky, nasty weather outside as she did the same thing the last time it stormed, but her hiding as become more frequent than it was.
Basking temp: 102-105 (depending on where she is sitting on her rock)
Warm side: 94
Middle of tank: 80-84
Cool side: 75

I recently looked up the reptile hood that her T5 10.0 HO is in and it DOES have a built in reflector that I never paid attention too before. Her tank is only 12"H and the hood sits on top, NO MESH LID. She can get as close as about 6" away (her hammock is directly underneath the T5) and up to 10-12" away if she is sitting on her rock that is directly under her heat lamp. Her basking bulb and T5 are sitting together so she can get both while basking. I also take her outside for at least 45 minutes at an hour to soak up sunlight at least 2-3 times a week.
With her tank only being 12"H, I am just wondering if having that reflector in the hood is making it too much for her, hence her wanting to hide under everything.

She eats and poops normally, but just wants to hide now for some reason. Just curious.

**EDIT**
I forgot, Spike is roughly 4 months old, 102 grams, and just slightly lacking being 12 inches.

 

[CooperDragon]

They can get too much UVB but they are experts at regulating exposure which is why I recommend setting up lots of variety. If she has areas that are further away from the light and still allow her to get nice and warm and there are areas of shade she can hide in, she should be fine. If you're concerned about the UVB light being too close overhead, you could cheat it to the front or back of the tank to create a gradient outward from the light. That's what I do with my tank. My UVB light sits across the front so there is higher intensity to the front of the basking zone and lower intensity to the back of the zone. The more space you have available, the easier it is to provide these zones. That's why I don't like the 10g and 20g setups even for young dragons.

 

[smackey2]

Her UVB light sits on the back of her tank and her basking light in the front, basically one in front of the other, sort of.

Her tank is 36"L x 18"W and 12"H. I ordered her a 4 x 2 x 2, but it will take anywhere from 3-6 weeks to complete and have it shipped to me.

Her tank:

 

[CooperDragon]

With that layout she'll be fine. She can move over to the rock and still be warm with less UVB exactly how I was describing which is good.

I usually recommend providing 3-6 UVI across the basking area because it's a good happy medium for captivity since we can't slowly increase then decrease UVB output easily which would imitate sunlight more closely.

Here's a chart with the most recent readings I've taken from that bulb. It helps show what the UVB output is to the sides of the bulb as well as directly below it at different distances. It shows that even moving 4'' to the side at 6'' below the bulb it's totally fine and actually producing a pretty good amount of UVB to bask under.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Not from any reptile specific lighting unless the globe or tube is poor quality and gives off the wrong type of UVB and leaks UVC.

No artificial reptile lights are stronger sources of UVA and UVB than the sun is in the Australian tropics in summer. So I doubt your beardie will be overexposed to UVA and UVB in it's viv.

 

[Taterbug]

Not from any reptile specific lighting unless the globe or tube is poor quality and gives off the wrong type of UVB and leaks UVC.

No artificial reptile lights are stronger sources of UVA and UVB than the sun is in the Australian tropics in summer. So I doubt your beardie will be overexposed to UVA and UVB in it's viv.

Possitioned too close strong lamps like the T5 OP has can absolutely bee too strong. In addition to Cooper's good advice, keeping a min of 6" away is good, more if possible.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Not from any reptile specific lighting unless the globe or tube is poor quality and gives off the wrong type of UVB and leaks UVC.

No artificial reptile lights are stronger sources of UVA and UVB than the sun is in the Australian tropics in summer. So I doubt your beardie will be overexposed to UVA and UVB in it's viv.

Possitioned too close strong lamps like the T5 OP has can absolutely bee too strong. In addition to Cooper's good advice, keeping a min of 6" away is good, more if possible.

Looking at the viv , (pictured above) there is no way the beardie will over UVed.