CFL lighting dilemma

[kittymau]

So, I've searched the forums and read the caresheets and ordered a reptisun 10.0 tube for my new baby beardie. That's what I want to use.

Well, today my husband found the large exo terra terrarium with the side doors and decided that's what he wants for the tank. Ok, fine, I won't buy the 4x cheaper, used 40g reptile tank off craigslist (first we had him in a 40g breeder fish aquarium which was way too heavy---got the tank in a trade). so we bring home the exo terra tank and realize the problems we'll have with setting up the lights.

Then he finds this http://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Compact-Canopy-PT2613/dp/B001B5DHV2. Now he wants to use the CFL bulbs and says they're all fixed and safe for using in the beardie tank. .......

I cannot find enough satisfactory information to convince him otherwise. Help??? :| my protests of "this is what the people in what appears to be the most popular and respected bearded dragon forum says to use" and "I want to use what's tried and true to be safe" are not working. It's like I need a barrage of studies and testimonials against the CFLs to convince him.

Or is it true that I could actually safely raise a happy and healthy beardie with the CFL bulbs with that canopy? I unfortunately have a particularly delicate one because he is TINY. only 3? inches. I did NOT expect him to be that small. I didn't even plan on getting him so soon. The craigslist "breeder" is 3 hours away and suddenly messaged me on Friday saying some of the hatchlings were getting big and ready to go, so he needed to sell some sooner. And he happened to be coming to my town the next day so he offered to bring over one of the biggest and healthiest ones. Mmmmmkay. I...couldn't resist.

On top of that, the reptisun doesn't get here til Tuesday... Normally I would think, I'll just take him outside to hang out a bit each day til then. But a) he's new and I don't want to stress him out and b) he's TINY and I'm worried the added stress will compound everything and...bye bye. :*(

Otherwise, I just got him last night. Fed him today and he was very alert and ate a good number of small crickets. I think around 10? I kind of lost count. Is that a good amount for a 3 inch beardie? Thank you all for helpful advice.

 

[Taterbug]

There is a yahoo! Group uvmeterownersgroup (I think you can google to find it) that has the most recent information and discussions on the matter. One of the members ran the (old now) uvguide.co.uk site, another good resource.

Even if the light output where the correct quality, the shape of the beam is not very good for larger lizards. Those sites have some good visuals to explain it as well.

If your light is coming tomorrow (this Tuesday?) he should be ok with one day of no UVB. You could put him in a little tub and let him bask in the light from an open window, instead of taking him outside. The glass cannot obstruct the light but it's up to you if you want to or can take the screen out. Sunlight is much stronger than UVB bulbs and the losses to the screen aren't a big problem. He might be too small and flighty for that though. 3" is very tiny, but that doesn't mean he isn't healthy and won't thrive.

 

[timisimaginary]

my arguments would be A) why use something that has been proven harmful in the past when you have an option of something that is known to be healthy and safe, B) they may have fixed the issues with the UVC output of the coiled bulbs but unless you get a specific stock # and date, you don't have any way to know if the bulb you're buying comes from a batch that was shipped before the problem was fixed, and C) the dragon will only be receiving UVB when he's sitting directly beneath the CFL bulb, which could be only a small fraction of time, versus relatively constant UVB exposure from a tube bulb whose output covers the majority of the enclosure's space.

good luck!

 

[kittymau]

Thank you! well, I decided to remove the foam background so that essentially eliminates the problem of not being able to mount the light! A shame to not be able to use the foam background that came with this expensive tank though!

 

[CooperDragon]

I ditched the foam background on mine too. I wound up printing out cool large photos of the outback and created a custom backdrop which I think worked better anyway.