Do I have the right lighting for my beardie?

[chirish]

Hey all I'm just wondering if the lighting I have for my beardie is okay.

Right now I have a 20 gallon tank with a wire grading on top. My beardie is about 3 months old now and he seems to be doing okay. For his UVB I have a ESU Reptile Slimeline Reptile fixture. It's 18 inches long and I made sure to take off the clear plastic lining on the front to let the UVB out. It says on the back that the lamp produces 3% UVB and 7% UVA. Is this okay? If not is there anything better I can get?

As for the absking area I have a basking lamp with a "All Living Things" Basking bulb. It's a UVA incandescent reptile bulb 75 Watts. The temperature in the basking area gets to about 100 degrees with relatively small humidity (as taken by a digital thermometer/ hydrometer).

THanks for your help

Patrick

 

[jscott]

hi, welcome to BD.org .

that UV-B bulb sounds iffy. inferior bulbs produce ultra-low wavelength light, dangerously close to UV-C light. id go with a trusted one:

ZooMed Repti-sun 10.0 linear fluorescent is all you need to know if your tank is small or you are having a hard time keeping your cool side cool. this light has been tested for years and is the best UV-B light outside of the UK. it is safe at distances up to 6" compared to the 8-10" distance of some questionable bulbs. to use this light appropriately it should be placed directly next to a heat lamp. its preferable to get a UV-B tube that stretches the length of your enclosure, that way your dragon benefits no matter where he is inside.

to order that bulb cheap, go to this site:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/fluorescent/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html
ive ordered 3 and each 3 foot bulb was about $27 after shipping and tax.

sounds like the temps are within the safe range on the basking side. you could even raise them up abit, maybe using a 100watt bulb instead of a 75watt. that basking bulb sounds ok as long as its white light; not red, purple or blue... though you did say it has UV-A so i doubt it is colored.

what are the temps like on his cool side?

also, what kind of substrate or bedding do you use?

how long is he from nose to tip of tail?

how close can he get to his UVB source?

water dish in cage?

sorry to bombard you with questions... it just helps us to help you a little faster :wink: .

p.s. if hes small (6"), and if you can keep the temps down on the cool side then 20gallons is alright for now. but i advise getting a 40+ gallon tank soon; the wider the better.