Exo terra repti-glo 5.0 ?

[Arron]

Hi, i am new to bearded dragons and just got a 5 year old bearded dragon off a friend that could not looks after him anymore. I got the whole set up and vivarium. He had a exo terra repti glo 5.0 UVB with him, as the bulb was more than 6 months old, i replaced it with a new one. Is this ok for my bearded dragon? His 5 years old and seems in good healthy and running about eating ect. He also has a 60 w exo-terra heat lamp that seems to keep him warm. Just thought i ask as some say the 10.0 is better? But as he has all ways had this, it does not seem to effect him? Thanks.

Arron.

 

[CooperDragon]

The 5.0 bulb is a low output bulb designed for shade dwellers. It isn't really an appropriate bulb for sun seekers like dragons. You'll definitely want a 10.0 bulb with a reflector. The question is if you need a T8 or a T5. This depends on the size of your tank and distance from the bulb to the highest basking spot. What are the dimensions of the enclosure? A T8 has an optimal output at around 6-8'' above the basking area while a T5 provides a higher optimal output at around 12'' above the basking area.

How are you measuring the temperatures? Its important to have accurate readings because you want to create a gradient from about 100 degrees in the basking area with some areas around that in the 90s and a cool side of about 75-80. This will allow for self regulation. Providing a variety of heat and UVB is important for their overall health.

 

[Arron]

Thank you Cooper dragon. I took a reading of the heat under the basking lamp where he basks and it said 48*Celsius. Ill try and get a photo of the set up soon, but its 3 and a half foot x 2ft. The uvb i mentioned is about 8 inches away. I just got the uvb, as it had the same one in before, so thought that was correct, but after reading here,was not sure, so now ill have to get the 10.0 instead. :?
I have also seen bulbs that have the 2 together, uvb and basking in one, they seem good, whats peoples thoughts on these ? Thanks..

 

[CooperDragon]

48 is a little bit high. I'd shoot for the basking area to be around 40-42 or so and then a nice gradient down to around 23-27 on the cool end.

How tall is your tank? It sounds like it's big enough that a T5 is a better option. A T5 Arcadia bulb with reflector and fixture/controller would be a really good bet. It should run about 1/2 the length of the enclosure so a 24'' setup for the 22'' bulb would work really well. It's a bit of an investment up front but the bulbs last much longer than the T8 (UVB output decays over time). I have one that is still going strong after a year and a half putting out mid day UVB levels. Very much worth the investment.

The all-in-one bulbs are usually either metal halide or mercury vapor bulbs. Some of them are very good and some of them (usually the cheap ones) are pretty awful. In my opinion there are two downsides to these types of lights. The first is that the beam tends to be pretty narrow. The effective basking area with optimal UVB is smaller than a dragon so they can't bask evenly. This is an advantage of the tube style light - nice wide beam. The other issue is that when they're mounted at a height to output appropriate UVB levels, the temperatures aren't always correct so another heat lamp is needed anyway. I like to have separate control over the heat and the UVB exposure.

Fortunately the heat lamps can be pretty cheap. A dome fixture with appropriate wattage rating and a par38 halogen flood light will do the trick in most cases. They last for quite a while and are cheap to replace. Most hardware stores will carry these.

 

[Arron]

Once again, thank you Cooper Dragon. I made a miss print about the heat, it reads around the 41*c mark. Ill look into the UVB lighting you mentioned.

 

[CooperDragon]

Sounds good. 41 is fine for basking temp. The Arcadia stuff should be available in Ireland but if not you can probably pick it up from Swell Reptiles over in England.

 

[Arron]

Hopefully ill get to buy the 10.0, as i was informed by my wife this morning on swapping the uvb and she is not happy..lol...as they are expensive here and our nearest reptile place is 2hr drive away. I might just let him hang in their till november when i need to change it, as he seems ok the last 5 years with the 5.0.. Ill try and get a pic of the set up this morning.

 

[Arron]

Well, i have ordered this UVB below, so hopefully it will do the job.
It will be over a mesh top, would this be ok? The mesh holes are not too small, about 3 mil.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arcadia-T8-Reptile-Lamp-Tube-Euro-Range-D3-Desert-10-UVB-15w-18w-25w-30w-38w-/321672172341?var=&hash=item4ae527d335:m:mBx6gVX01mwvJzcI65O2_-g

 

[CooperDragon]

Arcadia makes nice lighting. The screen will intercept around 30% or so of the output. Since it's a T8 I would still try to bring at least part of the basking area up to about 15cm from the light for best output.

 

[Arron]

Will do CD, thanks very much.

 

[Arron]

Here is my BD today below, getting some real UBV, it was hot here today, well, for Ireland anyhow..lol..

 

[CooperDragon]

Looks like he's enjoying the sun. I'm glad you were able to get him outside for a bit =)

 

[Arron]

Thanks, yes he loves the sun..
Ill try and get some pics of my set up today.