Heating and Lighting Questions

[Darkotic948]

Hi there everyone,
I have a few questions about the heating and lighting I'm using. I have an Arizona Hot Lamp with a clamp and a dimmer, and I'm using a Zoo Med: Repti Basking Spot Lamp 100w for UVA and and an Exo-Terra: Compact Top using a Repti-Glo 10.0 UVB 26w coil bulb. I also have a Repti-Sun: 20in Terrarium Hood but they don't have florescent tubes of Repti-Sun 10.0 around here locally so I had to settle for the compact top for now till I can locate one. I was wondering if these will be fine for now? And also I have a 100w infrared Heat-Glo light by Exo-Terra that I'm not gonna use anymore due to me reading someone else's question a few minutes ago how it disrupts sleep and its still warm here at night.
And also, I'm using a Zilla Digital Thermometer. The lady at PetSmart recommended these other thermometers by All Living Things, its a thermometer and a hydrometer n' I didn't think it was too accurate so I went out n' bought the Zilla thermometer and I am glad I did because the temperature was almost 130 degrees in the 20 gallon tank. The All Living Things thermometers were barely saying it was 100. My other question is the temperature is about 117 with a changing decimal, but the light isn't very bright, it's a visible light but if I just barely turn the dimmer up for more light the temperature changes drastically. This is probably a dumb question but as long as it's putting out light and heat is that okay, or does it need to be really bright? He's sitting under the Compact top on a big rock a few inches away from the lid right now. And I don't understand the hot lamp's clamp cuz the instructiosn were really vague. And can anyone give me some tips on maintaining the temperature better? I'm a real newbie about all of this, thanks a lot! And also I have to go away this weekend for like, a night, leaving at noon and probably coming home at noon the next day. I tried looking at walmart for some light timers but I couldn't find any, only at petsmart and they are proud of them, wanting about $50+ a piece, so do you think he'd be okay if I take him with me in a reptile cage I bought? Its a pretty good size and I also have a leash for him and I can bring food and water along with us and walk him in the sun and bring him in the house at night cuz I will be staying at my dad's. I live in Tx so it gets pretty warm. Would that be okay to do? Thanks a lot for everyone reading this and anyone who helps! Very much appreciated, I'm sorry this was so long and so many questions, but there's so many nice people here so I figured this would be the best place to ask! ^_^
-DJ

 

[macdaddy]

hey,

first off i would turn the compact uvb coil off, there are lots of studies and personal experiences on this site that say the coil is bad for your beardie. one of the bad experiences is mine, george turned lethargic and wouldn't eat and would always hide from the uvb light...he ended up losing a lot of weight, almost looked like a runway model. as the experts on here told me, no uvb is better than bad uvb. so hold off on the uvb until you can find the repti-sun. just take him outside for a while for his uv, if you live in texas shouldn't be a problem. as for me, in the great white north of canada, i can't do that anymore.

as for a basking light, you can use a normal household floodlight that you get from a hardware store. the floodlight is brighter, and waaaay more cost effective than those ones from the pet store. the bright light will constrict your beardie's pupils and help protect his eyes from the uv. good move on not using the infrared bulb. but with your smaller tank you may be able to use just a normal bulb that goes in a lamp...like a 100w maybe? you would have to try it out and see.

and you say you have a 20 gallon tank right...you do know you'll need something bigger as he grows. i can say too that its easier to regulate the temperatures and have a gradient with a bigger tank. you're looking for anything between 100 and 110 on your basking spot and 80 - 85 on your cool side. the digital thermometer is key too.

i'm sorry but i can't help you with the travelling question...george has never been on a road trip, when i take off i always have a babysitter to throw in some bugs and prepare a salad. you should be able to find a timer at walmart or somewhere...the one i have is a digital timer/power bar combo so i can have all 3 of georges lights on one timer. very handy.

best of luck

 

[Darkotic948]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it! How long should I bring him outside for sinec I won't be using the coil till I find one? for a while? And for the spot heating, I can use any 100w flood lamp light bulb? you say it's brighter and heats at about the right temperature it needs? I'll make a trip to lowes later and try to find a flood lamp and a light timer, hopefully i can find that stuff cheap there. n yeah I know I'll need a bigger tank. The girl that sold me the thermometers also said that a 20 gallon tank would be big enough for it its whole life, n' I know that isn't right it needs at least a 40 i read on here, I just got this one for the time being till it gets older then I'm gonna use it for a snake. It's sad cuz that girl is giving everyone bad information. She was trying to sell me sand n' everything and shes the one that sold me the compact top and the coil light too.

 

[macdaddy]

yeah its really too bad the info that the pet stores give you...but if you keep in mind that most people who buy dragons don't know a lot about them and they're out to make money, at the expense of the poor dragon, then it makes sense. i think its criminal what they do. my poor beardie almost died because of what the pet store manager, who was apparently "the dragon lady", told me to do. anyway, i got thinking that since you've got a small tank a floodlight will most likely be too hot for your tank. i've got a 50 watt floodlight for george's 40 gallon tank and its about 14-16" from his basking spot, and keeps the temp around 110 at the hottest spot. based on that, i would guess that a regular bulb would work for you, as long its not one of the energy saving ones. try 100w, and if its too hot try to lift it away from the basking spot until you get the right temps, or grab a smaller wattage. doesn't matter how far away it is, as long as your temps are there. hang it from the ceiling, or try to rig up the clamp, whatever you have to do.

take her outside for as long as you want, but i would guess at least 20 min to half an hour. they love the real sun light.

and as for the sand...everyone says bad things about it, and how your beardie will eat it and get impacted and how it harbours bacteria and all that...as long as its regular play sand from home depot or whatever not that calcium sand crap i haven't had a problem with it. i like the look, it seems more natural to me. and george doesn't poop in his tank, he poops in his bath, so i need not worry about bacteria.

have fun and good luck

 

[Darkotic948]

Thanks I appreciate the feedback ^_^ The way mine is set up I have the lamp face down ontop of the screen cuz theres no real place to set it up at, so you think maybe a 75 wat regular light bulb that you'd use to light up your room would suffice okay if I do it like that? Cuz I don't really have a place to clamp it to. n' petsmart screwed me out of about $100 so I'm gonna bring back all the other stuff I bought at PetSmart and get my money back and complain. And it's so dumb cuz I got the Reptisun hood from there and they dont' even have the florescent tubes! The guy who works there said even he goes to other places to get his pet stuff cuz he doesn't turst the place he works. and then I'm gonna go drive for 45 minutes to go pick up a Repti-Sun 10.0 florescent 18 inch bulb cuz its the only place that actually knows what you really need for them. I called about 10 different places and they all carry repti-GLO 10.0 coiled stuff, except for this one mom and pop pet store.

 

[macdaddy]

i think a 75 watt would do the trick for you. since its a small tank it won't take much. as for complaining at the pet store, i'm afraid it won't do you much good. i did it, i pretty much reamed out the "dragon lady" manager and all she could give me was a shrug and a look as if she was saying "tough titty, i'm not doing anything for you or the other people who come in to buy dragons." its for this reason we all have bd.org! (oh, and she is the pet store manager and drives a beamer...figure that one out.)

 

[UpstateNYPets]

petsmart screwed me out of about $100 so I'm gonna bring back all the other stuff I bought at PetSmart and get my money back and complain. And it's so dumb cuz I got the Reptisun hood from there and they dont' even have the florescent tubes! The guy who works there said even he goes to other places to get his pet stuff cuz he doesn't turst the place he works. and then I'm gonna go drive for 45 minutes to go pick up a Repti-Sun 10.0 florescent 18 inch bulb cuz its the only place that actually knows what you really need for them. I called about 10 different places and they all carry repti-GLO 10.0 coiled stuff, except for this one mom and pop pet store.

It's really unfortunate what pet stores will do to make a quick buck. Even if complaining doesn't get you far, it still feels nice to do it, and just maybe, just MAYBE, you can educate the people giving out the bad information and they will actually start giving out the RIGHT information (we all can dream right? :roll: ) Definitely get your money back and complain about the horrible information you were given. I would talk directly to the manager about it. Like I said before, even if it doesn't get you far, at least you got that feeling off your shoulder and were able to release your anger and try to help out the store too.

As for the rest of your questions, I think that a 75w bulb will be good. Since they are cheap enough, might as well buy the 75w and the 100w just to be sure (and have one less trip if one failed). When trying out the new lighting, leave your beardie outta the enclosure for at least an hour while the light heats up and gets to the point where it stops gaining temperature. So leave it on for up to an hour, check the temps and make sure it's not climbing, if it's too high or too low adjust or use the higher/lower bulb and do the waiting thing again. It's really not that hard, reading and typing about it makes it seem harder but really it's not!

Oh, the other thing... Since you're having a hard time finding your UVB tube, have you thought about ordering it online? You'll get it a lot cheaper than what the pet stores will sell it to you for. By the time you use gas to drive 45 minutes and then buy the light, which is expensive at the store, you'll be out a nice chunk of change. I only order my supplies online, never had a problem, and saved a TON of money! I use a T-Rex Active UV heat bulb (MVB) and in the store it was $70... Guess how much I got it online WITH shipping? $40! There is no way I'm going to be scammed by the pet stores who jack their prices up for no reason! Definitely check the prices out online before making the decision to drive. If you can take your beardie outside for a few days while waiting for it in the mail, you have nothing to worry about. Not to mention, just a few days without UVB won't hurt him in the long run. It's for extended periods of time without it that bad things (MDB) will happen. So 3-4 days without it will be okay, if you can't get natural sunlight.

The places I have the best luck with buying from are http://www.LLLReptile.com and http://www.petmountain.com

I even have good luck finding new items (even feeders) on ebay for cheap and with no problem- http://www.ebay.com

 

[Darkotic948]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate all of the information, I'll definitely use those sites later. I just got back a few hours ago from going to the pet store way out of town. I didn't know how long he cuold go without having uvb so I decided better safe than sorry so we drove an hour n' a half to this place n' the people there were really nice and informed. It was called Carter's Pet Depot, I'm not sure if it was just a random guy or if it was like a big company or something. I got really lucky! I got the last 18 inch Repti-Sun 10.0 florescent tube which I will turn on from now on at 6 am till about 6-8 pm, depending on how active he is around those times. So using the Repti-Sun 10.0 18 inch tube in a repti-sun hood and using an arizona hot lamp with a regular light bulb from brand Everyday Living at 75 watts turned all the way up, this is all the lighting I will need? Cuz the basking area where the hot lamp is gets precisely 100 degrees, and the other side is 80ish. And I'm not using the infrared light anymore and he is sleeping pretty hard lol he layed down and is just laying where i put him cuz hes too tired to move. Its about 80 in there right now. This should be fine? Thanks a lot for your time everyone, much appreciated! I'm glad I read about it cuz it seems he hasn't had sleep very well since hes been here, hes sleeping pretty good right now though. ^_^

 

[racheldoyle]

ok i have to question do u have to have the Fluorescent go the whole lenth of the tank?

 

[Darkotic948]

It almost does, its a 20 gallon tank and it stops maybe 5 inches short of the end of the tank, n' thats where I have the hot lamp for basking. It goes behind the hot lamp just a litt.e I could take a pic n' show. Does it sound like its okay?

 

[macdaddy]

it would be a good idea to have them overlap, so your beardie can get both the uv and the heat when basking, i guess it is better for digestion. thats why everyone swears by the mvb bulbs, cuz they provide both uv and heat in one bulb

 

[racheldoyle]

i was going to have them overlap but not have it run the whole leathen of the tank would that be ok?

 

[macdaddy]

i think it would be fine if it didn't run the entire length of the tank...i've got my beardie in a 40 gallon tank with an 18" tube, it covers about 2/3 of the tank. its my understanding that most importantly beardies need the uv when they are basking, in order to digest their food (correct me if i'm wrong guys) so you don't absolutely need it running the entire length of the tank.

 

[racheldoyle]

Great that is what i was going to do thanks guys

 

[UpstateNYPets]

It's recommended that the UVB tube stretches the length of the enclosure, for maximum UVB levels. Lots of people don't use them the entire length of their cage, but the longer the tube, the better.