Help!

[saranita]

Please help me! I bought this startup kit made by R-Zilla and it came with 3 lights all made by that company (Desert Series 50 Fluorescent Coil Bulb (20w), Incandescent Day Blue Light Bulb (150w), and Incandescent Night Black Heat Bulb (50w) ) and I feel like They are horribly wrong... I cant return the setup or anything so dont even just tell me what bulbs i can get to replace into the domes that came with this kit! plz let me know fast my beardie is acting funny and i want to change the lights tomorow!

 

[spurlee01]

I'm sorry to hear that the set-up came with all of the wrong stuff
Instead of the coil UVB, you will want a reptisun 10.0 TUBE. Unfortunately, you will have to change fixtures for this, but it will be worth it.
The blue light should be replaced with a white basking light. I don't know what wattage you will need, but you will want it to give you temperatures of 100-110*F, as measured with a digital thermometer with a probe.
The night bulb is only necessary if your house drops below 65*F, in which case you will need a ceramic heat emitter.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions,
Sara

 

[saranita]

the blue bulb gives off white light does that mean its ok? and cant i get a reptisun bulb for the dome?

 

[spurlee01]

The coil bulbs are not any good, so no, there isn't a tube that fits in the dome. I don't know about the blue light. Do you have a thermometer in your tank? A 150 watts sounds like a lot. How big is the tank?

 

[saranita]

the tank is 20 gallon long, and i notices just today Rylee had his mouth open a bit, if you have suggestions for bulbs please tell me, im going to the pet store asap tomorow

 

[spurlee01]

This is the ONLY UVB I would use
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html
Either of these basking bulbs would be fine. You can even use a regular household bulb as long as you can get the temperatures right. I would guess you would need at most a 75 watt bulb.
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-incandescent-bulbs/504972/zoo-med-reptile-uva-basking-spot-lamp.html
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-incandescent-bulbs/501544/exo-terra-sun-glo-tight-beam-basking-bulbs.html

 

[saranita]

LMAO i happen to have 2 of the second basking bulb you sent because i use them on my hermit crabs! lol, I'll try the 75 watt I have but i have my hermit crabs in a smaller tank and the 75 watt gets the temp in the middle of the tank to about 80, think it would be good for the 20 gallon if he has plants and a log raising him closer to it? (these are already in place)

 

[spurlee01]

I do think it will be good. I have a raised basking spot and in a 40 gallon tank, I'm getting the temps I need with a 75 watt. Save the receipt, though, most will let you return it if it's not working out.

 

[saranita]

I wouldnt be buying a new one because i already have it for m hermit crabs, so if its not strong enough i'm not losing anything haha also does the retisun 10.0 come in different watts? or do i just get the tube that fits my tank and a bulb that fits it? or do i need to worry about wattages?

 

[spurlee01]

Don't worry about wattages. You just want a bulb that covers at least half of the length of your tank. So if your tank is 36", you want at a minimum 18" long bulb.

 

[saranita]

thank you so much! now all i need to do is buy the reptisun bulb and a tube fixture, i just hope my local pet stores prices are better than what im finding online :S or my mom might help i hope lol

 

[spurlee01]

http://www.petmountain.com has the best prices.

 

[saranita]

Rylee has been blinking his eyes one at a time today and I don't know if im being paranoid or if the light could be bothering him, if it is will getting the new light make him all better or has my stupidity done damage after 2 weeks of being with a coil bulb?

 

[diamc]

Hi, Sara gave you some great advice. I would definitely remove the 150 watt and replace with the 75 watt or possibly even a 60 watt household bulb would be enough for a 20 gallon tank. It sounds like you're using stick-on thermometers, those can be off by as much as 20 degrees and they only measure the temps of the glass. The only 2 ways to get accurate readings are with either an infrared temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end. Walmart has a probe thermometer for about $12.00, the AcuRite brand which will give both basking & cool side temps at the same time as well as a humidity readout. Also would be a good idea to give at least a daily bath because with too high of temps, it can cause rapid dehydration.

Since your beardie is acting like his eyes are bothering him, they probably are due to the bulb. I suggest you turn the coil bulb off right away as he will be better off without any for a wk or so rather than using that one.

Good luck and be sure to keep us updated.

Moved here from Health forum

 

[saranita]

thank you both so much, I turned off the coil light and will leave it off tomorow until i get the tube one mentioned before. I am also changing the the 75watt bulb i have once the dome cools off (its lights out now) also I will try and find some kind of better thermometer while im there but dont know if i can afford it. also with the lid on my tank i dont think i can use a probe, so ill look for a gun thing mentioned before lol