Not sure what it translates to in gallons, but Ferdinand's viv is 115cm x 49cm x 43cm. When we bought him, they told us that they recommended using a MVB for both basking and UBA output, rather than using separate bulbs for each, so we bought a Komodo Solar D3 UV basking bulb and stuck that at the end of the viv. However, because the bulb is mounted inside the viv, we've got a wire mesh lamp guard over. The mesh is much larger than a typical mesh aquarium lid, but I was worried that it was still blocking too much of the UVB and mounted two T8 lights inside the aquarium - one towards the back, which is a Reptisun 10.0 UVB light, and one towards the front, which is just for light. They cover about half of the viv, and overlap the basking light which is between them.
Ferdinand will occasionally meander over to his basking rock, but his absolutely favorite place is his hammock, which is why the UVB light is so far to the back of the viv, rather than being more central. I was pretty happy with the placement of everything, until I was getting the cardboard loaded up for recycling and found the box for the MVB. It states very clearly that the light should not be closer than 20cm to the animal. Ferdinand's is about 10cm. So now I'm trying to figure out how to fix this. I can raise the bulb easily, but it's no longer going to be warm enough for his basking spot... so should I replace with a higher wattage? Is it still going to put out enough UVB for him being that far AND behind a lamp guard? He can get within 6 inches or so of the other UVB light from his hammock, so... is that sufficient enough without the MVB? I want him to get enough light, but I also don't want to blast him with it, and after reading the back of the box, I'm wondering if the reason he tends to stay in his hammock is because the basking light is too intense.
I don't really have a lot of options, as reptiles have only just become legal to keep as pets in my country, so there's a limited selection of lights.
Ferdinand will occasionally meander over to his basking rock, but his absolutely favorite place is his hammock, which is why the UVB light is so far to the back of the viv, rather than being more central. I was pretty happy with the placement of everything, until I was getting the cardboard loaded up for recycling and found the box for the MVB. It states very clearly that the light should not be closer than 20cm to the animal. Ferdinand's is about 10cm. So now I'm trying to figure out how to fix this. I can raise the bulb easily, but it's no longer going to be warm enough for his basking spot... so should I replace with a higher wattage? Is it still going to put out enough UVB for him being that far AND behind a lamp guard? He can get within 6 inches or so of the other UVB light from his hammock, so... is that sufficient enough without the MVB? I want him to get enough light, but I also don't want to blast him with it, and after reading the back of the box, I'm wondering if the reason he tends to stay in his hammock is because the basking light is too intense.
I don't really have a lot of options, as reptiles have only just become legal to keep as pets in my country, so there's a limited selection of lights.