I got my stuff for zooma is it correct?

[Jittjuke]

So today I got my stuff for my bearded dragon. His name is zooma and I've had him since Wednesday. And today I moved him in to his 20 gallon cage. I thought it was 40 but it's 20. Will upgrade once he gets a little bigger. I also got a uvb light and it's sitting above my basking light on the left side of the cage. I had a case thing that you put the bulb into. Does this matter? Can I just have any right? Because it's the bulb that matters right? It's a repti sun 10.00

Thank you all for your help I'm feeling much more stress free since getting averything

 

[CooperDragon]

Which kind of UVB light do you have? By case do you mean fixture? Is it a dome or is it a rectangular fixture for a tube light?

 

[Jittjuke]

It's a dome. I got a uvb reptisun 10.0 it's more toward the middle of the cage and the basking is on the left.

 

[CooperDragon]

OK if it's in a dome, then it's the compact fluorescent ReptiSun 10 rather than the tube style. That should be over the basking area alongside the basking bulb. It should sit about 6-8'' above the basking area for best results. If you need to cover more distance than that, I'd consider getting a T5 tube which will have an optimal output at around 12''.

 

[Jittjuke]

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry it's a fixture not a dome I meant to say that but I said the opposite. Where should this one go? He still has some stress marks normal? I just moved him again but he's had them the hole time some times I don't see them much hoping it's just because of the move.

 

[CooperDragon]

If it's a tube fixture, a T8 should sit about 6-8'' above the basking area as well. You want to combine high UVB level with high temps and bright white light to simulate sunlight. The dark spots are normal and are a sign that he's just darkening to bask & absorb heat/light.

 

[Jittjuke]

Ok so I should have my uvb light above the basking spot. So on the cage I should have my uvb then under that the basking light? Thanks and arent the marks on his stomach stress marks?

 

[CooperDragon]

Basking light and UVB light should be next to eachother. The basking light can be at any height as long as it's providing the appropriate temperature ranges but the UVB light should sit 6-8'' above the basking area to provide adequate UVB levels.

The dark spots are called stress marks but I feel that's misleading. They are so common I think they have more to do with young dragons darkening to bask rather than a straight reflection of their mood.

 

[Jittjuke]

okay awesome hes has just this weekend been shedding and ive noticed he started to close his eyes more is this often?
thanks so rrrrrrmuch

 

[CooperDragon]

If he's shedding around his face, it may be irritating his eyes. You may see him bulge his eyes out too. It's really freaky when you first see it, but it's normal and he's just stretching the skin around his eyes so it will shed.

 

[Jittjuke]

One more thing. I have a 100 wat basking bulb is that too much for a 20 gal? Because now he will get really dark and annoying but then I will turn it on. Then he will go back to normal then get hot again. And leave.

 

[CooperDragon]

Not necessarily. It really depends on the temperatures you're measuring. The temps vary by setup and environment so you need to go off of the measurements. If it's too hot you could suspend it a bit higher up using an adjustable lamp stand. If it's off by a lot you'll need to try a different wattage. You want the basking surface temperature to read between about 100-110 and there should be a gradient down to about 75-80 on the other end of the tank.