Lamp wattage for 10g tank?

[Sadona]

Hello, all...I plan on using a 10g tank for a future baby beardie. (yes, I do know I will have to upgrade size eventually)
I bought a Flukers 75 watt heat lamp...I have a normal 75 watt incandescent bulb I plan on using with it.
My room stays a steady 68 degrees in the winter, and 72 degrees in the summer.
Given the tank size, lamp wattage/bulb wattage and ambient temp, do you think I could manage to give the beardie a good basking spot temp of the recommended 110F?
Should I buy a higher wattage lamp?
For those of you with experience with 10 gallons, what did you use/are using for basking lamp or bulb wattage?
Thanks,( sorry for all the N00B questions. )

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello,

Don't be sorry for all the questions. At least you care enough for the welfare of the beardie you are going to get to do your research first.
It has been 6 yrs since I used a 10 gal tank, but if I remember correctly, you shouldn't need much more than a 60 watt bulb for basking. I could be wrong... maybe a 75w in the winter time. The best thing for you to do is experiment with the different watt bulbs until you find what works best with your home environment. Were you planning on using a 75w basking bulb and another 75w household bulb as well? If so, that would definitely be too much heat for a 10 gal tank.
Do you have a digital thermometer with a wire and probe or an infrared temp gun to measure the temps?
The basking temp for a baby does not have to stay at 110 degrees. That is actually the max it should be for basking. As long as you are getting basking temps between say 103-110, you should be good. The tiny babies are the ones that prefer the warmer basking temps between 105-110. The coolside should range between 80-85 for a baby beardie.
Hope this helps!

 

[Sadona]

Thanks for the reply.
I was just planning on using one normal every-day incandescent 75watt bulb for the heat. I managed to find a probe thermometer the other day and tested the bulb out with that. Over a period of two hours, the basking spot temp reached a max of 105.3 F and the cool side stayed at 77 F. I honestly don't know how I would up the cool side temp, I'm already using a towel to cover the aquarium screen on that side. Would those temps suffice?
Another question: what heat lamp and bulb wattage would you use for an adult dragon in a 40 gallon?

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Well normally I would say to use a very low wattage bulb on the coolside to bring the temps up to around 80(for a baby beardie). 77 degrees is a liitle low yet. The only problem with a 10 gallon tank is that you don't have much room on top for a basking light, uvb and another heat source. Could you possibly put a household lamp that points downward next to the tank on the coolside? I'm not sure how else to solve this problem.

As for a 40 gal enclosure, a 100w basking light should work. You can use a household halogen flood light for that. You may also need additional heat in the coolside as well.

 

[Sadona]

I did another temp test last night, and it took about 3 hours for the temp to max out at 106.3 F, the cool side temp was at 79 F.
If I'm not mistaken, those temps seem pretty good. Do you approve?
Also...what would you recommend for night temps? The temps in my room reach a good solid 69 F. The lowest I have seen it go was 68 F. Would that work??

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Yes, those temps will work. Basking is perfect, if you could get the coolside up one or two more degrees that would be great. I think they will be okay even if you don't. The baby beardies just seem to do better in the warmer temps than the adults do. It is usually recommended that the babies coolside temps be between 80-85 degrees.
As for night time temps go... as long as your home temps don't fall below 65 degrees you are good to go
So when are you getting this new baby beardie?

 

[Sadona]

Thanks! So, it seems the temps are in order...finally!
At first, I thought petsmart would be my only option...amazingly, the beardies they had there seemed in good health. One of them was very dark colored, but the others seemed normal. They are four inches long... pretty small. $59.99! The price scared me a little, being that money is thin around here, so I started weighing my options. I looked into some online breeders and found some amazing looking dragons, but nothing cheaper then the petstore. Do you, by chance, know of any good reputable breeders with reasonable prices?
Anyway. After feeling a bit discouraged with prices and online shipping dangers, I broadened my search for reptile shows. I found one about 3 hours away...the Kentucky Reptile Expo, March 21st. I took a look at their vendors that had websites, and so far havn't found any beardie breeders. Guh, why are these little boogers so hard to find?!
To get to the point, if all goes as planned, I will go to the Reptile Expo on March 21st and hopefully bring home a baby beardie. This date also gives me enough time to save and buy the rest of the things I will need. I have a lot depending on this date...there is still a chance they don't have any beardies, or the ones they do have are way out of my budget.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

I know alot of breeders... unfortunately, they will be more expensive than the petstores, plus you have to add shipping the beardie into the equation.
I would definitely wait and go to the reptile expo. I guarantee there will be beardies there. I have never heard of a reptile expo that did not have them. Generally the ones you get from the breeders are going to be healthier than the petstores, due to proper care. Most pet stores have no idea how to take care of reptiles. Therefore the beardies don't always have the best start in life. Then again you could get lucky. My first beardie Rex, who is 6 yrs old, came from Petsmart. She was pretty healthy when I got her, a little young, but healthy!

 

[Sadona]

Yeah, I'm really hoping that they will be there. I have never been to a reptile show before, so just going there will be an experience. I can't wait...I'm really looking forward to it!
Have you ever been to an expo before? Do you know how much babies generally cost there?

 

[purplesheep]

There is an expo near me that I got my Prudence at... she was $40.00 and she was about 8 weeks when I got her. I was shocked at the price!!

I also have a 10 gallon tank for now, but it's a crap one. She will be moving into a 40 gallon breeder one this week.