Lighting and Setup Help

[Mealworm]

I recently adopted a beardie, and he came with a full setup and all. His basking spot is on one end of the tank (on a branch that is too small for him to fit on) and on the cool side there is a UV lamp. He just has sat under the UV lamp and hasn't moved anywhere else in the tank. Like he has barely moved at all, maybe a move of a foot or something on occasion. He did eat for me after I got him and hopefully he will eat today too. So I was wondering if he is okay, as I understand they should have UV tubes running most of length of the tank and had a few questions. Will he be okay for about a month until I can get the money to buy him a reptisun10.0 lamp and fixture? Where is the cheapest place in the US to get them and their fixtures? And how can I convince my parents that changing his setup won't stress him out and even though he survived for 2 years with his previous owners, his quality of life will be better with a new setup and lighting? Thank you guys so much

 

[MsCarter]

He really needs a quality UVB asap. Until you can get one, what are your outside temps currently? If it's warm enough you can take him outside for atleast 15minutes every day until you can get a tube style fixture, this will help a lot. Also, I would suggest moving his uvb fixture beside his basking light. You want the two lights to overlap so that when he's basking he receives both sources of light. Since you have a coil style uvb light right now, putting it right beside the basking light will also help his pupils to dilate more when under the uvb. That will be less damaging to his eyes.

You said he has been hanging out on the cool side? What are his current temps on the warm side? This usually indicates that the temps are too high and the dragon is trying to cool off

 

[Mealworm]

He really needs a quality UVB asap. Until you can get one, what are your outside temps currently? If it's warm enough you can take him outside for atleast 15minutes every day until you can get a tube style fixture, this will help a lot. Also, I would suggest moving his uvb fixture beside his basking light. You want the two lights to overlap so that when he's basking he receives both sources of light. Since you have a coil style uvb light right now, putting it right beside the basking light will also help his pupils to dilate more when under the uvb. That will be less damaging to his eyes.

You said he has been hanging out on the cool side? What are his current temps on the warm side? This usually indicates that the temps are too high and the dragon is trying to cool off

I have a bulb, its actually not coiled. The basking temp is like 105, but the cool side is room temp. Could he be staying in the cool side because the UVB is there? And also, he has baaked for like an hour or two once or twice.

 

[MsCarter]

He could be on that side because of the UVB but more likely it's because of the temps. Do you know how old he is? If he's not a baby try bringing those temps down just a pinch 100•F is a good basking temp for an adult. You may not even need to switch heat bulbs to achieve a temp of 100, sometimes moving the basking light just a little is all it takes. Try this out along with moving your UVB light beside it and see if it helps. Once he's basking for the majority of the day your golden

 

[Gormagon]

He really needs a quality UVB asap. Until you can get one, what are your outside temps currently? If it's warm enough you can take him outside for atleast 15minutes every day until you can get a tube style fixture, this will help a lot. Also, I would suggest moving his uvb fixture beside his basking light. You want the two lights to overlap so that when he's basking he receives both sources of light. Since you have a coil style uvb light right now, putting it right beside the basking light will also help his pupils to dilate more when under the uvb. That will be less damaging to his eyes.

You said he has been hanging out on the cool side? What are his current temps on the warm side? This usually indicates that the temps are too high and the dragon is trying to cool off

I have a bulb, its actually not coiled. The basking temp is like 105, but the cool side is room temp. Could he be staying in the cool side because the UVB is there? And also, he has baaked for like an hour or two once or twice.

If it screws in, it is a compact and those are the ones that are bad for their eyes.

 

[Mealworm]

no

He really needs a quality UVB asap. Until you can get one, what are your outside temps currently? If it's warm enough you can take him outside for atleast 15minutes every day until you can get a tube style fixture, this will help a lot. Also, I would suggest moving his uvb fixture beside his basking light. You want the two lights to overlap so that when he's basking he receives both sources of light. Since you have a coil style uvb light right now, putting it right beside the basking light will also help his pupils to dilate more when under the uvb. That will be less damaging to his eyes.

You said he has been hanging out on the cool side? What are his current temps on the warm side? This usually indicates that the temps are too high and the dragon is trying to cool off

I have a bulb, its actually not coiled. The basking temp is like 105, but the cool side is room temp. Could he be staying in the cool side because the UVB is there? And also, he has baaked for like an hour or two once or twice.

If it screws in, it is a compact and those are the ones that are bad for their eyes.

Oh it is a coiled lookin one. I feel like an ***** lol