Lighting Help for Newbies (:

[Jess]

@nahuelarg86: Hmm, that is really weird. :| I have always had mine on timers, and never had an issue. I know nothing about electrical stuff, so I won't be able to help you out on that one. Sorry!

@klm: Yeah, I would try a 100 watt light then, since your house is pretty chilly. What heat are you using at night? Because a CHE would definitely be something to consider anyways.

 

[klm15975]

@klm: Yeah, I would try a 100 watt light then, since your house is pretty chilly. What heat are you using at night? Because a CHE would definitely be something to consider anyways.

Currently one of those red heat lights. I am about to place an order on Amazon for the CHE, what wattage CHE would you recommend?

 

[Jess]

A 100 watt should be enough, I think. That is what I use in my 4x2x2. As long as you're ordering off Amazon, dimmers work really well with the CHEs to get perfect night temps! I have three of these LOL: http://www.amazon.com/Lutron-TT-300NLH-BL-Credenza-Dimmer-Black/dp/B00024BJZE/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1323537183&sr=8-10

 

[klm15975]

I have three of these LOL: http://www.amazon.com/Lutron-TT-300NLH-BL-Credenza-Dimmer-Black/dp/B00024BJZE/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1323537183&sr=8-10

Awesome, thanks. The dimmer I was looking at was a few $ more and not a prime item. Placing my order now

 

[RoryJ]

Hey Jess,

I am new to the forums and your thread has helped me out tremendously. I unfortunately do not have a dragon yet do to the fact that I recently became interested in owning a berdie. The apartment I live in also does not allow pets except for fish and birds. I am hoping to get a dragon anyways as long as I can talk my girlfriend into it. Anyways, for the last few weeks I have been doing tons of research on anything to do with berdies but I have a few questions for you. If you wouldn't mind, could you share your setup for your 4x2x2 viv? After a lot of looking I like the looks of the cages by custom cages. They have 4x2x2 and 36x18x18 wooden cages available as well as many others much larger. Is a 4x2x2 to large for a single dragon? Is the 36x18x18 too small? Should I be looking at glass aquariums instead? Since I know you own both glass and wooden cages can you share the pros and cons of each? Right now I was planning on something like the following for a 4x2x2: 24" fixture +reptisun 10 (or is 36" ideal for a cage of that size as it would be 2/3 of the cage as opposed to 1/2) length wise to the basking side of the cage, basking fixture ( not sure of a good one that is mountable in a wooden cage) and either a household bulb or a flood ( you said you use 30-50 watts for these correct?), possibly a CHE in the center of the cage for night time heating ( do I need one as I would think a wooden cage being well insulated would take a while to dissipate the heat from the day lights. But my house does get to about 65 at night.), and finally a coil like the reptisun 2.0 for lighting on the far cool end of the cage. How does this sound? I remember you saying you had screen on the front of your cage for air circulation. Is this vital to your set up, as the cage I would get only has 3 vents in the back like you described on yours. What kind of substrate do you use in your 4x2x2? I was thinking either shelf liner or getting tile cut for it. Does anything other than the CHE need to be put on a dimmer/thermostat? If you wouldn't mind, could you let me know what brands of lights and fixtures you use in the 4x2x2 and maybe give links to them. Thanks a lot, and sorry for so many questions.

Rory

 

[Thanos75]

I have a very young beardie. I have him in a 10 gallon breader until he is big enough for the 40. There is just so much info on here and a lot of opinions about the proper lighting for the tank. Right now I have a 50 watt day basking light and a 50watt night basking light. The tank stays at 70....I know too cold. I want someone to tell me the exact setup,placement and equipment I should have for the 10gallon tank. I am not worried about the cost I just want him to be healthy and happy. Put together a list for me and I will order it today.... Thanks....and Brutus will thank you too.

 

[Jess]

@Thanos: I will PM you a list in a sec.

@Rory:
It's awesome that you are doing your research before you get a beardie!
There is no such thing as a cage that is too big.. IMO the 4x2x2s are perfect. I like custom better than glass cages- they are much better insulated and easier to access. Here is how I have my 4x2x2 set-up now. I was thinking of adding this the the original post.

I have the fixtures build into the ceiling: The warm side has a 50w basking spot light on a dimmer and UVB, and the cool side has a 100w CHE on a dimmer on a coiled "daylight" bulb (You can get them at Home Depot, and they are cheaper than the 2.0 reptile lights). My under-the-counter UVB fixture needed replacing, so I decided to try the ReptiSun light hood, and I just set it on shelving brackets that I mounted to the viv walls. Personally, I like it much better! I've always used 24" UVB lights. My light/CHE fixtures are random ones from Fleet Farm. Just make sure the ones you get are ceramic and are rated for the wattage you want.

In the winter I have both glass doors on my viv (I live in MN, so it needs the insulation!) but in the summer I use one screen door so it stays cooler. My bedroom has extreme temperature fluxuations though LOL, so you might be fine with just glass doors and no screen.

And I use non-adhesive linoleum flooring. It looks like tile, but it is SO much easier to work with!

 

[RoryJ]

Thanks the picture helped a lot. This is exactly how I envisioned my set up lighting wise, I think I am on the right track. The dimmer on the flood was the only thing I wan't sure about because I know some lights don't do well on a dimmer. It does seem to be much easier and cheaper than a thermostat. I will probably wait until it gets warmer because I want to order a berdie from a breeder and I don't want the little guy to freeze. Any suggestions for known good breeders that do mail orders? Thank you for your help.

Rory

 

[Jess]

Yeah, since beardies like to lay on their probes, a thermostat probably wouldn't work very well anyways. I use those dimmers on one of my gecko's UTH too, and I like them a lot! Not bad for $10.

TND dragons, Rio Reptiles, Yellow Room Reptiles, and Carolina Classic Dragons are all good ones!

 

[klm15975]

Ok, so I received my 100W Ceramic infrared heat emitter and dimmer switch today. Before putting it into the Zilla dome I have (which is 150W max) see here:

http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/premium-reflector-dome.htm

Can I put the CHE into that dome?


I also have this combo dome:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4188809

but it says on the box to not use CHE in it. I want to make sure its safe before blowing the bulb.
Thanks

 

[Gorbash]

Thank you for your help, I got a dimmer lamp (I'm going to use the lap I already had for the normal bulb) and got his basking spot temperature to a nice 108.

 

[2dragonsand1hedge]

so im new at owning dragons i have 2 girls, we got them together and as babies,in the same aquarium and one is getting bigger faster than the other so im gonna separate them i have 2 55 gallon tanks i want them both to get the right amount of light so how long of a uvb bulb do i need to get for that large of a cage?? i have seen we can now get arcadia bulbs now so def wanna get those which should i go with???

 

[Jess]

@klm: Hmm, I really don't know. I use my CHE in regular heat lamps, but I can't remember if the box said anything about it.

@2dragonsand1hedge: Either a 24" or a 36" would be fine.

 

[2dragonsand1hedge]

thanks jess ill go with the bigger one and let all know how it works

 

[PudgysMom]

Jess - quick question and I apologize if this was previously addressed (I am lazy and didn't want to go through 17 pages of posts). :wink:

Is it dangerous for the bulbs to be close to the beardies? Before my Pudgy passed, I kept her bulbs on above the screen. I think I'm ready to give another beardie a forever home and want to make sure the set up is right from the get-go. My concern is the new beardie somehow burning himself on the basking light since it would be now inside the enclosure. Any experience with this?

Thanks so much,

Heather