Lighting Help for Newbies (:

[Rain2398]

I am very new, I inherited my beardie from my step son after he tossed her because he thought she had died. She found her way home, she's definetely a survivor. I have been researching and have saved your picture with info, but what does CHE mean? I have a baby/juvenille and I am having a hard time getting my temp up past 85. I have a red light, a heat lamp, and a heat pad under the enclosure. Any help would be great!! I want her happy and healthy!

 

[HKzForDayz]

Ditch the red heat lamp, these are for nighttime use and are ineffective for beardies as they can see the red light and it disturbs their sleep patterns. Also ditch the heat mat, bearded dragons NEED to recieve their heat from above. I noticed you didnt mention any kind of UVB light, you need to get one of those IMMEDIATELY. I will provide a link at the bottom for a good UVB fixture/Bulb combo. Also, you need to make sure that you are either taking temps with an IR temp gun or a digital thermometer with a probe, otherwise you are taking ambient temps and we need surface temps.

What i would do for heat, is to get a 100 watt reptile basking bulb, and hook it up to a dimmer, and just keep messing with the light until you can get the SURFACE temps to get between 105-110 at your beardies basking spot.

Here is the link to a UVB setup that will suffice. I cannot stress how important it is your bearded dragon have adequate UVB. It is right up there with feeding him and keeping him heated.
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

 

[Kimberly95]

So confused about light and heating at night please help by messaging me

 

[HKzForDayz]

So confused about light and heating at night please help by messaging me

If your house doesnt get below 65 degrees at night, no heat is needed. If it does, all you need is a ceramic heat emitter

 

[ruben0311]

alright, tried posting in other areas but not getting responses... Making my own fixture with just the lamp holders, ballast and a reflector. Got a high quality electronic ballast from work and some tombstones... to be shunted or non shunted? that is the question! anyone make their own lamp holders at all? i got reptisun 10.0 T8 36" tube, anyone got some ideas? dont wanna blow the lamp out or deteriorate it's performance

 

[OutOfNowhere]

Hey guys!

First post on the forum. I've read a good amount of threads from this forum as well as other forums and helpful sites but I fear if I read anymore any longer my beardie will get ill. I got the lil guy just yesterday and I have just about everything set up. I just read from the OP that Zilla is a brand of UVB to stay away from and unfortunately that's what I got right now. I'll be returning it tomorrow.

So my questions are:
1) should I use a 5.0 or 10.0 tube? Both are Reptisun, 18 inches, and (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) T8. I measured the distance from the mesh to the top of the basking platform to be 11 inches and with the height of the lil guy subtracted I would say the distance is 10.5 inches. I won't be mounting the fixture in the tank, it'll be sitting on top of the mesh. No reflector either.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255OS6/ref=crt_ewc_title_srh_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER#Ask
-or-
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009YHSWK/ref=crt_ewc_title_srh_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

2) will the fixture in the link below run a 5.0 without any issues when I need the 5.0 or is there one that everyone is using that's proven to run a 5.0 with trouble at all? From what I read this fixture MIGHT run a 10.0 just fine so I'm really wondering if it'll work for a 5.0
http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-18-in-Fluorescent-Light-Fixture-16466/100384834

 

[ruben0311]

the fixture will be perfectly fine, it'll run no prob. the issue will be the bulb itself. with a screen and a 5.0 tube at that distance you'll want more strength so using the 10.0 will be more appropriate

 

[OutOfNowhere]

the fixture will be perfectly fine, it'll run no prob. the issue will be the bulb itself. with a screen and a 5.0 tube at that distance you'll want more strength so using the 10.0 will be more appropriate

Have a 10.0 on the way. Thank you!

 

[chapleyguy1542]

hello all, I am new to the beardie community and recently got a baby (approx 2 months old) from a pet store that was closing down. I bought the reptisun bearded dragon setup kit and it came with a 30 x 12 x 12 inch 20 gallon tank as well as a 12 inch naturalistic terrarium hood and a reptisun 5.0 COMPACT bulb. i've recently read that compact bulbs aren't good enough and was thinking of getting a larger hood (the 20 inch reptisun hood with the 18 inch reptisun 5.0 flourescent bulb) it says on the box that it emits light up to 12 inches which is exactly the depth of the tank. is this good enough or would i have to buy the reptisun 10.0 bulb instead? any help would be appreciated thanks! (also I already have a basking lamp, just wondering about the daylight lamp)

 

[whistler]

Another lighting question. Overwhelmed w/ conflicting information.

Upsized tank from 36" to 48 x 24 x 18 PVC (Beeger Box/Dragon Reptile Cages) for our soon to be 1 yr. old dragon. Would a t5 10.0 46" tube be too strong mounted inside the tank? Basking accessories are approx. 4-6" in height. Otherwise, I could go w/ a t8 10.0, t5 5.0, or either the t8 or t5 in 36"?

The current fixture is only a 24" t8, and I don't think that's enough. Inside the tank mount is the only option. Suggestions? Much thanks!

 

[Taterbug]

Another lighting question. Overwhelmed w/ conflicting information.

Upsized tank from 36" to 48 x 24 x 18 PVC (Beeger Box/Dragon Reptile Cages) for our soon to be 1 yr. old dragon. Would a t5 10.0 46" tube be too strong mounted inside the tank? Basking accessories are approx. 4-6" in height. Otherwise, I could go w/ a t8 10.0, t5 5.0, or either the t8 or t5 in 36"?

The current fixture is only a 24" t8, and I don't think that's enough. Inside the tank mount is the only option. Suggestions? Much thanks!

I would advise a 22" T5 at a distance of 12" from the closest furnishings. This allows you to use more height on the cool end and still maintain a gradient.

 

[whistler]

Another lighting question. Overwhelmed w/ conflicting information.

Upsized tank from 36" to 48 x 24 x 18 PVC (Beeger Box/Dragon Reptile Cages) for our soon to be 1 yr. old dragon. Would a t5 10.0 46" tube be too strong mounted inside the tank? Basking accessories are approx. 4-6" in height. Otherwise, I could go w/ a t8 10.0, t5 5.0, or either the t8 or t5 in 36"?

The current fixture is only a 24" t8, and I don't think that's enough. Inside the tank mount is the only option. Suggestions? Much thanks!

I would advise a 22" T5 at a distance of 12" from the closest furnishings. This allows you to use more height on the cool end and still maintain a gradient.

Okay. Thank you. Can I use a non reflector fixture?

 

[brainlessfool]

Ive recently installed a 9w led 6500k 870lumen cool daylight globe in my tank for some extra lighting. Is this type of light okay to use or should i be using something different?

 

[ruben0311]

it should be perfectly fine, the LED will not change temps and the lumens could be a bit higher but there are already plenty of other lights present... it'll be nice for him to be more brightly lit.

 

[AshleyMaven]

**Update, on another thread I received some great help. Not sure how to delete this. Newbie here. ;-) ***

Hello!

I've been loving all the great info here. Thank you for this thread!
I have a couple questions I don't seem to see the answer to (and apologize if it's there).

What size UVB ReptiSun 10.0 is appropriate for the terrarium I have?
She's itty bitty and was housed in a 10 gallon tank before me. I opted to a 20 gallon as a transition. When she's older and growing of course I'll upgrade the terrarium too.

For a 20 gallon 30inch Long, which should I get? The options I see are:
18" - T8 Bulb - (15 Watt)
24" - T8 Bulb - (17 Watt)

Also, I'm concerned about hanging the fixture inside the tank per the suggestions as even if I move the drift wood around, will she be too close to the light? How close can she be to the bulb?

I've enclosed pictures for your help. (Thank you!!) And p.s. Yes she currently has lighting. I moved it for the picture. The man I got her from gave me bad info, so currently she has exoterra uvb 13w (I know now... BAD!), and exoterra 75w intense basking

Thank you for your help!