Lighting Help for Newbies (:

[Runsnoopy]

We just got our bearded dragon 3 weeks ago and still confused with different information. We were told at the pet store to purchase the zilla UVB light and place it on one side of the 40gal tank, 12 hours a day and the heating lamp on the otherside 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They first sold us one that's 250 watts and was too hot and replaced it with a 100 watt. What is the right watt and how long do you leave it on each day?

 

[Jess]

Well, unfortunately the Zillas are horrible UVB bulbs. See if you can return it, and get a ReptiSun 10.0 tube instead.

Is your heating source an actual light, or a CHE? CHEs can be left on 24/7 in necessary, but any lights you have need to be turned off at night, because beardies need it to be totally dark to sleep. Lights can be on 10-14 hours a day, so your 12 hour schedule is fine.
What kind of thermometer do you have, and what does the temperature say? If your basking spot is between 100-110*F, your light is OK. If it is higher than that, you need a smaller watt bulb.

 

[Buck2011]

I am having some issues with the basking lamp and the heat for the beardie. I have a fluker 8.5" with dimmer with the 150 Watt bulb yet the 40G tank is only getting up to 85degrees. Any suggestions? :?:

 

[Jess]

What kind of thermometer do you have? Is it a dial or a strip? Because a 150 watt should be plenty hot for a 40G. Since your readings are so low, I would guess that the thermometer is off. If you don't already have one, get a digital thermometer with a probe.

 

[Claudiusx]

I just wanted to thank you for this amazing thread Jess. Very well put together! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[Jess]

Thank you! I'm glad you like it, LOL.

 

[Claudiusx]

May I add a suggestion. I recently found out that the reptisun's have to be disposed of in a certain way. Maybe you can add a sectino to the first post about how to dispose of them?
Or maybe it was just me who didn't know how to lol.

-Brandon

 

[Jess]

I've never thrown any away, LOL! I keep all my old ones for some reason. :roll:
I didn't know they had to be disposed of a certain way, I would have just recycled them. So, what do you have to do?

 

[Claudiusx]

They must be disposed of properly since they have traces of Mercury in the bulbs. You can't just throw them away in a trash can.

Special centers and some stores will take them for you. I was doing research on them because another person asked and found a site where it will find locations near you where you can drop them off. http://earth911.com/ It seems like most home depot stores and lowes stores will take them for you.

-Brandon

 

[SmaugTheBD]

I followed this lighting guide type thing, and the only thing i'm doing wrong is the hood/fixture on top of the screen..is this really a big problem? Or do I need to buy the fixture that goes inside the tank even though they make the hoods for a reason? lol.

 

[Claudiusx]

Oh one more thing Smaug, you can buy an undercounter t8 fixture from walmart for only around 8 dollars if you want.

They also make sand but it doesn't necessarily mean its best, if you get what im trying to say

-Brandon

 

[Jess]

K, I'll add the ReptiSun disposal info.

@Smaug: I know another member on here (TASTIGER) hung a hood inside of her viv using some kind of door hooks. It looked pretty simple to do, so maybe you could PM her to ask her about it. It doesn't matter what kind of fixture the UVB is in, as long as it is inside of the viv.

 

[Claudiusx]

K, I'll add the ReptiSun disposal info.

Just an update about that, I will link you to the other thread because their was a lot of discusion about that, but Earth911 doesn't always have the best locations for recylcing them

http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=152660

It might be over complicated so maybe you might want to just leave it out, because we didn't get anywhere really on the other thread.

-Brandon

 

[Jess]

Here's what I added. I didn't feel like getting too detailed LOL, as long as peole know about the mercury I think they can figure it out from there.

**Note: Fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury, so you shouldn't throw away your used ReptiSuns. Take them to a facility that will dispose of them for you. Some hardware stores such as Home Depot may take your used bulbs for you.

 

[Claudiusx]

Sounds good Jess. The KISS method usually is the best.

-Brandon