Lighting Help for Newbies (:

[CGuzmanReptiles]

I'm a little confused on buying basking bulbs since where I live its really hard to find bright white flood lights.

Should this be a good bulb to use?

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-14502-Narrow-Degree-50PAR20/dp/B0002BCJ6A/ref=sr_1_21?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1378155771&sr=1-21&keywords=bright+white+light+bulbs

 

[Koralo]

I'm a little confused on buying basking bulbs since where I live its really hard to find bright white flood lights.

Should this be a good bulb to use?

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-14502-Narrow-Degree-50PAR20/dp/B0002BCJ6A/ref=sr_1_21?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1378155771&sr=1-21&keywords=bright+white+light+bulbs

I don't see why that wouldn't work, although I've personally never use a halogen (I believe that's what that was) for a basking light. I've always just used any white or clear household incandescent bulb that you can buy from target, hardware stores, most grocery stores, Walgreens, rite-aid, etc. etc. I have found that the clear bulbs with no coating do tend to be much hotter. A 50-60W would roughly be equal in heat to a 75-100W white coated bulb.


I do have a question of my own though. I am about to order a few new MVB's and was just wondering if Mega Ray was still the top dog? I read that they had some issues a while back, but I think that was like in 2009-2010 or something.
I was also going to order the new ReptiSun T-5 high output fixture/bulb combo, but it really sucks that it only comes with a 5.0, there's no option to order the fixture with a 10.0 bulb, so I would have to order it separate in which case I would just get a cheaper generic T5 fixture instead of Zoo Med's. Since it is a "high output," would the UVB output from the 5.0 be equal or close enough to the regular T-8's 10.0?? I looked everywhere and could not find readings from a UVB meter on the new T-5 HO bulbs. This would be interesting to test and find out if nobody has done so yet.

 

[bngbedard]

hello. I have a question about the fixture the uvb bulb goes into. Here's the question: someone on another group said that buying the Walmart under the cabinet fixture will decrease the life of the UVB. He said it has something to do with the ballast in it. That is different from the ones that are specifically made for the UVB bulbs. Does anyone know if this is correct? He said instead of the bulb lasting 6 months, it would only last 3-4 with the walmart fixture. I have the Walmart fixture and just want to know if there's any truth so I can buy a bulb sooner if I need to.

Thanks!!

 

[Claudiusx]

That doesn't make any logical sense.

The person telling you this doesn't have a very good understanding of electronics/lighting. Misguided at best.

I would ask him what the differences between ballasts are and see what he says.

-Brandon

 

[bngbedard]

That doesn't make any logical sense.

The person telling you this doesn't have a very good understanding of how electronics/lighting. Misguided at best.

I would ask him what the differences between ballasts are and see what he says.

-Brandon

This is what he sent me when I asked for his source...http://www.lightsearch.com/resources/lightguides/ballasts.html.

He was saying it's because the hood from Reptisun uses rapid start ballasts and the one from Walmart uses pre heated ballasts... It didn't make any sense to me either even after reading what he sent me as his source. After looking on the web, I couldn't find any where that supported what he said, but found lots to support what was said here. I'll just stick to my Walmart fixture.

 

[yemtig]

Ok, I am currently reading and digesting as much info on bearded dragons so that I can give my son of 9 (at his birthday) a cool setup... This is what he wants, and I plan on helping him to raise a healthy dragon with my help. I have experience with iguanas but have not owned any other reptile..

Lighting has been real confusing to me and I want to setup my sons viv in the best possible way so that we can enjoy being pet owners and not having any problems (if that is really possible).... I also will be addressing other concerns that are related to the viv setup that might not be appropriate to this thread, if you want to comment on these questions, feel free, if not, I can read on further on all topics that I have questions on.... I just registered and don't want to get flamed trying to find out what we need...

I plan on setting up a 55 gallon glass tank for our beardie.... The first thing I am curious about is can we introduce 2 beardies at the same time and do they need to be both female or can they be a male/female or male/male pair?? Is it possible to really determine the sex of a bd from a pet store if they are juveniles? I have read how to do it, but it seems that juveniles all look like females at this stage in their development.. If we should just start out with one bd, that's fine... My other question is can I introduce another one later or is it just best to start with two... I really want to get back into this and would like to have one that I could call my own.

What follows is what I have learned and just want some type of confirmation if we are on the right track with our viv...

First of all, I plan on buying all my stuff and having the temps at the right levels BEFORE we introduce any bd to it... I plan on doing it right from the get-go and really don't want to spend endless hours returning items to create a viv me and my son would be proud of..

I plan on using:

1) Reptisun UVB 10.0 tube lights- I will be installing them inside the viv, and plan on getting the 24-36" models... I plan on using the 3m hook mounts or velcro if necessary to provide the UVB light to our bd's... I know of the walmart under the counter T8 fluorescent fixture you can purchase and plan on getting the same or going to Lowe's if we need the 36" model... I know now that we need a distance of 6-10" from the basking site with these lights... I also have read that I need to supplement food with calcium with vitamin d3 since these lights put out enough but need some supplementation..

2) Household flood/halogen light... I plan on using this as my basking light and I want to buy a dimmer switch to adjust the basking temp from 95-105... I plan on putting the basking light dome fixture on my screen top but am prepared to buy a light stand if I need to adjust the height along with my dimmer... With this setup I think I could fine tune the temp to have a productive area for our bd's to hang out in... I have seen that many have suggested that you use a 50-75 watt bulb but this is for 40 gallon breeder tanks, not 55 gallon ones, so I plan on getting a 75-100 watt flood/halogen light to achieve the right temp in our viv.... Any specific lightbulb suggestions would be appreciated... Oh, and this would be on my "hot" basking side with my UVB tube lights...

3) Normal, white bright lightbulb for cool side.... I plan on getting a clear non-coated 25-40 watt bulb that imitates real daylight on the cool side of my viv to make the most realistic environment for my bd's to thrive...

4) Ceramic light fixtures for my basking and cool side light.... I don't know what to get other than buy a dome for each light that is appropriate for the wattage I will be using... If anyone has any suggestions, I would be open to them... I can pick them up at Lowes or at one of our local True Hardware stores...

5) Acurite digital thermometer and infared heat gun... I plan on mounting the dig. thermometer inside the tank with the monitor at the cool side and the probe appropriately hidden on the basking side...

6) Flooring- I was planning on going one of 3 routes with this... I planned on doing a slate tile floor cut to size, nonadhesive linoleum flooring, or reptile brown colored carpet... I also plan on finding a good desert background for the back and sides of the viv, since we live in Albuquerque and it just seems appropriate...

7) Terrarium vines/Hidey place for bd's... I plan on getting a few vines, some wood (for basking off the internet), and a nice sized cave for my bd's to hand out in... I might even get a plastic/fake plant or two to help them feel comfortable in their surroundings...

8) Stairs- I plan on making some stairs from page 26 on this thread just to customize the viv some and I think it would be beneficial whether we have one or two bd's in the viv....

9) Food dish/Water dish- I plan on putting the food and water dish on the cool side so the water is not heated up too much and am currently looking into wether I can or should have a bathing area for my bd's... Haven't really gotten this far yet, just want to setup the viv to achieve the right temps for my bd's...

Overall, I feel like I have a good plan, and am quite excited to embark on a cool pet journey with my son... I know that the lights and nutrition portion (what they can eat and how much) are the most important parts to a healthy bd, so what do you guys think??

 

[kgoleb]

Thanks this explained alot! Is the use of a blacklight at night for some extra heat okay?

 

[teedeezzy]

Hi All,

We have had our beardie for a couple of months now. He has outgrown his baby tank and I set up a 40 gallon for him this past weekend. After a lot of research and reading (and money :- 0) I have the following set up. I wanted to post it here and get any feedback or suggestions. I definitely want him to be happy and healthy. Thanks!

Setup is currently two heat lamps (one for basking, and a lower wattage one to help warm the rest of the tank and break up the UVB with some white light).

ReptiSun 10.0 tube in a ZooMed hood. I made a custom screen for the top, so the tube is free and clear into the tank and isn't blocked by any screening. The hood is mounted in the front of the tank and the heat lamps point down about 8 inches behind it (although it's difficult to tell in the pic).

A CHE on the side where he likes to sleep. It keeps the far side of the tank a pretty steady 77-79 degrees F at night. He sleeps there pretty much every night.

The tank is a little bare. But, he has plenty of climbing ability to regulate his temp. I put tile in the bottom of the tank. I would eventually like to have more places for him to climb and stoop, as well as a cave for him to escape into if he wants during the day.

Any suggestions?

 

[teedeezzy]

Thanks this explained alot! Is the use of a blacklight at night for some extra heat okay?

I'm still pretty new to this. But, I've done enough reading that I think most people are going to recommend a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) instead of a black light. It sounds fancy, but really it just looks like a ceramic light bulb. They don't put out any light...just heat. You can get them at almost any pet store that carries reptile goods (Petsmart, Petco, etc. if you're in the US).

If you decide to get one, be sure to get a proper lamp base for it. Most people recommend a wire holder. I use a dome, but it has a ceramic base. Whatever you do, don't put one in a regular lamp base. They get hot and can make a normal lamp base melt and catch fire.

 

[serenity516]

hey there im pretty new at this whole owning a beardie thing too and ive found out that i need to do a COMPLETE overhaul of my spyke's viv! so now im just gathering all of the materials, but i have a question about the 3m hooks that you used to mount the uvb fixture to the inside of the viv: could you post a picture of the ones that you used? were they the full plastic ones or the ones with the metal hooks on them? i just need to know which ones to get, the 3m section of walmart is daunting :lol:

 

[Claudiusx]

Either will work, it more so depends on your fixture.

-Brandon

 

[serenity516]

could you explain that? like which 3ms would i use with which fixture?

 

[BarryLyndon]

Very helpful post!!! I just got a 75watt halogen bulb for the basking spot but the temperatures where I am at are getting pretty low right now. Having trouble keeping the daytime temperatures above like 89/90 except for 11am-2pm. Should I put a ceramic heat emitter on top as well? To be left on at all times? At night I put the CHE on and put blankets over the top and keep the nighttime temperatures around 70. I'm saving up for a better insulated cage (right now he is in a glass terrarium with the screen top) so that will help. Just expensive

 

[hollyanna]

Thank you, this helped so much! I just bought a zilla UVB bulb, im glad I haven't put it in now that I know it's harmful to beardies I will return it right away. But I use the zoo med basking bulb with UVA in it, should my fluorescent also have UVA rays, or is there such thing as too much UVA?

 

[jzainos]

Just out of curiosity when you're using a MVB do you need any other lighting since you get both UBV and UVA :?: