LIGHTING HRS QUESTION

[HUMBOLDTGUY]

We got a beardie for christmas and we love him....heas really cool

for lighting right now we have an esu reptile desert 7
and a zoo med 100 watt repti basking spot lamp

so i have a few questions
since both lights put off uvb is that too much?
is the desert 7 good for his uva (its says its uva/uvb)

and last is there a light cycle he should be on

it seems like during the day when his uva/uvb lights are on hes crashed out in his lil cave....and then about 7 or 8 at night he comes out...i generally turn his uva and uvb lights off about 11 before i go to bed and turn his red night light on for heat but i noticed last night when i got up at about 4 am he was still chilling under his red light....so it seems as if hes not actually basking under his ultraviolet lights very much at all....should i take his cave out? is there a timed light cycle he should be on??

 

[NegativeCreep]

The basking bulb only provides uvA. So, an overload of UVB is really not an issue.

The UVB bulb that you have is not a good bulb, I hate to tell you that.. but I had the same bulb. My beardie barely ate and grew very little. After I ditched the bulb and put in a MegaRay, she began to thrive in hours! The slimline bulb that you have puts out dangerous levels of UVC and it is very bad for their eyes. I think that Blaze has permanent damage to one of her eyes because of it.

Check into a reptiSUN 10.0 long florescent UVB light (not a compact or coil - they pose the same risks as above). You can get one at petmountain.com for less than half the price of a pet store. Or look into getting a good Mercury Vapor Bulb like a MegaRay (found at reptileuv.com). They are the best, and safest options for UVB.

Give them 14 hours of light and 10 hours of dark. Also, there is no reason to use the red bulb. They can actually see the red bulb (regardless of what the box or a salesperson says), which is why he is still awake at night. They disturb their sleeping. They really need darkness. Their temps can safely drop into the 60's at night without added heat. If your temps at night do go lower than that, then you can use a Ceramic Heat Emitter - they don't put out any light.

Hope that helps!

 

[HUMBOLDTGUY]

thank you....

so heres my last question on this issue

we are gonna pick up his new 75 gallon home this weekend and i wanna make sure its right

i will be useing his 100 watt zoomed repti basking spot and will be getting him a ceramic heat emmiter as well as a temp control unit....and we will use his pad as well

i want to know what light i should use in conjunction with the basking spot lamp.....or better yet want to know if you were to get a new 75 gallon house what exactly would you use for light??
since im getting the feeling from everyone here our florecent we got is not the best what should i replace it with??

basically i just wanna know if you were starting from scratch...what lighting would you use on a 75 gallon tank

 

[HUMBOLDTGUY]

oh yeah....i forgot to ask this.....i leave the light on for 14 hrs.....but much of that time osker hangs out in his cave....how many hrs a day should he actually be in the light basking??

 

[dobiegil2000]

As Neg. said, a mercury vapor bulb (MVB) is really a good choice for you. I would go with a 100 watt or if your tank is 18 inches tall or more you could go with a 160. These bulbs put out heat and uvb rays so you need less bulbs. If this is not an option then repti sun 10 linear is your best bet. I would order on line as he previously said. Also heating pads are not recommended for beardies because they can burn the underside. Beardies only sense heat from the top and not bottom which leads to burns. There are care sheets located here that can explain more if you want. Hope this helps.
Beardies know if something is not right with lighting, and will hide. This is why he is hiding, something is not right with the lighting. I leave my lights on for 12 hours a day right now since it is winter here. Once summer comes I might bump it up to 14, but I am not for sure yet.
Robin