Lighting problems, please help!

[steveh77]

I am posting to this forum because I can't find answers anywhere else. I bought a new tank a few months back, around September, and my bearded dragon was doing fine for a month or so, then he went into brumation towards the end of October. He has recently came out of brumation and he doesn't seem like himself. Hes been out now for about half a week and hes only pooped once and ate once. He drank a lot of water when he first came out of it too, so hes not dehydrated by any means. I believe it may have something to do with my lighting. I have a 150watt heat bulb placed on top of the tank, but due to the height of my tank( about 16 inches), the light isn't as effective as it was in my older smaller tank. He is currently sitting on his basking rock with his two eyes closed, and i can't get the temps up past 90. I tried having the light right outside the glass looking in onto his basking spot, but that didn't seem to make a difference. What could be the problem here?


EDIT: The heat lamp im using is called a "exo terra 100w infrared spot lamp", and the uvb bulb is a "exo terra repti glo 10.0 compact 13w" ( both of which were picked out and bought for me by the breeder I bought my beardie from.

 

[steveh77]

I am soon going to put him in his small 10 gallon tank if he doesn't come around. I know its too small for a 12 inch long beardie, but if hes in his big tank and can't get proper heat thats not doing him any good either..

 

[minipumpkin]

you could use some logs or something he could climb on and get closer to the basking spot which would be hotter.

''150watt heat bulb'' one of the red ones? they arnt too good. this is what im using( not herd anything bad about them yet... http://www.superpetsdirect.com/products/Exo-Terra-SunGlo-Daylight-Basking-Spot.html

"uvb bulb is a "exo terra repti glo 10.0 compact 13w" you should change that to a tube light the compact lights arnt very good as they give out stuff that can cause BD health problems, depanding where you live depends on what you can find but the arcardia 12 is a good tube. http://www.superpetsdirect.com/products/Arcadia-D3%2b-Reptile-Tube-12%-UVB-Light.html

 

[steveh77]

Thanks, i figured i needed some new lights. I currently have him in his old tank and he seems to be doing a bit better already. I would post some pictures of my old tank and new tank if i knew how lol.

 

[minipumpkin]

upload your photos to photobucket.com then you can post a link to them on here like so:

 

[steveh77]

http://s1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc507/steveh77/?action=view&current=jpg-2.jpg

http://s1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc507/steveh77/?action=view&current=jpg-1.jpg

http://s1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc507/steveh77/?action=view&current=jpg.jpg

 

[steveh77]

Didn't turn out like yours, but as long as you can access the pictures I guess thats the main thing :lol:

 

[minipumpkin]

i would get a background for the small tank as well.. i dont know why but they like to have a background or they get a little stressed.

the lights are wrong, please get a white light for his basking spot and then get a tube like i suggested in the post above, these changes should do the trick. as when he is in the basking spot he needs to be able to get his uvb as well.

 

[steveh77]

Ok thanks! Note: My heat lamp died in October, and i got one of my moms friends to pick me up another one, turns out i was in such a rush to put it in and give my beardie some heat, that i never noticed it was only a 100 watt untill now. Whereas i had a 150watt before, i think that may be the problem... And by a white light, do you just mean any average coil light?

 

[minipumpkin]

remove the red heat light and put a normal light in like this http://www.superpetsdirect.com/products/Exo-Terra-SunGlo-Daylight-Basking-Spot.html

then get rid of the coil you have and get a tube like this http://www.superpetsdirect.com/products/Arcadia-D3%2b-Reptile-Tube-12%-UVB-Light.html or a repti sun. depend where you live. some tubes are not very good so look online for what you can get then ask someone which would be best

this is my old tank, i have a better set up now but no pics yet, so this is just to give you an idea

also how are you checking your temps? dials? temp gun? digital with probe?

 

[steveh77]

I have an exo-terra thermometer. It gives me a pretty accurate temperature reading, but im going to buy a digital one next time I get to the pet store. I would have all this stuff bought today but the closest pet store is 4 hours away. Im going to order the bulbs and whatnot from the internet

EDIT: Actually, the thermometer I have is exactly the same as the one you had in your tank in that picture!

 

[minipumpkin]

ok, i use them thermometers as a guide i have a digital thermometer with probe as well which sits next to the basking spot so i know the basking temp.

i would try get the lights as soon as you can. 4 hours is a long drive i can appreciate, i have to go 2 hours for my stuff and i keep spare stuff just incase something breaks :roll:

in the pic i uploaded i dont use the fake leaves or the sand anymore. also the tank is diffrent and the the uvb tube you see is closer to the basking spot so they can get benifit on uvb while basking
i have a 4feetx2x2 viv now

 

[steveh77]

Awesome, and yeah 4 hours is a long drive for someone still in school! Im going to have it by the end of this coming weekend at the latest. I'll attempt to make a list of exact lights and stuff tonight, then call the pet store tomorrow to see what they do and don't have.

 

[steveh77]

How many watts should i buy for the uvb tube light?

 

[minipumpkin]

ok if your not sure what to buy then ask on here someone should answer you as soon as they can.

it depends on how long the tube is. to how much wats it needs then youll have to pick the right starter for it.(power supply)
mesure how long you want it then look online and they come in sizes and each size is so many watts