Lighting Question

[dlquick]

I have a 40gL terrarium, housing a 3-4 mth old female beardie. She is approx 10-11” long.
The terrarium is 36”L X 18”D X 16” H
Her basking spot is approx 97-102* using a 100W basking bulb.
Also using an Exo-Terra ReptiGlo 10.0 T8 18” UVB single lamp.

The real question is, is the 18” UVB lamp enough? I’m currently centering it on the screen top to even the UVB exposure, but I feel like it’s not enough..
Still new to the bearded dragon life, and I worry a lot.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Definitely not enough, T8's don't provide correct UVB on screen, and especially not Exo-Terra UVB tubes which are quite weak already.

Exo-terra is pretty good for their compact/coil bulbs to an extent but not very good on their Tube lights.
They are pretty much the opposite with Zoomed who sucks at the compact/coil bulbs but succeed very well with tubes.

You preferably want any t8 bulb inside mounted within at least 6-8 inches of the basking spot.

I recommend upgrading the bulb to a Reptisun T8 10.0 or one of Arcadias T8's, I believe they make a 12% T8. However from what I've heard Arcadia isn't very good with their T8 bulbs and it could cause health problems...

Eventually you may want to upgrade the whole UVB lighting including the fixture to T5's rather than T8's to be on the safe side as these are stronger and better bulbs.
You'll have to anyway once you upgrade to a proper 75 gallon which is the minimum for a beardie above 12 months of age.
Most likely to a 34" T5 bulb and fixture at the very least which will provide the hot side and a bit in the middle with UVB depending on how you mount it.

T8's don't provide enough UVB on screen while most T5's above 10% do, T8's also have to replaced probably every 3-6 months depending on brand, while T5's have to be replaced every 6-12 months.

Make sure you mount it right underneath where basking spot is.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Enclosures

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree that the Reptiglo 10 is a lower quality tube bulb, but, some have claimed to use
them with success. While you technically could use them & your dragon would probably
be "ok" over time, his D3 levels wouldn't be able to maintain a high enough level & would
begin to drop leading to metabolic bone disease.
The best quality is the Arcadia D3 12% or 14% T5 tube or the Reptisun 10 T5 tube bulb. The
T8 bulbs are decent if mounted properly but bearded dragons are a higher UVB requirement
reptile.
If you mount the light that you have at 6-8 inches, underneath of the screen that would be
ok short term. I highly recommend upgrading the UVB light soon though, just to give your
dragon the best chance at thriving.

Tracie

 

[kyleena29]

In addition to all the wonderful information from the above posts, I want to point out where you said you were centering it on top of the screen to even out the uv. You do not want to even out the uv. What you want is to place the uvb as close as you can to the basking spot so they get uv while basking. They need options to be out of the uv. They do not need uv all day long. So it is also important to have hiding spaces because they know how much uv they need or don't need. Basically you want your uvb to one side of the tank, just like your basking bulb. You want a uv gradient just as much as a temp gradient. While they are basking they are digesting and processing calcium and all the other good stuff their body needs. So it is important the uv is right next to the heat bulb. This is why it is suggested to get a uvb that is 1/2 to 3/4 the length of your enclosure. Hope that clears it up a bit for you.