Hello! I am a fairly new bearded dragon owner and I’ve just updated my lil guy to a 120 gallon zen habitat enclosure. I have moved the 22inch 10.00HO T5 bulb up to the top of the tank and it doesn’t have a reflector, but I don’t know what else to do for the little guy. I’ve also updated his heat lamp to 150 watts so it now sits up on the mesh instead of hanging inside.
I am planning on getting tile for the floor eventually, and I plan on getting him a new hide but I am just lost on what to do. The rocks are gifts from my students for him, and they have been cleaned by soaking in bleach water for 24 hours and then being rinsed.
The Zen Habitats are nice. You might want to add a habba hut or maybe some flat driftwood pieces or grapewood branches to offer more places to climb and to hide.
Your T5 should be OK without a reflector as long as you offer areas the can get fairly close to it. Branches 6-8'' away should do. Just have that mounted on top (inside) next to where the basking light is. The basking light really comes down to mostly temps. Measure the surface temps around the tank using a digital thermometer with a couple of probes. One for the basking area and one for the cool side. The main basking surface should be around 100-105 and the cool side surface should be maybe 75-80 or so. The main thing is that the basking light is providing enough heat as well as a good gradient. They are good at moving around to get what they want at a given time so it's best to offer options.
The Zen Habitats are nice. You might want to add a habba hut or maybe some flat driftwood pieces or grapewood branches to offer more places to climb and to hide.
Your T5 should be OK without a reflector as long as you offer areas the can get fairly close to it. Branches 6-8'' away should do. Just have that mounted on top (inside) next to where the basking light is. The basking light really comes down to mostly temps. Measure the surface temps around the tank using a digital thermometer with a couple of probes. One for the basking area and one for the cool side. The main basking surface should be around 100-105 and the cool side surface should be maybe 75-80 or so. The main thing is that the basking light is providing enough heat as well as a good gradient. They are good at moving around to get what they want at a given time so it's best to offer options.
Thank you so much! I can keep the reflector on if that would be easier. The cool side is about 77 and the basking spot is a little warmer since he’s still a juvenile at 110.