Need help

[Reptilelady]

Hello everyone,
Here is the rundown on my current setup:
4x2x2 wooden enclosure = I have a 36" reptisun reflector hood with a 34" Zoomed T5HO bulb.
Basking bulb is between 75w to 100w. He is approx. 12" away from the UVB and I have measured his UVI which max is 3-5 and areas to 0.
Temps: Basking area: 95 to 100 degrees. Warm side 85 to 88f. Cool side 75 to 80.

Problem I am seeing is that he hides away in the corner underneath his hammock area.
I have also noticed he isn't eating as much either.

The other setup i had for him which was a 100w Megaray bulb next to it would be additional heat bulb if temps were not high enough and then had a 24" T5HO bulb next to it. He seemed to do great with this setup but the thing is... it seems kinda silly to pay for both a megaray and another T5HO bulb.

I am just very confused as to what setup i should do with him. Should I keep the megaray and replace when needed and still have the other linear tube as light source when UVB has diminished or should i just use the linear tube + basking bulb?

 

[CooperDragon]

It really comes down to what works best in your situation and how he reacts. On paper, I like using a T5 for UVB with a basking light and the MegaRay for outside the tank. That works well for me and Darwin responds well to it. The guidance we provide is based on our experience and yours may vary so keep tweaking it and watching his response. Go with what he seems to prefer.

 

[Reptilelady]

Thanks Cooper. I decided to keep his current setup with the long tube which is the 36" REPTISUN T5HO 10.0 with a basking bulb. I had to play around with the different wattage's to get the right basking temp. What I have also noticed with him is he usually wants out of his enclosure but when i feel him he feels cold so i just swap it out for a bit higher basking bulb. The wattage really depends on the weather when its cooler, I usually have to put in higher wattage bulb and when its warmer outside lower wattage bulb. So what I did is I have a few basking lamps with the bulb and then just change out the basking lamp to the right bulb then that way I don't have to keep unscrewing the bulbs and potentially burning them out faster. I did have a flukers dimmable lamp but that blew out in like a year or so I have had it. I just like the tube plus basking bulb as it provides a lot of light then just a small area even with the MVB and the heat bulb does not provide as much light as a tube + basking bulb does. Now that he is older I have seen that he will only bask in the mornings and after he has eaten something, otherwise he is just more lounging in the cooler areas of his tank.