New enclosure! Need some help with heating and lighting

[lloydy]

So im looking to get a bearded dragon very soon.

I have built a 4ft x 2ft x 18inch enclosure which is made of melamine.

At the moment, im looking to get the heat, lights and other things ready for the Beardie before i actualy get him.

I was just wondering if i could get anyones help on what lights would be best suited for me.

Im looking to get a 42inch ReptiGlo 10.0.
Now with the heating im a little stuck on what i should get.
im thinking of having perhaps 2 basking spots at one end of the enclosure? so he will have a choice which one to go to, or is this a bad idea?
and what should these lights be?

ive been advised by some people to get a 250w Ceramic Heat Emitter, that i can use for heat in the day, and also to keep the temp warmish at night times.
Now 250w is that to much? to powerful?
I have also read that they react alot better to things that are really bright, so i was just wondering if i could get help on a good basking/heat bulb name so i know which one to get.

Im going to be getting a MicroClimate dimming thermostat so that when it gets to hot its going to dim the lights, instead of turn them off so that the temp remains at what it should be.


Look forward to hearing from one of you..

Cheers

 

[Beardys Rock]

you'll be needing a repti-sun 10.0 or a mercury bulb - those are probably the best options, Reptiglo 10.0 is a no - I use an arcadia D3+. Try get your dragon within 8 inches of the Reptisun 10.0 (is this correct?) I think so.

have your basking spots at the same side, you'll want one side at 105-110F and the cooler end at 70-85F
with the wattage I advise trial and error I have a sunglo 250W spotlight heat bulb for bright light & a 150W ceramic bulb for heat during the day and night.. you'll be needing a thermostat to manage your temps only for your ceramic though, you'll need a probe thermometor or tempgun for measuring temps in your vivarium. dont let temps slip under 65F at night.

I dont advise dimming your bright light because the UVB will damage your dragons eyes if there isnt a sufficient bright light.

Because I have a 180 Gallon Tank and yours is much smaller you'll need to try things, it took me 4 days to get my temps perfect and then I waited things out another 3 days to make sure. unluckily I was given incorrect temps at the time and my dragons health was put at risk due to it, Don't take any advise from a pet shop, I highly advise this forum as it has many helpful and knowledgeable members. :mrgreen:


I wish you luck.

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

250watts is alot of power, in my 40gallon breeder tanks i use a 100watt mvb bulb and i love it. it keeps the heat isolated while providing more uv then the tube lights. I would also suggest the reptisun 10.0 if you going to use a tube.

But ive thought about this several times and i have decided when i do build my own tanks, ill be using 1 MVB bulb for the basking and UVB, and maybe a florcent tube light across the back. This would be just a normal bulb, nothing special. I have also considered adding 2 other ceramic sockets across the top of it, for either incandescent lights, a CHE or even just a day light bulb of some sort.

it would be set up something like this: the line is the florscent tube, while the circles are the normal bulbs. this would enable you to move your basking spot around, and also play with the lighting. in my tanks currently i just run an energy saver bulb on the opposite side as the mvb

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[lloydy]

thanks for you help guys, really helped me out.

ok so im wanting it to look something like this..

what bulb would be sufficent enough as the unkown bulb shown in picture.

 

[Beardys Rock]

Pretty much, the bulb doesn't matter its for bright light no benefits.

it can be anything from a household halogen bulb to a reptile specific spotlight.

zoomed and reptilla do some decent bulbs, just use a spotlight or something, you'll have to figure it out yourself, but yeah you got the setup right let me just add something to the picture to make it better :mrgreen:

 

[lloydy]

thanks mate, you have been a great help.
im going to add some photos once i have it all complete, right now..well its just and empty enclosure.
thanks again =)

 

[Beardys Rock]

this is more like it:

Oh and you'll want a hide in your tank, it can be anything from a piece of bark or a habbi hut, just needs to be somewhere out of the heat so put this at the cool end.

 

[Beardys Rock]

Also, I'll post some pics of my Vivarium tomorrow, Its also made of melamite or whatever :lol:

 

[beardie parents]

I've never used one of these, but I suggest, with the size of the tank, you get a Mega Ray. With the flourescent spot you can use a regular fluorescent bulb to give extra light but no heat. The mega ray is a better uvb than the reptisun 10.

 

[lloydy]

lol. thanks for re drawing it for me.

what can i say, you have been a great help. thanks

ohh, cant wait to see your pics. ill be sure to come online and check them out.

i guess it will all be about trial and error, it will jst be hard as im from australia and most of the online shops dont send them out here, only to the uk and the USA
and well, i can get all the things from stores, but theyre just so damn expensive. i guess its the price ill pay for wanting a beardie =P

thanks again.

 

[lloydy]

could you send me a link to what the mega ray looks like?
so is that just a bulb instead of being a tube?

cheers.