New enclosure, same lighting?

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
here ya go! it is the link for the large, but they have other sizes too. of course since they are actual vines, each one is unique as far as shape. Wholesale Lugarti Premium Grapevine

heating is really hit and miss. i have no clue how thick the enclosure you have is, but mine is like 3/4" melamine, or something around there or thicker, and retains heat like crazy. so i only have a 50W basking bulb going. last summer i had a 75w but that was before we dropped down to adult dragon temps. part of it will have to do with the temp of the room you have the enclosure in. our house is 72° from our heater in the winter. but in the summer it is near there just off ambient room temp. (i'm actually curious if we need to jump back to the 75W once we stop using the furnace in the house this summer. experiment time coming in the near future.)

if you switch to a long uvb i wonder if you will even need to keep the 2 in 1 bulb or could you drop to just a regular basking bulb. that is another option that would be cheaper to experiment with bulb wise since basking bulbs are cheaper than mvb bulbs. your uvb would be covered and you'd only be adjusting for heat at that point
Yes, you are right. I think I would only need a basking bulb, and maybe an extra heat bulb. It's definitely not hot enough right now. I can tell just by the fact that he'll spend hours underneath it..thank you so much for all the help. Is Sir Henry on Instagram? My Wizard is. Lol
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
Yes, you are right. I think I would only need a basking bulb, and maybe an extra heat bulb. It's definitely not hot enough right now. I can tell just by the fact that he'll spend hours underneath it..thank you so much for all the help. Is Sir Henry on Instagram? My Wizard is. Lol
And thank you so much for that info above. 😊
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
ha ha! no, no instagram. he's a pretty low tech kinda guy.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
Heat is really a matter of trial and error with the bulbs, so it makes it difficult to recommend a specific wattage. You can also try supplementing with a ceramic heat emitter or deep heat projector and see if that helps. You would need another lamp fixture for that. You want some digital probe thermometers to get accurate temps. I recommend at least two, one for the hot side and one for the cool.

I would also recommend getting a tube fluorescent UVB in addition, just because it will cover more area and give him more choices of where to go to get the right stuff. One of the big drawbacks for the all in one bulbs like that in my opinion. What if the dragon is warm enough but still wants to get more UVB? With only that bulb as a UVB source, he has no choice but to stay in the hot basking area.
Hello. Recently we put my adult 3 yr old beardie in a new enclosure. He was previously in an armoire that was built into an enclosure. He was using a 100 watt bulb, which was uvb and uva & heat all in one deal. It worked very well. Well we recently put him in a traditional enclosure for a beardie..Zen Habitat 4×2×2. We put in the same light, on the right side of his enclosure. But the heat doesn't seem to be enough. He'll spend hours basking, but never reach the point of having to regulate his heat with his mouth open. I feel him, and he does feel warm, just not hot like normal. Is 100 watt not enough for a tank that size? I'm not sure of the exact temp as of right now. I need a new temp reader. I have enclosed a picture of the tank and where the light is. Perhaps he needs 150 watt? Thank you so much.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
You need to join! There's a whole other bearded dragon community out there!
Ok. I got rid of the all in one bulb, and put a double fixture of a uvb and separate basking bulb, 100 watt. I also added another single fixture in the middle for a second uvb, just so he has the extra uvb. I also created a nice basking place for now, until I get the wood vine. I measured 11 inches from light to basking place. However, I'm only getting a temp of 80. And I knew it still wasn't hot enough. Should I switch to 150 watt?
 

smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
I like that you have set up a second UVb, it helps with the limited amount the coils put out, but I would honestly recommend putting either another lower wattage bulb, maybe a 50W, or a deep heat projector in the other dome of your dual lamp, get a tube as mentioned before and do away with the coil type UVB altogether. You can use the dome over the middle for a CHE to use as needed if temps still aren't high enough. Coils aren't as evil as a lot of people would have you believe, but they require some extra fine tuning to make them work. Tube is just more foolproof in my opinion. But as with everything, if it works for you and your dragon and they are healthy and happy, then it's good.
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
I like that you have set up a second UVb, it helps with the limited amount the coils put out, but I would honestly recommend putting either another lower wattage bulb, maybe a 50W, or a deep heat projector in the other dome of your dual lamp, get a tube as mentioned before and do away with the coil type UVB altogether. You can use the dome over the middle for a CHE to use as needed if temps still aren't high enough. Coils aren't as evil as a lot of people would have you believe, but they require some extra fine tuning to make them work. Tube is just more foolproof in my opinion. But as with everything, if it works for you and your dragon and they are healthy and happy, then it's good.
Ok. I was trying to save money because I already had all the fixures. But I'll get the tube. I was going back and forth on deciding. And ill try a extra 50 watt in second part of double fixture. Thank you :)
 

smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
Ok. I was trying to save money because I already had all the fixures. But I'll get the tube. I was going back and forth on deciding. And ill try a extra 50 watt in second part of double fixture. Thank you :)
Yeah the tube fixtures can be a little pricey, but a T5 bulb is good for a year instead of 6 months so you end up saving in the long run. And it certainly beats the price of vet bills or losing your little guy. Recommended brands are Arcadia or ZooMed Reptisun. The ZooMed will come with a 5.0 bulb but you want a 10.0 or an Arcadia 12%. I'll post a couple links to places that are reasonable. A 24" or 36" fixture will be good. If you plan to go any larger than a 4x2x2 enclosure at any point, I would get the 36".

Pangea Reptile
Light Your Reptiles
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
i would start it at the hot side and leave the end of the cool side empty. i have an enclosure that size and my uvb is in the front with the basking bulb right behind it. (some pics in my profile.) i have a 36" fixture, but that is just what came with my custom build. you could easily do a 24" too. it is a 12% arcadia and mounted inside, the distance is anywhere from 6" to 22" (the floor) because of how i have the long vine set up. this gives lots of options for him to choose what uvb level he needs and he can still get out of it completely. ideal distance is 12-15" above basking decor when that bulb is mounted inside. sir henry moves from spot to spot throughout the day.
Did you get the tube uvb? This is imparative to the dragons health
I actually ordered it from Amazon yesterday. In the mean time, I put have in the double fixture my previous all in one, a heat bulb, and there's still that extra uvb in the middle. His temp is now 93 in the basking area. When the tube gets here Tuesday, I'll take away the extra uvb in the middle.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I actually ordered it from Amazon yesterday. In the mean time, I put have in the double fixture my previous all in one, a heat bulb, and there's still that extra uvb in the middle. His temp is now 93 in the basking area. When the tube gets here Tuesday, I'll take away the extra uvb in the middle.
The uvb in the middle is a coil? If so it's doing more harm than good please shut it off- when your uvb comes Tuesday please post on here and I will help you get it set up- placement and distance will be determined by your screen
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
The uvb in the middle is a coil? If so it's doing more harm than good please shut it off- when your uvb comes Tuesday please post on here and I will help you get it set up- placement and distance will be determined by your screen
Why is it doing more harm than good? I turned it off.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Why is it doing more harm than good? I turned it off.
Coils are terrible -- they provide inadequate for a tank of 40 + gallons - even in small tanks like 20 I would not recommend them - the 13 watt are the worst --- 26 watt Reptisuns are ok but they need to be properly placed and distanced for them to be effective--- 13 watt have caused all kinds of health issues and long term death --
 

Mollysn28

Member
Original Poster
Coils are terrible -- they provide inadequate for a tank of 40 + gallons - even in small tanks like 20 I would not recommend them - the 13 watt are the worst --- 26 watt Reptisuns are ok but they need to be properly placed and distanced for them to be effective--- 13 watt have caused all kinds of health issues and long term death --
I just read I had reptisun 13 watt. It's off. Hopefully 5 days of it didn't do any harm. :(
 

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