New Owner Enclosure Questions?

[snakepeople]

Hello! I just got my beardie a few days ago and I'm in love with her, but she isn't eating any of her crickets, so I wanted to go over her enclosure details to make sure everything is the right size and up to speed so she can feel comfortable eating when she gets adjusted, and make sure the reason she isn't eating isn't due to insignificant lighting or anything. I can't post pictures tonight, but I will in the morning.

Her tank is 40-breeder. Her temperatures aren't 100% certain since I learnt how bad stick-ons are and am getting a infared heat thermometer tomorrow, but the gradient seems to be around 80-100 from cool to basking. She has an 100w heat lamp on top of a log perch, and a reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb (the one that's all the rage, i did my research and most people mentioned this one.) (she winks sometimes, but her bulb is the best according to a ton of sources, so could this be because of something other than eye problems?)

She has two hides, a bowl for water if she wants some, and a log that she can climb up to go near the light (around 11'', i'm getting a hammock so she can get a little closer when basking too). She's also on repti-carpet, NOT SAND or any loose substrate.

So far shes eaten a few mealworms given to her, since she refuses to go after crickets and we wanted to see if she'll eat anything. She's also eaten a nibble of some peppers, but that's about it. Not enough for a baby

Sorry for making this along, but my main questions are:
1. Does she need a separate light for visible light or is that part of the reptisun?
2. If her basking temps are a little low, should we add another light (like an infared heat light on a dimmer) to get the tank temps up, a ceramic heat emitter, or a UTH? We currently dont' have anything on at night because our house doesn't drop below 75F, but we might need another way to warm her during fall/winter.
3. Is it important to have the UVB light inside the cage, or is placing it on the top okay, since that's what we're doing now.
4. What humidity should be in her tank? We have just one of those petco humidity reader stick ons, should we get a better one?

Sorry for making this so long, I want the best for Artemis and I hope some people with experience can help me out!!

 

[quyllur]

The visible light should come from both the basking bulb and the UVB bulb. You don't need a special bulb just for that.

Once you get an accurate measurement of the heat, you have three options if it is not warm enough. One, get an additional light. Two get a stronger (higher wattage) light. Three move the basking spot closer to the bulb. If your basking area is not warm enough AND your cool side is not warm enough, you will need to go with option one or two. If the cool side is warm enough (75-80), getting an additional bulb or a stronger bulb will bump those temperatures up as well, so you need to determine accurate temperatures in both areas.

If in the winter you need to bump overnight temps to get above 65, go with a ceramic heat emitter, in the lowest wattage that will get the job done.

Where the UVB light goes will depend on what type it is. Is it a T8 or a T5HO?
A T8 should be mounted inside the tank as a screen cover will block out quite a bit of an already relatively weak bulb. Than your basking spot should be within 6-8" of the bulb.

If you are using a T5HO you can mount it outside and you want the basking spot to be 10-12" away, or mounted inside, 12-14" away. Either bulb must not have glass or plastic between it and the dragon as it will completely block out the UVB, so if your fixture has a cover on it, or if the lid of your terrarium is solid, that needs to be removed.

I wouldn't worry overly about humidity unless you live in a very humid area, even then, if you have AC on that will dry out the room. Just make sure you have adequate ventilation and messes are cleaned up quickly.

As you know from your research, dragons take some time to settle into a new environment, Give her some time and offer her the food as though she were eating it, ie, stick with a routine and she will become more comfortable and come to recognize you as the food source, she won't starve herself to death if food is offered.