Newbie mercury vapor bulb questions!!!

[newtot]

OK I just got an adult bearded dragon from some local people. She is in a 40 gal breeder. They had kept her with a mercury vapor bulb. So I bought a 160 watt ext Terra one. My question is how far from the dragon should it be placed? I have it about an inch from the screen top. She also has a big tree that the gets on to bask that puts her right under it. Is this OK? I just got her yesterday and she seems to be doing really well. She has ate but hasn't pooped yet. Any advice would be great.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad to hear you're able to give her a good home =). I don't have current test data on the Solar Glo 160w unfortunately and the old test data didn't give it a very good showing (quite low output after initial burn-in). That may have been a fluke though. A good general rule with a MVB is to sit it at about 12-14'' above the basking area. If you can get a Solarmeter 6.5 it would be helpful for determining the output from your particular bulb but they are expensive (~$200) so it might be best just to use the 12-14'' estimate which is where most of the bulbs of that style provide best UVB output. If you aren't getting proper temperatures at that height, you may need to include a second basking bulb (halogen flood light with a dimmer perhaps) to fine tune the temps. You'll want about 100-105 in the basking area (surface temps) and a gradient down to about 75-80 on the cool side of the tank.

 

[diamc]

Hi and welcome to the forum. We are glad you found us.

The MVB's put out a lot of heat and UV rays so the 160 watt should be about 12 to 14 inches above your beardies head while in the basking spot. She shouldn't be any closer than that to it anywhere in her tank.

Make sure you are using either a temp gun or digital with long wire & probe end to check those temps as they are the only 2 ways to get accurate readings. If you're using a round gauge (dial) type, those can be off 20 degrees or more.

Great that she ate for you. How old is she?

 

[diamc]

**Sorry Cooper, we were posting at the same time.

 

[newtot]

She is two years old and a big girl at that. I will remove the branch so she can't get right up under it.

 

[newtot]

Forgot to mention the bulb is brand new.