proper uvb lighting...new beardie owner 2 weeks!

[DustinEgle]

*PICS POSTED BELOW AFTER READING*

So right now my tank contains a zilla desert light fixture T8 UVB 30" on top of his cage. The cage is 12" deep, plus there's wire mesh inbetween. There's no plastic cover on the fixture however so that's a plus. I have heard some bad things about this light hurting beardies and would prefer the reptisun 10.0 HO bulb, but does it require a very specific fixture to work properly in?
I want to mount it inside the tank to eliminate the mesh problem and get him 6-8 inches from it, not 12-13ish. My girlfriend has a black light in her room with just a cheap walmart black fixture, no cover over the top of the bulb or anything just a simple fixture. Would that work? Or should I get something else for inside the tank?

My little Draco and his new home!!

 

[AndyHarp94]

As long as it's the correct length the bulb should work with any t8 fixture! I just bought a cheap one off of amazon and managed to mount it to the top of the inside of his cage and it works great. Other than that your setup looks really nice and your little guy is adorable! My one recommendation would be to get a branch or taller rock so he can get a little closer to the basking spot depending on the wattage. If it generates enough heat to reach the lower rocks then disregard that :lol:

 

[DustinEgle]

As long as it's the correct length the bulb should work with any t8 fixture! I just bought a cheap one off of amazon and managed to mount it to the top of the inside of his cage and it works great. Other than that your setup looks really nice and your little guy is adorable! My one recommendation would be to get a branch or taller rock so he can get a little closer to the basking spot depending on the wattage. If it generates enough heat to reach the lower rocks then disregard that :lol:

It's a 75 watt and it can hit 115 in the middle of is log! 105 on the sides of the log (where he usually sits) so he's good there! And thanks that's good to know that any T8 fixture will work!

 

[Taterbug]

The T8 reptisun is not a high output type bulb. It should work in a standard fixture. A fixture like you have with a reflector will give you more effective output, the fixtures with no reflector are very weak so you would be down grading.

If you get the T5 and a T5 fixture you don't need to mount it inside or as close to him. It will probably be more comfortable for him.

 

[Taterbug]

A bit more information about bulbs, incase you'd like to compaired the options (for tubes). Bearded dragon are Zone 3 (yellow) baskers.