Sneakers81
Member
Hello,
I have been reading over countless, countless articles since adopting Mr.Spike Crackers almost a month ago.
He is my first reptile. My son did research for about two months and had saved money for 6 months to purchase him. We can all take a minute to laugh at the fact that I thought YouTube, a handful of articles, and a bearded dragon book had prepared me. I’m rolling laughing.
So we go to the pet store and get the coil uvb, 20 gallon tank and other very useless items.
I take him home and from being a pet owner for many years I can tell he is just not doing well. So I decide to go to a reptiles only store. They luckily are beyond wonderful and get me set up with this 40gallon 36x24x16. They point toward a correct 100w basking light with ceramic fixture as well as the reptisun t5 HO terrarium hood that comes with 5.0 uvb light included. I asked if I needed the 10.0 bulb instead of the 5.0 and I was told No. I was told the 5.0 with the reflector on top on my terrarium 2/3 length would be sufficient. I have read a lot of the research and Was still very torn if I should purchase a 10.0 bulb or not. I decided to purchase the 10.0 bulb and to see how Spike would react.
I am attaching a photo of his current setup. I have his t5 reptisun10.0 in zoo med reflector hood. I have raised it 2 inches with two ceramic bowls to give my 40 gallon 18 inches height instead of the 16. I have positioned the light in the middle of his home. Since putting in the reptisun 10.0 bulb he spends most of his afternoons toward the bottom of his tank on the carpet. His lights come at 8am and he basks around 10inches from the fixture for a good part of the morning. I say around 1ish he heads lower and stays there a Good part of the day. When I had the 5.0 UVB in the hood he would stay at the highest point for most of the day. This new behavior is only since starting the 10.0. He did hide the first day from the 10.0 and did display stress marks. Since starting the 10.0 though he has had an up kick in appetite and his stress marks have all but disappeared. He just seems to like to spend all late afternoon at the bottom. I’m attaching some photos of measurements from the metal screen to his multiple basking areas and asking if this area is too close or too far away? Given his setup would he have been fine with the 5.0bulb laying flat on top of his metal mesh and at a distance of 8in from basking and 15in to floor?
Is there a chart that has the t5 10.0 with a reflector and on top of screen that has been done to measure if we are getting the correct UVB output?
When I was reading some articles I saw how the 5.0 with reflector was the same output as a 10.0 but o could not find any articles the included how a screen may affect the UVB output and that was where I was hesitant to keep the 5.0 and risk his health as he is only 8 inches and I would not want him to suffer from MBD. However, I also worry if the 10.” With reactor is too strong. I would appreciate any articles that can help me sleep easy knowing I made the most educated decision on how to properly care for Mr.Crackers.
I have been reading over countless, countless articles since adopting Mr.Spike Crackers almost a month ago.
He is my first reptile. My son did research for about two months and had saved money for 6 months to purchase him. We can all take a minute to laugh at the fact that I thought YouTube, a handful of articles, and a bearded dragon book had prepared me. I’m rolling laughing.
So we go to the pet store and get the coil uvb, 20 gallon tank and other very useless items.
I take him home and from being a pet owner for many years I can tell he is just not doing well. So I decide to go to a reptiles only store. They luckily are beyond wonderful and get me set up with this 40gallon 36x24x16. They point toward a correct 100w basking light with ceramic fixture as well as the reptisun t5 HO terrarium hood that comes with 5.0 uvb light included. I asked if I needed the 10.0 bulb instead of the 5.0 and I was told No. I was told the 5.0 with the reflector on top on my terrarium 2/3 length would be sufficient. I have read a lot of the research and Was still very torn if I should purchase a 10.0 bulb or not. I decided to purchase the 10.0 bulb and to see how Spike would react.
I am attaching a photo of his current setup. I have his t5 reptisun10.0 in zoo med reflector hood. I have raised it 2 inches with two ceramic bowls to give my 40 gallon 18 inches height instead of the 16. I have positioned the light in the middle of his home. Since putting in the reptisun 10.0 bulb he spends most of his afternoons toward the bottom of his tank on the carpet. His lights come at 8am and he basks around 10inches from the fixture for a good part of the morning. I say around 1ish he heads lower and stays there a Good part of the day. When I had the 5.0 UVB in the hood he would stay at the highest point for most of the day. This new behavior is only since starting the 10.0. He did hide the first day from the 10.0 and did display stress marks. Since starting the 10.0 though he has had an up kick in appetite and his stress marks have all but disappeared. He just seems to like to spend all late afternoon at the bottom. I’m attaching some photos of measurements from the metal screen to his multiple basking areas and asking if this area is too close or too far away? Given his setup would he have been fine with the 5.0bulb laying flat on top of his metal mesh and at a distance of 8in from basking and 15in to floor?
Is there a chart that has the t5 10.0 with a reflector and on top of screen that has been done to measure if we are getting the correct UVB output?
When I was reading some articles I saw how the 5.0 with reflector was the same output as a 10.0 but o could not find any articles the included how a screen may affect the UVB output and that was where I was hesitant to keep the 5.0 and risk his health as he is only 8 inches and I would not want him to suffer from MBD. However, I also worry if the 10.” With reactor is too strong. I would appreciate any articles that can help me sleep easy knowing I made the most educated decision on how to properly care for Mr.Crackers.
