Hey everyone!
My fiance and I just purchased a small beardie 2 days ago. He is around 6 weeks old by my guess, seeing as how he is right around 5 inches long. He's growing like mad now that he has his own space and his own food, unlike at the store. Here is the run-down on the products we have for our terrarium:
40gal Terrarium
ESU UVB 18" linear bulb w/ fixture
150w ZooMed basking lamp w/ Fluker's 8.5" Clamp Fixture
150w Exoterra HeatGlo Infrared basking light for night temp control
Assorted decorations
Here are some of the questions i have browsed the site for and come up empty handed for:
1.) The HeatGlo 150w infrared bulb. I hear that Reptiglo bulbs are horrid for our beardies eyes, and those bulbs are made by exoterra.... same as this HeatGlo bulb. The pet store guy, we will call him steve, told me that if i bought this bulb I could run it all day and then have the UVB light on during waking hours. This way the UVB light would be the sleep-indicator for the beardie and the infrared could stay on all night to keep the temp up in the tank. I found out about reptiglo bulbs and noticed that this bulb is made by the same people, so i swapped it out for a ZooMed 150w basking light immediately.
The question there is: Is the HeatGlo light ok for our beardies? Is it ok to leave on at night because its infrared, or would that bother the beardie?
2.) UVB lights. I have an ESU UNB light right now, and I plan on ordering a Reptisun 10.0 to pop in it. The thing is, it's an 18" fixture and only covers about half of the tank! Should I get another one to lay across the top on the other side to ensure that Rocco gets all the UVB he needs? As of now, when hes basking, he's only under the ZooMed basking light, and not under the UVB light. I'm under the strong impression that i need ANOTHER UVB light on the other side to make sure he gets what he needs. True? False?
3.) On the same note, the reptisun 10.0 bulbs have a max distance of 20". Thats fine, my tank is only 17" deep, so even with a screen it should get him the UVB he needs, and even more when he is basking around 4 inches higher than the floor. Whats the minimum distance for the reptisun 10.0? I have a reptile hammock set up about 6 inches from the top of the cage, is that enough for him? (keep in mind he is only about 6 weeks old, if that has anything to do with his skins resistance to UV rays)
4.) Tile: I see that tile is the best option for the flooring for my beardie. This is a dumb question, I know, but bear with me. The tile shouldn't be really smooth, i get that, so where should I go to get the right stuff? Would a place like Home Depot work, and if so, do I just have the tiles cut to the dimensions of the floor? Once I lay them in, do I need to put anything in between them to seal them in there? Yes, dumb questions, but i really dont know much on this topic.
That just about covers it for now, I'll be returning my basking bulb for a lower wattage this afternoon, 150 is WAY too hot for him, I have to have the light 6-7" above the terrarium just to get his basking spot to stay around 105.
Thanks for all the help in advance guys, I appreciate it and so does Rocco!
My fiance and I just purchased a small beardie 2 days ago. He is around 6 weeks old by my guess, seeing as how he is right around 5 inches long. He's growing like mad now that he has his own space and his own food, unlike at the store. Here is the run-down on the products we have for our terrarium:
40gal Terrarium
ESU UVB 18" linear bulb w/ fixture
150w ZooMed basking lamp w/ Fluker's 8.5" Clamp Fixture
150w Exoterra HeatGlo Infrared basking light for night temp control
Assorted decorations
Here are some of the questions i have browsed the site for and come up empty handed for:
1.) The HeatGlo 150w infrared bulb. I hear that Reptiglo bulbs are horrid for our beardies eyes, and those bulbs are made by exoterra.... same as this HeatGlo bulb. The pet store guy, we will call him steve, told me that if i bought this bulb I could run it all day and then have the UVB light on during waking hours. This way the UVB light would be the sleep-indicator for the beardie and the infrared could stay on all night to keep the temp up in the tank. I found out about reptiglo bulbs and noticed that this bulb is made by the same people, so i swapped it out for a ZooMed 150w basking light immediately.
The question there is: Is the HeatGlo light ok for our beardies? Is it ok to leave on at night because its infrared, or would that bother the beardie?
2.) UVB lights. I have an ESU UNB light right now, and I plan on ordering a Reptisun 10.0 to pop in it. The thing is, it's an 18" fixture and only covers about half of the tank! Should I get another one to lay across the top on the other side to ensure that Rocco gets all the UVB he needs? As of now, when hes basking, he's only under the ZooMed basking light, and not under the UVB light. I'm under the strong impression that i need ANOTHER UVB light on the other side to make sure he gets what he needs. True? False?
3.) On the same note, the reptisun 10.0 bulbs have a max distance of 20". Thats fine, my tank is only 17" deep, so even with a screen it should get him the UVB he needs, and even more when he is basking around 4 inches higher than the floor. Whats the minimum distance for the reptisun 10.0? I have a reptile hammock set up about 6 inches from the top of the cage, is that enough for him? (keep in mind he is only about 6 weeks old, if that has anything to do with his skins resistance to UV rays)
4.) Tile: I see that tile is the best option for the flooring for my beardie. This is a dumb question, I know, but bear with me. The tile shouldn't be really smooth, i get that, so where should I go to get the right stuff? Would a place like Home Depot work, and if so, do I just have the tiles cut to the dimensions of the floor? Once I lay them in, do I need to put anything in between them to seal them in there? Yes, dumb questions, but i really dont know much on this topic.
That just about covers it for now, I'll be returning my basking bulb for a lower wattage this afternoon, 150 is WAY too hot for him, I have to have the light 6-7" above the terrarium just to get his basking spot to stay around 105.
Thanks for all the help in advance guys, I appreciate it and so does Rocco!
