Too much uvb???

[AstroTheDragon]

Hey guys so im new to the forum , i got my baby astro about 2 weeks ago he is about 7 inches long im guessing 2months old ?? I bought him at a local reptile shop. His enclosure is 40 gallons 36x17x16, i bought this on craigslist for an extremely good deal it came with 2 sets of light fixtures the first being a reptisun 22inch hood i then bought a reptisun 5.0 tube light . Next it came with a 2 bulb lamp hood and came with a ceramic heather which died in a week so i went to buy a basking bulb and mistakingly bought a solar glo mercury bulb. Anyways im wondering if this bulb plus the reptisun is causing him to get too much uvb, ive noticed hes alot more active eating and pooing more which are good signs but im just worried he can maybe get too much uvb? Please let me know thanks everyone!

 

[kingofnobbys]

No .... not too much UV.

Is the fixture a T8 or a T5HO fixture ? this is important.

If anything, the tube is not strong enough in UVA and UVB.

A 10%UVB T5HO or even better a 12% UVB T5HO tube will be very beneficial to the dragon.

 

[AstroTheDragon]

It is a T5 HO 10% UVB, do you think with the mercury bulb plus the reptisun he is getting enough??

 

[kingofnobbys]

It is a T5 HO 10% UVB, do you think with the mercury bulb plus the reptisun he is getting enough??

Is the tube ontop or under a mesh lid ?
How far from the basking spot ?
How far from the substrate ?
how long are the lights on each day ?

 

[AstroTheDragon]

Both on top of mesh the tube light is about 17 inches above substrate and the mercury bulb is about 6inches from his basking area 17 inches from substrate . I have the lights on a timer from 6:30am-8:30pm. I attatched and image of astro and his enclosure

 

[AstroTheDragon]

Sorry for the typos and thank you so much for replying!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Both on top of mesh the tube light is about 17 inches above substrate and the mercury bulb is about 6inches from his basking area 17 inches from substrate . I have the lights on a timer from 6:30am-8:30pm. I attatched and image of astro and his enclosure

The mesh lid is blocking about 40% of the UV (A and B) , and so cancelling the benefit of having a good parabolic reflector hood.

If the substrate is 17in below and the mesh is under the t5HO tube, the UV is very low , well under the recommended substrated level of UVB flux of 100 microW UVB / sq.cm , see graph , can easily calculate the UVB is maybe 30 microW UVB / sq.cm there .... which is inadequate for a bearded dragon. See viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611 for the data for UV sources used.

The ideal UVB fluxes are
@ basking spot 180-200 microW UVB/sq.cm
@ substrate level 100 microW UVB/sq.cm.



I strongly recommend hanging the T5HO hood UNDER the mesh lid.
>> will double UV
>> move the tube a few inches closer.

 

[AstroTheDragon]

Thank you!! So if i mount the hood under should i return the mercury bulb and get a regular basking bulb or would that still be beneficial to him. Also any tips on how to mount it ??

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thank you!! So if i mount the hood under should i return the mercury bulb and get a regular basking bulb or would that still be beneficial to him. Also any tips on how to mount it ??

Wont hurt to keep it. Will benefit from it's emissions of UVA and UVB when basking while it's got good levels of emissions ( their UV output decays over time , some are good for 6 months , others for 12 months ).
Check the manufacturer specs on when to replace it.