UVB advice for soon to be beardie owner

[bmarble903]

Ok, it's about that time for some advice. I have been debating for awhile on getting a new friend, and being that I am allergic to anything with fur, a reptile seemed ideal. After much research, and for reasons most of you already know, I decided a beardie was the one! So I did my typical hours upon hours of research and believe I have set up a nice home for him (I'll be getting a male and the winning name is Jäger). So that everyone is up to speed I'll list the proposed setup.

Exo-Terra 36"x18"x18" glass terrarium
Reptile carpet
Big Apple medium hide and bask coffee tree log set
Hammock, of course
Exo-Terra thermo-hygro combo meter (for cool side)
Exo-Terra thermometer (for hot side)
Exo Terra Solar-Glo High Intensity Self-Ballasted Uv/Heat Mercury Vapor Lamp 125W for basking
Exo Terra Ceramic Heater 150W (will only be on at night when necessary to reach comfy sleeping temps here in Colorado)

I also stocked up on calcuim and multivitamins, will plan to feed small crickets twice daily and offer veggies to start, once he gets bigger we will move into more variety.

The plan is to get everything set up and moniter for a few days before dragon shopping. Once I know the new home is ideal I'll be on the lookout for my new buddy. The lights will be setup on timers for a 12 hour on 12 hour off cycle. When the lights are off and it's chilly, the ceramic heater will be on. I'm sure you're asking me to get to the point, so here it is:

I also purchased the Exo-Terra Compact Hood that fits my terrarium. It takes 4 of the 26W compact (coil type) fluorescent bulbs. I bought 2 of the 10.0 and 2 of the 2.0. I planned to have the 10's on the hot basking side and the 2's on the cool side. Of course, my one impulse buy (found them on sale locally) bites me. I read some horror stories of blinding in dragons and to stay away from these types of bulbs. Upon further investigation now it seems a mixed review. Some are claiming the newer bulbs are now ok and are using them with their dragons with no issues. Should I return all of this and start over on the UVB with a reptisun? Should I run the 4 UVB compacts and UVB basking light combo and monitor the little guy close first? I'm hoping with the addition of the mercury vapor lamp the little compacts will be ok and still provide enough UVB, assuming it isn't harmful.

I'll wrap up by saying that although this is my first post I am very grateful to all of you on here. This forum has been a wealth of information and solidified my desire to bring home a beardie. Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi, welcome to the site!!

Holy moly, the -Brandon at the end of your post threw me for a loop because thats exactly what I put at the end of my posts! Lol. I thought someone copied something I wrote or something lol.

Exo-Terra 36"x18"x18" glass terrarium this is ok.
Reptile carpetgood
Big Apple medium hide and bask coffee tree log setgood
Hammock, of coursegood :mrgreen:
Exo-Terra thermo-hygro combo meter (for cool side)bad, the stick on dial thermometers are basically crap. They can be off by as much as 20 degrees. You will need an accurate tool to measure temperature. So you will need either a temp gun, or a digital thermometer with probe end.
Exo-Terra thermometer (for hot side)see above
Exo Terra Solar-Glo High Intensity Self-Ballasted Uv/Heat Mercury Vapor Lamp 125W for basking
Exo Terra Ceramic Heater 150W (will only be on at night when necessary to reach comfy sleeping temps here in Colorado)

Now, your lighting situation isn't very good.

Exo terra doesn't make good products for beardie lighting at all, in fact, the majority of reptile uvb lights out on the market right now are absolutely horrible for a dragons health, with many of them being linked to health issues in dragons.

You need two bulbs.
1. A basking light that isn't colored (like red or blue). This bulb needs to get the temps in your tank to where they should be. This bulb can even be a normal household lightbulb, as long as it gets the tanks temps good.
2. A uvb bulb. This is where a lot of headache comes in. Since there are so many crap bulbs on the market, most new owners get a crap one. And this is no good because uvb is very important for the health of a dragon.
You will need either a reptisun 10.0 fluorescent, or the arcadia 12%. Note that these bulbs are the long tube bulbs, not the compact coil bulbs or the ones that fit into normal light sockets, so you will need to get a fluorescent fixture to house them.

Your plan to monitor the tank and get the temps right before you get your dragon is a great plan! If only more owners did it that way.

Oh I see later in your post you addressed the uvb issue. So Just going to reiterate, the two bulbs above that i mentioned are the two you need. A basking bulb and either the reptisun 10.0. or the arcadia 12%. You can look at some tanks of other owners on here to get a feel for how the lights are set up and what not.

I am glad you are already enjoying your stay here.

-Brandon (thats my name... lol)

 

[bmarble903]

Ha! Imagine that, first post, first response and we're both Brandon. I guess remembering your name won't be a stretch lol.

Thanks for the input. I think I'll go ahead and do some more looking around and return these coils. The thermometer and hygro I have are digital with probes, Exo-Terra part numbers PT2472 and PT2470. I fly R/C Helicopters and would never trust an analog temp gauge for those so I figured I should hold my dragon's home to the same standards. Come to think of it, I should have just used my laser temp gun.... der.

So, to make sure I have this right... Once i have the tube type UVB reptisun 10.0 the ONLY function of that other daytime light is temp. As long as my temps are 105ish basking spot daytime with that reptisun tube, he should be a happy lizard?

Thanks!


--Brandon <----- I fixed it lol.

 

[Claudiusx]

Oh good that they aren't the dial thermometers. Even better that you have a temp gun! :mrgreen:

Yup thats what you need, lighting wise, to have a happy lizard :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[RandyMarsh]

Hi, welcome to the site!!

Holy moly, the -Brandon at the end of your post threw me for a loop because thats exactly what I put at the end of my posts! Lol. I thought someone copied something I wrote or something lol.

Exo-Terra 36"x18"x18" glass terrarium this is ok.
Reptile carpetgood
Big Apple medium hide and bask coffee tree log setgood
Hammock, of coursegood :mrgreen:
Exo-Terra thermo-hygro combo meter (for cool side)bad, the stick on dial thermometers are basically crap. They can be off by as much as 20 degrees. You will need an accurate tool to measure temperature. So you will need either a temp gun, or a digital thermometer with probe end.
Exo-Terra thermometer (for hot side)see above
Exo Terra Solar-Glo High Intensity Self-Ballasted Uv/Heat Mercury Vapor Lamp 125W for basking
Exo Terra Ceramic Heater 150W (will only be on at night when necessary to reach comfy sleeping temps here in Colorado)

Now, your lighting situation isn't very good.

Exo terra doesn't make good products for beardie lighting at all, in fact, the majority of reptile uvb lights out on the market right now are absolutely horrible for a dragons health, with many of them being linked to health issues in dragons.

You need two bulbs.
1. A basking light that isn't colored (like red or blue). This bulb needs to get the temps in your tank to where they should be. This bulb can even be a normal household lightbulb, as long as it gets the tanks temps good.
2. A uvb bulb. This is where a lot of headache comes in. Since there are so many crap bulbs on the market, most new owners get a crap one. And this is no good because uvb is very important for the health of a dragon.
You will need either a reptisun 10.0 fluorescent, or the arcadia 12%. Note that these bulbs are the long tube bulbs, not the compact coil bulbs or the ones that fit into normal light sockets, so you will need to get a fluorescent fixture to house them.

Your plan to monitor the tank and get the temps right before you get your dragon is a great plan! If only more owners did it that way.

Oh I see later in your post you addressed the uvb issue. So Just going to reiterate, the two bulbs above that i mentioned are the two you need. A basking bulb and either the reptisun 10.0. or the arcadia 12%. You can look at some tanks of other owners on here to get a feel for how the lights are set up and what not.

I am glad you are already enjoying your stay here.

-Brandon (thats my name... lol)

I don't want to disagree with you here but I am currently using only 1 small bulb, no tubes, and it works just fine for my needs. Zoomed powersun Mercury vapor 100w. Plus with the waranty you can just keep returning it every 6 months or so and get a new one. It's like a perpetual lighting machine...!
Plus it's self ballasted, don't need a florescent fixture, and it just clips on whatever I want it to. For an initial 65$ investment it's a great bulb to use.

 

[Claudiusx]

I don't want to disagree with you here but I am currently using only 1 small bulb, no tubes, and it works just fine for my needs. Zoomed powersun Mercury vapor 100w. Plus with the waranty you can just keep returning it every 6 months or so and get a new one. It's like a perpetual lighting machine...!
Plus it's self ballasted, don't need a florescent fixture, and it just clips on whatever I want it to. For an initial 65$ investment it's a great bulb to use.

Since powersuns have had problems in the past, I don't usually recommend them to new owners. And like you said, they are 65$ every 6 months, while the reptisuns are about 25-30$ every 6 months.

IMO, the safe route would be to still go with my suggestion. Cheaper and has stood the test of time as being a good bulb

But sorry not trying to argue with you over which bulb one should use, I am just trying to help a new owner out

EDIT: Might I add, A new owner with a great name! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[bmarble903]

So I did some digging and came up with this. It was emailed to me from a known expert's publication. He happens to be the president of Exo-Terra so maybe he has a bias opinion?

Here is a little about him, he seems credible.

http://www.phelsumania.com/public/home/author.html

Hard to dispute people having these issues with this bulb still. I was told by the manufacturer that in late 2010 they began manufacturing the bulbs themselves. Prior to that the bulbs were a modified version of your typical household CFL. They claim the problem was resolved when they began using this different glass. And the lady even offered to email me a picture of their bearded dragon in the office, who sits under this bulb. Good info, but still I think it may be better to just go the safe route. I figured I would pass on what I learned today though.

Thoughts?

--Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

Still would be better to play it safe and go with something that has been tested to work, IMO.

-Brandon

 

[bltkpo]

I had a SolarGlo for a few months (Exo Terra as well I think? Look below...) and it didn't affect Bindy negatively at all. I had a lot of trouble locating the ever-pushed-on-you ReptiSun, and my only other option was the Repti-glo.

I enjoyed it's dual purpose (heat and UVB) though I wasn't fond of the cost ($60?! o.o) I have since swapped out for the Repit-sun cause I found one, finally.

 

[thanybeauty1]

I'm not sure where this convo left the original poster Brandon but I'd like to add that due to not being able to get my hands on a repti sun 10 bulb right when I got my baby dragon Lily, I used a different brand (I don't even remember which kind) however Lily did not grow as she should have and when I noticed she wasn't growing I took her to the vet and I changed to a reptisun 10. She is now growing like a weed! Ever since reading about the bulbs on this forum I changed my dragons to the reptisun and they have done wonderful and never ever had eye issues. I pay 40 a bulb and I don't care. The security of knowing that this bulb has not caused any problems is all I need. I'd go with the product that has a better track history Brandon. Btw your set up sounds great and it appears you'll have a very happy dragon.

 

[Claudiusx]

I'm not sure where this convo left the original poster Brandon but I'd like to add that due to not being able to get my hands on a repti sun 10 bulb right when I got my baby dragon Lily, I used a different brand (I don't even remember which kind) however Lily did not grow as she should have and when I noticed she wasn't growing I took her to the vet and I changed to a reptisun 10. She is now growing like a weed! Ever since reading about the bulbs on this forum I changed my dragons to the reptisun and they have done wonderful and never ever had eye issues. I pay 40 a bulb and I don't care. The security of knowing that this bulb has not caused any problems is all I need. I'd go with the product that has a better track history Brandon. Btw your set up sounds great and it appears you'll have a very happy dragon.

Lol, I kept reading this thinking you were talking to me, I was like... but I did recommend the reptisun 10.0!! hahaa :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[thanybeauty1]

haha I'm sorry for the confusion. I thank you for recommending the reptisun 10. I freak out at the very idea of someone getting the wrong advice from pet stores or other websites and in turn their poor dragon suffering. I was one of those misinformed owners when I got my first beardie. This website saved my beardie and me because now I'm addicted to beardies and absolutely love mine. I'm babbling, sorry. If you want to hear my horror story message me lol but it boils down to I got the wrong info and my first bearded dragon ended up not having a drop of water for 4 months before I found this site so following the wrong info can really be detrimental to the beardies health.

 

[Chirple]

If you are in the USA, you can get a pretty good deal on the Reptisun 10.0 by looking on-line. It really boils down to what else you need to buy - price + shipping and how much is needed for free shipping and all.

I got mine on Amazon for $30, free shipping over $25. I got my other supplies on there, too, though there are other sites with good deals if the shipping and what you're looking for works out. I was happy to get a light fixture with a dimmer for my heat light - for finer and easier control of the temperature than switching bulbs.

I'm not sure about the MVBs, but I know they can be used if you have one with the right outputs.