UVB light for Exo Terra?

[Blankenship24]

Hello beardie lovers,

So i recently decided that I'm going to get my teenage son a baby bearded dragon for his birthday. I have bought the Exo Terra cage that is 24 in x 18 x 12. I have got the basking lamp all set up. I am a little stumped on the UVB lighting though? Can it just set on top of the screen? or be mounted inside? and if so, how would i mount to the glass?
Also, would the 18 inch reptisun be okay to use? or do i need the high output? cause its going through the screen?
Okay, enough questions for now. Thanks.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Use this guide to determine a proper distance for the uvb from the basking spot.
https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides
assuming you are talking about the reptisun 10.0 tube, then yes, that should work perfectly fine. There are ways you can mount it inside instead, but I can't really think of any offhand. You can have it on the screen so long as you provide optimal uvb based off the list and still have your temps up to 105-110 for an adult beardie.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

 

[HKzForDayz]

If you are going to be using a T8 fixture, I would recommend mounting it inside of the terrarium, as screens can filter out as much as 40 percent UVB, and it can vary greatly screen to screen. You would probably be "ok" as long as your beardie can get within about 6 inches from UVB source, but I prefer to use the T5 fixtures, they provide for much longer UVB distances and also has plentiful UVB to where the amount of UVB loss through a screen is typically not enough to make a difference. It also allows for greater UVB absorption throughout the entire enclosure, instead of just in their basking spot.

Also, keep in mind that it won't be long before the beardie will outgrow that enclosure, and you will want to upgrade to a 40 gallon at the minimum. I think you will also find it much easier to provide adequate temperature gradient and opportunities for climbing/exploring in a larger enclosure as well.

 

[GizmosGrammie]

On my 40 gallon All Living Things tank I used Velcro for my 24" strip light for the UVB tube bulb.

Now that I have the 36x18x18 ExoTerra Enclosure I have the light mounted inside the tank attached to the underside of the screen. I used black coated copper wire (from craft isle of Walmart) to hang it with. Buy a gage small enough to fit through the hole of the mesh screen.

Here are pictures of each tank.
ExoTerra Enclosure

All Living Things Tank