UVB lighting

[BabiieKakesxOx]

Upon closer inspection of my tank i realized my UVB Bulb is a 5.0W the Tank is a 20 Gallon tank. I always hear people speaking about the 10.0W will my bulb be fine or should i pick a new one up today?

 

[ClydesGirl]

The 5.0 and 10.0 rating alone doesn't tell us much, but ideally you want the 10.0, as that's for "desert animals". What brand is it and how far is it from the top of your basking spot. A 5.0 will need to be closer to the basking spot. Is it a tube or a compact fluorescent? The compact fluorescents are complete garbage and can affect your bearies eyes, so if it's one of those, you will definitely want to replace it immediately.

 

[BabiieKakesxOx]

i have a mini combo deep dome fixture my basking light is a zoo med basking spot lamp 100w and my infrared is 100 zoo med nocturnal red in color. the hood i have is 12 inches its sitting right on the screen itself. the bulb in my hood is a repti-sun 5.0 uvb. i was told by zoo med this am that my tank being so short that the 10.0 uvb would damage my dragons eyes. my tank is 20 gallons 12 inches tall.

 

[ClydesGirl]

There is no use whatsoever in having a red bulb with a bearded dragon. They can see red light, so having it on at night will disturb their sleep. If you are having trouble keeping your night time temps over 70 degrees, you can use a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), they screw into a normal light socket but don't put out any light.

As for the Reptisun 5.0, I would say it's *probably* okay as long as you have an elevated basking spot, but when you upgrade to a larger viv (adult dragons need a 40 gallon minimum), you should upgrade to a 10.0 and try to get the fixture mounted inside the viv, so it's not filtered at all by the screen top.

 

[BabiieKakesxOx]

I was going to buy a 60w ceramic zoo med heat emitter today but i was unsure if my mini combo deep dome can have a heat emitter in it? the box says no but zoo med says yes. I'll look more into it. what about a black light?

 

[TheWerewolf]

I think black lights hurt human eyes. But I heard that awhile ago, so maybe it has changed. You really don't need night time heat lights unless the temp in your house drops below 65. 70 is comfortable for them but they will still be okay at 65.

 

[BabiieKakesxOx]

in the summer i have the ac on so my basements usually 60-65 degrees F in the winter we get snow as early as October and the basement with heat is usually between 72-74 degrees F. If i can keep the basement at about 70 it wont need the light?

 

[ClydesGirl]

If night time temps don't fall below 65-70 degrees, you won't need a CHE. No matter what, you don't want a light. Bearies see all the same light that humans do, so any kind of light at night can disturb their sleep.

 

[BabiieKakesxOx]

What about the nights my basement hits 60 degrees F when I have the AC on? Would I benefit buying it for those nights or would it be a waste?

 

[TheWerewolf]

How many nights would that be? My Nim, I think, has gone to sleep at 60 to 65 at least twice. And those two times aren't very apart. I just call the short nights of 60 to 65 a cold night in the desert. But you may want to get a CHE anyway. You know, just in case. I'll probably be getting one for Nim when the winter months come.

 

[BabiieKakesxOx]

A CHE would benefit in the winter I may wait till fall till purchase. Here in October we get snow and I don't mean a inch or 2 try like a foot! Currently the rooms 65 and dropping and I turned off its red heat lamp because it was having issues sleeping. It still is nameless but adorably sleeping under it's hammock sprawled out like a dog! Would you reccomend any? I personally like the 60w zoo Med CHE with the flukers clamp lamp. My tank is 20 I know the bulb last a while which watt would you reccomend for a 20-40 gallon tank I've seen them in a variety of Watts and I'd like the bulb to work in my 40ears gallon as well