What to use to cover reflection?

[Raikachu]

Hello everyone, my beardie Emmett has been acting a bit crazy every now and then and he has some faint stress marks on his belly when he's in his enclosure, and I think it may be his reflection is stressing him out a bit. Or it could be him being in a 70 gal instead of a 40 gal since last monday after being in a 40 for a large chunk of his life before I got him, or it could also just be because we're getting into springtime so he wants to go outside but it's still too cold here, or it could be because he absolutely hates the medicine I have to give him for his coccidia. Basically it could be a few different things but I was gonna try removing the reflections next since I can't really do anything about the other things atm. I've checked his temps and they're all good, I generally keep his hot side ~90, cool side ~80 and his basking spot is usually at 100-105. Either way it's something I'm going to do eventually so I just wanted to know what you guys recommend for covering the inner sides of his glass?

 

[WinFam01]

This may not be a popular opinion, but we went with a T5 6.0 instead of a 10 because our tank is on the shorter side and by the time we hung it inside it would have been too close to her since she has a "mountain" that she lays on. I did a lot of research on distance and amount of uv, plus measuring to make sure we were within a good distance for the strength of uvb.
She is a little over 2 now and has gotten excellent bills of health from her regular check-ups.

 

[Raikachu]

A t8 on top of the screen is basically providing him with no uvb. You can leave it on as it isn't harming him but it also isn't giving him enough. If it's nice out you can bring him outside but waiting until Wednesday isn't an issue as it's only a few more days. If it's safe to do so, like you have no pets or anything that can get into the tank, you can just move the screen aside and have the light over that part.

If you do plan on putting something on the outside to help with reflection I wouldn't use something dark or solid since it can actually make the reflection easier to see. If you have something that has a scene like from a magazine it will help to camouflage his reflection.

Gotcha, the screen is removable so I'll just pull it over the front edge enough to where the light will come through but I can still have the basking light on top.

 

[Raikachu]

Please no coil- your T 8 is good- temp is good

Another question, for switching to a t5, which lamp would you recommend and what fixture should I get for placing it above a screen? Or should I just cut out a section of the screen and stick with the t8 or still upgrade to t5?

 

[Raikachu]

This may not be a popular opinion, but we went with a T5 6.0 instead of a 10 because our tank is on the shorter side and by the time we hung it inside it would have been too close to her since she has a "mountain" that she lays on. I did a lot of research on distance and amount of uv, plus measuring to make sure we were within a good distance for the strength of uvb.
She is a little over 2 now and has gotten excellent bills of health from her regular check-ups.

I was looking at possibly doing something like that as well but I'm still weighing my options. How tall is your tank?

 

[KarrieRee]

Another question, for switching to a t5, which lamp would you recommend and what fixture should I get for placing it above a screen? Or should I just cut out a section of the screen and stick with the t8 or still upgrade to t5?

It is up to you the T 5 can go on top of screen depending on the screen it has to be a wide holed type- for a T 5 the fixture should be a 24" or better I would not go the full length of the tank - for a 40 gallon the 24" is good anything longer than a 48" you want a longer fixture-- reptisun 10.0 T or the Arcadia pro T 5 w/ the 12% bulb your screen is going to play part in the placement - T 5's will haft to go inside for a fine screen mesh like a screen door

 

[KarrieRee]

Gotcha, the screen is removable so I'll just pull it over the front edge enough to where the light will come through but I can still have the basking light on top.

yes

 

[Raikachu]

It is up to you the T 5 can go on top of screen depending on the screen it has to be a wide holed type- for a T 5 the fixture should be a 24" or better I would not go the full length of the tank - for a 40 gallon the 24" is good anything longer than a 48" you want a longer fixture-- reptisun 10.0 T or the Arcadia pro T 5 w/ the 12% bulb your screen is going to play part in the placement - T 5's will haft to go inside for a fine screen mesh like a screen door

I do have the screen that's more like screen door and placing a t5 as high as 12% is gonna end up being too close to him. So I'll probably have to place it on top with the screen cutout to fit the light. I think I may have figure out why he's been pacing a lot. I've discovered that when he starts pacing around and essentially glass surfing if I turn off his t8 lamp that he has right now, he calms down within a minute or so, and alternatively if I turn it on he continues pacing and scratching his glass. I wish I had a UVI meter to check the index but unfortunately I haven't gotten one yet because of how expensive they are. So I'm not sure exactly why his uv seems to make him so stressed. Any ideas what the problem might be?

 

[KarrieRee]

I do have the screen that's more like screen door and placing a t5 as high as 12% is gonna end up being too close to him. So I'll probably have to place it on top with the screen cutout to fit the light. I think I may have figure out why he's been pacing a lot. I've discovered that when he starts pacing around and essentially glass surfing if I turn off his t8 lamp that he has right now, he calms down within a minute or so, and alternatively if I turn it on he continues pacing and scratching his glass. I wish I had a UVI meter to check the index but unfortunately I haven't gotten one yet because of how expensive they are. So I'm not sure exactly why his uv seems to make him so stressed. Any ideas what the problem might be?

How old is the T 8? What is the distance for it now? He's not getting any so to speak if it's sitting on your screen-

 

[Raikachu]

How old is the T 8? What is the distance for it now? He's not getting any so to speak if it's sitting on your screen-

Well I pulled the screen out enough to where there's now nothing between him and the light, but I just got the T8 last monday and it's roughly 8 or 9 inches away. And he was pacing quite a bit before I pulled the screen out too. At first I was thinking he was just stressed from being on meds for parasites since it seemed to start about the same time but now I have no idea. And now he's content to just sit on his basking spot with the lamp on so I'm lost.

 

[KarrieRee]

Well I pulled the screen out enough to where there's now nothing between him and the light, but I just got the T8 last monday and it's roughly 8 or 9 inches away. And he was pacing quite a bit before I pulled the screen out too. At first I was thinking he was just stressed from being on meds for parasites since it seemed to start about the same time but now I have no idea. And now he's content to just sit on his basking spot with the lamp on so I'm lost.

What lamp?

 

[Raikachu]

What lamp?

The uv light sorry

 

[KarrieRee]

The uv light sorry

Ok that is good he is getting the uvb he has been not getting- his appetite and colors should be better--

 

[SPandS]

It's possible the uvb light is making things bright enough that it's making him see his reflection more. Or it could be a bad bulb, I don't think it's that common but it's still a slight possibility.

In one of my tanks I actually just set up the Arcadia t5 fixture under the screen and I'm using one of the zoo med 5.0 t5 bulbs that I got with the zoo med fixtures. I wanted to see how it would work as I got a good deal on the Arcadia fixture but the shape of it had me worried it would fall over if one of my cats touched it siting on top. It's not as flat as the zoo med fixture. From what I I understand the 5.0 t5 is sort of like the 10.0 t8 in output so it will have to be unobstructed and 6-8 inches from basking spot. I've had mine set up that way for about a month now and I think it's working out just fine.

T5s last twice as long as t8s and only need to be changed every 12 months or so unlike 6 months for the t8. So in the long run it will be cheaper plus you have more options for where the fixture can go depending on what bulb you get.

 

[Raikachu]

Ok that is good he is getting the uvb he has been not getting- his appetite and colors should be better--

Well it was either the reflections or his uv light not putting out enough causing him to pace a lot, but either way since I opened the top for the uv and covered the sides with some newspaper he seems way calmer now and is acting like normal again. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Raikachu]

Ok that is good he is getting the uvb he has been not getting- his appetite and colors should be better--

So I was looking at this T5 Reptisun 5.0 with this VE 24" fixture that I'm hoping to mount inside the enclosure on his basking side. For the bulb I called zoomed and they said just make sure he can't get within 6" of the bulb which he already can't. Just wanted your thoughts on this and any recommendations you can think of.