Basking light/lamp size for inside the enclosure

[thelawgoddess]

I am setting up a Symton 4x2x2 enclosure for my daughter's bearded dragon. It is our first so we want to make sure we set everything up before we get it. We want all of the lights/lamps to be inside the enclosure; NOT on top of it. So I ordered an 8" Arcadia Ceramic Reflector Clamp Lamp (with the protective mesh cover) and it is really HUGE. I don't want it taking up that much room and worry it is actually going to be overkill with the 150W bulb. I am thinking that should I return the lamp for the 5" reflector, but will that give off enough reflective light/heat for a basking area? Can anyone please share with me their interior basking bulb/lamp set up so I can see what it looks like? And approximately how far away will the lamp need to be from the basking area for a 150W bulb? I appreciate any suggestions!

 

[Sadie]

I am setting up a Symton 4x2x2 enclosure for my daughter's bearded dragon. It is our first so we want to make sure we set everything up before we get it. We want all of the lights/lamps to be inside the enclosure; NOT on top of it. So I ordered an 8" Arcadia Ceramic Reflector Clamp Lamp (with the protective mesh cover) and it is really HUGE. I don't want it taking up that much room and worry it is actually going to be overkill with the 150W bulb. I am thinking that should I return the lamp for the 5" reflector, but will that give off enough reflective light/heat for a basking area? Can anyone please share with me their interior basking bulb/lamp set up so I can see what it looks like? And approximately how far away will the lamp need to be from the basking area for a 150W bulb? I appreciate any suggestions!

First you need two digital probe thermometers to get actual surface basking temps 105-110 for a baby up to 6 months old then 95-100 for over that age - next how old is the dragon? If he is a baby I recommend you partitioning off the tank like 1/2 or 1/3 - for a baby its going to be too big for now - those are better suited for a dragon of 4 months old -- it will be easier to work w/ the dragon -- next I use a 8.5 dome on my 4x2x2 tank w/ a 150 watt Flukers bulb and dome - you want a dome w/ a reflector in it and correct wattage for the dome - your probes are going to tell you what wattage you need and I would recommend the basking dome sit on top of the screen but your UVB must go inside the tank - have you gotten a UVB? NO coils they are inadequate and will cause all kinds of illnesses --- I can post 3 good UVB's for you w/ links -- please NO sand for substrate - babies eat everything and anything loose will cause impaction - No colored bulbs NO off white or yellowish bulbs -- you want a solid clear bright white basking bulb -- all these things I have posted for you are critical for the dragons health --

 

[thelawgoddess]

We don't know yet what age dragon we will be getting. We spoke with a seller at a reptile show and he also suggested to partition the enclosure if we get a juvenile so we are keeping that in mind.

For UVB, we have the Zoo-Med Reptisun T5 High Output 36 Inch Terrarium Hood and I had ordered two of the Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 HO T5 UVB Lamp, 39 W, 34" L bulbs but they arrived broken so will be re-ordering them or picking them up locally.

The basking bulb I got is the Arcadia Solar Basking Flood - 150 Watt. I do understand we may need to get "cooler" ones if the basking area gets too hot. But we really prefer to have it mounted inside. My daughter is only 8 and we have multiple cats so inside the enclosure is going to be safer for our family. That's why I am asking if anyone can share their set-up if they are mounting their basking bulb inside.

 

[Sadie]

We don't know yet what age dragon we will be getting. We spoke with a seller at a reptile show and he also suggested to partition the enclosure if we get a juvenile so we are keeping that in mind.

For UVB, we have the Zoo-Med Reptisun T5 High Output 36 Inch Terrarium Hood and I had ordered two of the Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 HO T5 UVB Lamp, 39 W, 34" L bulbs but they arrived broken so will be re-ordering them or picking them up locally.

The basking bulb I got is the Arcadia Solar Basking Flood - 150 Watt. I do understand we may need to get "cooler" ones if the basking area gets too hot. But we really prefer to have it mounted inside. My daughter is only 8 and we have multiple cats so inside the enclosure is going to be safer for our family. That's why I am asking if anyone can share their set-up if they are mounting their basking bulb inside.

Basking bulb inside needs to be at least 6" from the decor piece - the uvb needs to be directly above the basking decor piece 12-15 inches inside the tank at this time I don't know of anyone on this forum that has their basking light inside- but you never know someone may pop up- the flood light has a wider beam so you will have heat spread out- please keep the cats out of the room it will distress the dragon - we just had someone on another forum the cat got their baby and luckily he has survived the ordeal - most don't make it if the cat / s get a hold of them -- juveniles are fine for a tank that size it's the little ones like 1-3 months old

 

[thelawgoddess]

Thank you for all of your comments!

We cannot keep the cats out of the room 100% of the time, but the lid is not removable so they cannot knock it off, and it has sliding doors so they cannot push them open. But we are also looking at locking options for it to be safe.

Would it be better to have a basking spot light than a flood light, or does that not really matter?

Since these enclosures are stackable, I would think there are definitely some people that have all of the lighting inside the enclosure. I will keep looking into it elsewhere if I don't get any responses about that kind of set-up here.

 

[CrazyDave]

HI there - I just mounted my light to hang into the tank at 12" above the basking area. I'm new to Dragon Owning as well but Iv'e learned a lot on this forum in the 2 days Iv'e been here.

 

[Sadie]

Thank you for all of your comments!

We cannot keep the cats out of the room 100% of the time, but the lid is not removable so they cannot knock it off, and it has sliding doors so they cannot push them open. But we are also looking at locking options for it to be safe.

Would it be better to have a basking spot light than a flood light, or does that not really matter?

Since these enclosures are stackable, I would think there are definitely some people that have all of the lighting inside the enclosure. I will keep looking into it elsewhere if I don't get any responses about that kind of set-up here.

If you are placing the basking light in the tank please get a halogen light and have it 6" or above the basking decor piece --- make sure your getting surface basking temps 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer for a dragon 6 months or older 95-100 -- Arcadia halogen basking bulbs are good---Flukers or Exo Terra Intense as well --- wattage is going to go by the surface basking temps --

 

[Sadie]

If you are placing the basking light in the tank please get a halogen light and have it 6" or above the basking decor piece --- make sure your getting surface basking temps 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer for a dragon 6 months or older 95-100 -- Arcadia halogen basking bulbs are good---Flukers or Exo Terra Intense as well --- wattage is going to go by the surface basking temps --

Update please

 

[thelawgoddess]

Update please

I ended up using lashing wire to hang the lights inside. I ended up changing to a 5.5" reflector for the basking light. It's a 150w Arcadia flood bulb that is about 13" away from the basking decor and is currently measuring with the thermometer gun at 101° (and easily adjustable if necessary as it is on a dimming thermostat). The UVB is the 10.0 bulb in a ZooMed T5 and is 12.5" from the basking spot.

 

[Sadie]

I ended up using lashing wire to hang the lights inside. I ended up changing to a 5.5" reflector for the basking light. It's a 150w Arcadia flood bulb that is about 13" away from the basking decor and is currently measuring with the thermometer gun at 101° (and easily adjustable if necessary as it is on a dimming thermostat). The UVB is the 10.0 bulb in a ZooMed T5 and is 12.5" from the basking spot.

Sounds good -- how is the dragon doing?