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Good bearded dragon lighting

emmaritchie714

emmaritchie714

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
Hello this is my first time posting on here! So I just got my first bearded dragon about 8 months ago and i’m still trying to learn everyday. recently though I’ve just been worried that I have not been doing good with his lighting because you see different answers to everything everywhere. right now he has a standard 40 gallon tank. I used to have a t8 lamp on top of his cage with a 100w basking lamp and 100w red lamp for nighttime and I have just recently found out this is all very wrong. About a month ago I switched everything out and got him an arcadia pro t5 24w 12% uvb bulb and have that mounted outside of his tank with the reflective in it. I also got a new 100w zoo med basking lamp and a 100w CHE lamp for nighttime and colder days. His cage is very small holed/mesh on top so I am unsure if I should mount the uv inside the cage or if that would be too close to him? I have a digital thermometer and I haven’t been able to get the tank past 94 on the warm side even with the CHE, but I do have a probe thermometer on the way I just recently learned about those. i’m also going to attach a photo of his set up(his decorations are very sparse right now i was just recently treating him for coccidia and was scrubbing down the tank everyday) And one more thing, i’ve seen a lot of people love the reptisun 10.0 t5 lamp. I keep seeing people say 10.0 or 5.0, what does that mean. i have many more questions but would like to stay on one topic for the time being. I’m just very new at this and want to be the best beardy mom I can so any advice at all would be extremely helpful, thank you!
 

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S

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,789
emmaritchie714 said:
Hello this is my first time posting on here! So I just got my first bearded dragon about 8 months ago and i’m still trying to learn everyday. recently though I’ve just been worried that I have not been doing good with his lighting because you see different answers to everything everywhere. right now he has a standard 40 gallon tank. I used to have a t8 lamp on top of his cage with a 100w basking lamp and 100w red lamp for nighttime and I have just recently found out this is all very wrong. About a month ago I switched everything out and got him an arcadia pro t5 24w 12% uvb bulb and have that mounted outside of his tank with the reflective in it. I also got a new 100w zoo med basking lamp and a 100w CHE lamp for nighttime and colder days. His cage is very small holed/mesh on top so I am unsure if I should mount the uv inside the cage or if that would be too close to him? I have a digital thermometer and I haven’t been able to get the tank past 94 on the warm side even with the CHE, but I do have a probe thermometer on the way I just recently learned about those. i’m also going to attach a photo of his set up(his decorations are very sparse right now i was just recently treating him for coccidia and was scrubbing down the tank everyday) And one more thing, i’ve seen a lot of people love the reptisun 10.0 t5 lamp. I keep seeing people say 10.0 or 5.0, what does that mean. i have many more questions but would like to stay on one topic for the time being. I’m just very new at this and want to be the best beardy mom I can so any advice at all would be extremely helpful, thank you!
Click to expand...
Ok your doing great- the uvb you have is one of the best- w/ the fine mesh please get it inside the tank or take the screen off or cut it either way it needs to be unobstructed w/ the uvb directly above the basking decor 12-15 inches- the 12% bulb is considered to be a reptisun 10.0 which better suited for reptiles the 5.0 is used for aquariums but can be used for dragons they must be unobstructed because they are not strong enough to go thru screens- and replaced I'm approx 6 months your Arcadia bulb should be replaced in 1 yr I recommend 10-11 months- your surface basking temps should be 95-100 taken w the digital probe thermometer- if you need to go to a higher wattage make sure your getting a digital probe reading
 
emmaritchie714

emmaritchie714

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
Sadie said:
Ok your doing great- the uvb you have is one of the best- w/ the fine mesh please get it inside the tank or take the screen off or cut it either way it needs to be unobstructed w/ the uvb directly above the basking decor 12-15 inches- the 12% bulb is considered to be a reptisun 10.0 which better suited for reptiles the 5.0 is used for aquariums but can be used for dragons they must be unobstructed because they are
Click to expand...
Sadie said:
Ok your doing great- the uvb you have is one of the best- w/ the fine mesh please get it inside the tank or take the screen off or cut it either way it needs to be unobstructed w/ the uvb directly above the basking decor 12-15 inches- the 12% bulb is considered to be a reptisun 10.0 which better suited for reptiles the 5.0 is used for aquariums but can be used for dragons they must be unobstructed because they are not strong enough to go thru screens- and replaced I'm approx 6 months your Arcadia bulb should be replaced in 1 yr I recommend 10-11 months- your surface basking temps should be 95-100 taken w the digital probe thermometer- if you need to go to a higher wattage make sure your getting a digital probe reading
Click to expand...
Sadie said:
Ok your doing great- the uvb you have is one of the best- w/ the fine mesh please get it inside the tank or take the screen off or cut it either way it needs to be unobstructed w/ the uvb directly above the basking decor 12-15 inches- the 12% bulb is considered to be a reptisun 10.0 which better suited for reptiles the 5.0 is used for aquariums but can be used for dragons they must be unobstructed because they are not strong enough to go thru screens- and replaced I'm approx 6 months your Arcadia bulb should be replaced in 1 yr I recommend 10-11 months- your surface basking temps should be 95-100 taken w the digital probe thermometer- if you need to go to a higher wattage make sure your getting a digital probe reading
Click to expand...
Hi! so are you saying with my current 12% I should definitely still have it unobstructed/inside the cage? and if so how can I keep it that for away from him? his tank is about 19 inches tall and with the basking rock he’s only about 7 inches away from the top of the cage. But thank you that was all very helpful, the encouragement is great:)
 
S

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,789
emmaritchie714 said:
Hi! so are you saying with my current 12% I should definitely still have it unobstructed/inside the cage? and if so how can I keep it that for away from him? his tank is about 19 inches tall and with the basking rock he’s only about 7 inches away from the top of the cage. But thank you that was all very helpful, the encouragement is great:)
Click to expand...
19 inches tall is good but you want it unobstructed directly above the basking decor 12-15 inches- so you can hang it inside the tank w/ 3m Velcro fasteners or long zip ties or picture hanging wire or fishing line- the screen blocks approx 30% of the uvb rays- you may haft to lower the decor so he has the appropriate distance as posted
 
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