Height of light question

[AnandaTheDragon]

Hello,

I have been working to get my temps in my enclosure up to above 100 degrees. What I have noticed is that my dragon's tree is close enough to the top of the tank that it gets very hot to the touch. Which worries me. The instructions for the UVB light that I have say that it should be a minimum of 12 inches above the reptile. In my case its more like 7 inches due to the height of the tree.

Has anyone else run into this problem? My choices seem to be: lower the height of the tree (difficult) or raise the lamps above the top of the tank. Has anyone done the latter? Bricks seem too heavy and they obscure some of the light.

I would love to hear any tips on this.

Thanks.

David

 

[Tabasco]

You want around 100 to 105 degrees right on the basking spot, rest of the enclosure much cooler 75 to 85 degrees. What watt basking bulb are you using. What size enclosure? Are all lights above screen or in enclosure? I use a 25 watt in a 55 gallon enclosure 17" tall. Light is inside so distance to basking spot is 9". Temp is right at 103 degrees. Rest of enclosure between 75 and 85.

UVB should be less than 12" in most cases. Try going to lower watt basking light to lower temps at basking spot. If your tree goes within 7" of UVB that is inside enclosure you might have to chop tree down a bit depending on what UVB bulb you are using and what fixture.

 

[PatsyB]

I would get another basking decor.

UVB shouldn't get real hot unless you are using a MVB bulb. Depending on the age of your dragon, your basking spot should be 107 for a baby and around 98-100 for an adult.

 

[AnandaTheDragon]

Thanks for the replies. I am using 2 mercury vapor UVB / Heat bulbs. 100W and 150W. Its a 40 gallon tank, walls are 18 inches high. Soon I will be replacing it with a custom made 70 gallon tank with the same height walls. I measured the surface of the tree at 118 degrees at on point yesterday. Seems a bit high. It was hot to the touch. What I wound up doing is ordering two lamp stands to put behind the tank and hold the fixtures so I can have more control over the height.

@Patsy, I would like to get another basking tree for him. My old one was made of driftwood and didn't get so hot. The new one, which he loves, is resin and it gets way hotter.

Hopefully the stands will allow me more control of the temp.

David

 

[AnandaTheDragon]

Side note, I am not using a basking bulb. I am using mercury vapors to provide UVB and heat (suggested by my vet). It does seem like an easy way to provide both heat and UVB to the same spot. Any reason why this would be a bad idea?

David

 

[PatsyB]

Side note, I am not using a basking bulb. I am using mercury vapors to provide UVB and heat (suggested by my vet). It does seem like an easy way to provide both heat and UVB to the same spot. Any reason why this would be a bad idea?

David

I personally don't like the MVB bulbs because they don't provide UVB to a wide range of the tank. Where if you had a tube bulb, it would cover about 1/2 or 2/3 of your tank with UVB. I also don't do it because of the price. If the MVB blows you are without both heat and UVB but if they are separate and your basking bulb blows, you can easily just replace it for a couple of bucks and you don't have to replace the UVB.

I read somewhere years ago, and I wish I could find it again, they said that MVB is really good for a certain age group but not the other. I can't remember if it was good for babies and juvies or if it was adults.

 

[AnandaTheDragon]

There is so much conflicting info on the net. My Herpetologist is pretty adamant that MVB produce the highest quality UVB and does so for longer than any other source. I don't have any links to back that up. But I have had two different vets echo that. I'm pretty invested with MVBs as I have a box of them just waiting to be used. When one blows, I just replace it.

I wonder how the quality of UVB light in tube lamps compares to standard bulbs and MVBs.

 

[PatsyB]

That's smart that you have extra bulbs. Most people don't think to have them on hand then freak out when the bulbs burn out.

I'm sure there is a study out there to compare bulbs. Maybe Google Francis Bain, she has to have a study out there somewhere. She is like the lighting expert. She has a FB page it's just called Reptile Lighting.