Just got Sidious

[mjfreaks]

Hi!

I just got Sidious not even a few hours ago..I have him in his tank and when I tried to feed him some veggies he ran away and hid.
We gave him a few crickets and now he is just basking at the top on the hammock that I made and I also have some veggies in his bowl and will remove it in the morning with new veggies.

Questions:
I got him around 4pm and went home and placed him in the tank around 5pm. Should I turn off the light at 7pm based on the 12 hour schedule that I will have him on starting tomorrow morning?
*turning off his light at 7:30pm* Turning it back on tommorrow morning at 6:30pm..

I have a TROPICAL UVB until I can buy a bulb for UVB..is that ok?
I have collard greens and will be picking up more crickets on Thrusday.
He did have his mouth open in the basking area and I figure that is normal of course...

Thoughts?
Advice now that I do have him and taking care of him the best way I can.

 

[PatsyB]

Sorry this after the fact but yes you should have turned the light off at the schedule you are going to have him on. Just make sure he has 2 hours of basking time before the light goes out.

If the UVB is a compact fluorescent and not a coil bulb, he should be fine in the temporary but you still have to use a 10.0 bulb. I think the tropical bulbs are 5.0 or 2.0.

 

[PatsyB]

But if you are using the Mega Ray MVB bulb then he is already getting UVB and you don't need the other bulb. I would still recommend a tube style UVB bulb because you want it to reach at least 1/2- 2/3 of his tank.

 

[mjfreaks]

HI!
The one I have is 30 inches covering a 20 inch tank and Im upgrading to the 40 gal soon as he reaches 3-4 months old.
Thanks for info and I was surprised at the price of this bulb let alone the fact that it was a Mercury Bulb.