Lighting

[babyb]

I read on a Bearded Dragon info site that you should have a basking spot 4-6 inches away from basking light but I see pics of peoples tanks and they are not that close to the lights. Do they not need to be? Plus I have 3 diff. lights I have a basking, a UVB, and a night heat. I was told by a lady at the pet store I needed them but I was told by a lady on facebook not to use the night heat bulb. I am getting diff. info from everyone so what would you do?

 

[PatsyB]

I think the basking light should be as close to the basking spot where it will give you the proper basking temperature. In my house Luci's spot is about 8 1/2 inches away with a 150 watt zoo med basking light and the temp ranges from 104-110 degrees. Dexter's basking spot is about 8 inches away with a 75 watt zoo med basking light and it is 109 degrees. In my experience, basking spot lighting is always a long process to get it right. At one point I could have opened up my own lighting store with all the different types of bulbs! I think the reason why I can get away with a much lower wattage for Dexter is because she is closer to the ceiling. I have them set up on a 6 foot wire shelving unit. Dexter is on top and Luci is on the bottom at about eye level when I sit at my desk.

You don't want a colored night heat light but if the temperatures in their tank get lower than 65 you will want to have a CHE to keep them warm at night. Bearded dragons can see color and so a colored light at night could disrupt their sleep cycle. A CHE is a ceramic heat emitter and it only puts off heat, no light.

As far as your UVB, you want them to be 6-8" from the UVB light if it's mounted inside your tank. If you have it resting on the mesh tank top, you need them to be more like 4" away.

Lighting has ALWAYS given me a headache! There are so many options out there it can make your head spin. I just kept trying until I found what worked for me.

 

[paul.ironmonger.96]

Hi I have just got a dragon which lights should be left on during the night

 

[PatsyB]

Hi I have just got a dragon which lights should be left on during the night

No lights should be left on at night. They can see all spectrum of light so any light when they are trying to sleep could disrupt their sleep cycle. If your tank gets below 65 degrees at night you should use a CHE bulb. It's a heat bulb that doesn't give off light, just heat.

 

[babyb]

The night heat bulb I have I don't use it but it looks like a black light

 

[paul.ironmonger.96]

Thank you for your reply I will leave the blue heat bulb on at night this is the bulb I was told is there baskin light is this the correct bulb

 

[Luvthemanimal]

Thank you for your reply I will leave the blue heat bulb on at night this is the bulb I was told is there baskin light is this the correct bulb

As patsy said..... NO BULBS ON AT NIGHT. If your temps DROP BELOW 65degree than a ceramic heat emitter is required.... Which produces hest but NO LIGHT

 

[babyb]

LOL thanks Luvthemanimals I was gonna write something about that

 

[jarich]

Just to make it a bit more clear, dragons (and many lizards) can see a broader spectrum of light than humans. So basically, if you can see the light, so can your dragon. They can actually also see some ultraviolet light, so in reality they see much more than humans. What that means is that you dont want to leave any light on at night, no matter what colour it is. Even if their eyes are shut, they have what is often called a 'parietal eye' on the tops of their heads. If you look closely, you will see a slightly larger 'scale' on the top of their heads just back from the eyes, sort of where the soft spot would be on a baby. This is actually a sensor that detects light and shadow. So even when their eyes are shut, they can tell if there is a light on. That can affect their sleep patterns, and cause them stress, even if we dont notice it.

They also come from a part of Australia that tends to have a decent temperature drop at night. So as long as your house doesnt get too cold (60-65F or less) then there isnt any need to heat them at night. Its part of why they make such great captive pets, because they are so able to adapt to human conditions in many ways. If you find that in the winter your enclosure gets lower than around 60-65F at night, then you should look into a heater that does not put out any light, such as a ceramic heat emitter, radiant heat panel, or under tank heating mat.

Regarding the other lights, you want to have your basking light about 8 inches or so away from the dragon. You dont want it to be able to rear up and get burned by hanging on it. You can have it farther away if it still gives you the right basking temperature too. As PatsyB mentioned, its the temperature that will often determine how far away it is or what wattage the bulb is. Dont bother buying those expensive reptile basking lights from the pet store. They really arent anything special and produce exactly the same kind of light as the ones from the hardware store. Normally the ones from the hardware store will last longer too. Just buy a PAR 38 outdoor halogen flood light and its going to be about a third the price. Dont be fooled by the reptile bulb packaging that says they produce UVA, since all halogen lights produce UVA. Its just marketing to get more money out of you.

Your other light should be a UVB producing light. Depending on which one you have, that will determine how far away you want it. If you have one of those compact fluorescent lights (often called CFLs, they are the curly ones that screw into a normal socket), then the dragons need to be no further away than around 4-6 inches for them to work. Actually those lights are kind of useless, so replace it as soon as you can if you have one of those. They dont produce much UVB, and only do so in a very small little area. Its a poor design for what you are trying to achieve. If you have a fluorescent tube (the long type) then there are two kinds. The normal sized one (1 inch wide), which is a normal output bulb, is called a T8. If you have one of these, then the lizard needs to be able to get about 6-8 inches away from the light. These bulbs last about 4-6 months before they stop producing good levels of UVB, depending on the brand. Even if they are still producing light, that doesnt mean they are producing UVB, so its good to always replace them after 6 months, even if they still turn on. You can also buy the skinnier, high output fluorescent tube lights called T5 bulbs. These bulbs produce much more UVB and last for about a year. If you have these, then you can put them so the lizard only has to get within about 12 inches away. You can also buy a metal reflector to go in the fixture that will increase the output of these tubes by about 2-3 times as much. If you think about the shape of the bulb (round), since only part of the bulb is facing the dragon, the back and side parts of the bulb are useless. Having the reflector means that the light from the sides and back of the bulb get reflected back down, so its not useless anymore.

There are other types of UV lights, but for now that should get you started. Feel free to ask any other questions!