Lighting

[Vickie]

Hi all,

I'm still rather new to the beardie raising thing; however, my step children each received a bearded dragon for their birthday's in October. I just recently learned that the dragons need more than just a basking lamp, which I purchased yesterday. One of the dragons was twitching a little, and having a hard time walking. Seems to be doing much better with D3 calcium on his crickets and his new light. The light that I bought says that it provides essential UVA, UVB, light and heat all in one lamp. It's a 100W powersun uv bulb. Do I run this all day, or should I switch back and fourth every so often with the plain basking/heat lamp we had? Any other major advice would be great

Thanks,
Vickie

 

[li]

Hi and welcome.

So the bulb that you got really isn't the best choice. It doesn't provide enough UVB, although I know it says it does.

Hopefully since you just purchased it you can return it. The Reptisun 10.0 is the best one going right now. This is what it looks like. Get the longest one that fits your tank. Don't forget you need room for a dome for the heat bulb
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...42-504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-bulb.html

You need a holder for it if you don't already have one. You can get those at the DIY stores.
Here is a pic of my set up so you can see what I have.
To the left is the hot side. Dome with a regular household bulb for heat. The hood with the uvb in it, but don't get the combo I had, just get a fluorescent holder.

All lights should come on in the morning and off at night. No heat or lights at night. As long as your house stays above 60* your beardie is fine.