Mercury Vapor Bulb

[KrissyLeigh]

I got my bearded dragon as a newbie about two and a half months ago and she is about 3 months old now. The first and only light she has had is the MVB because that's what was suggested to us when we were buying her tank and accessories. It is the only light she has. So far the Mercury Bulb Has been wonderful although it does heat mostly the spot that it shines on up to 10 to 15 in. My beardie has a stick that inclines her towards the top of the tank so she is about 8 to 9 inches away from the bulb. The bulb is mounted on the side of the tank so it is about 2 to 3 in above the top of the tank. When I was gathering information about my bulb the advice that was given to me was that it provides all the heat and UVB that she needs as well as D3 so it was suggested that I get calcium and vitamins without D3 because the Mercury bulb already supplies it and if she gets too much D3 it can make her sick. I can easily keep the basking spot at the right temperature, between 100-110, the cool side stays between 75 and 80 degrees but I can easily raise the temperature by putting a blanket on top of the tank on that side or I have a plant seedling heat mat that I use on occasion, it puts off very little heat but when I put it on top it raises the temperature at least 5 degrees. She has a 20 gallon tank, we are planning to switch to a 40-gallon soon so I'm not sure if the light would affect a 40 gallon tank differently. But she has plenty of energy and she generally eats her greens and her crickets happily and doesn't seem to have any trouble digesting. And I often find her in her spot with her mouth open just enjoying the Heat. That's all I know. I hope some of that helps you. Good luck in your bulb choosing!

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I think you will run into some difficulties when you switch to a 40 gallon - both with heating and UVB coverage. I had to have a basking light in addition to my MVB to maintain proper heat gradient, and since it is a much bigger tank the uvb rays don't cover nearly as much of the tank.

Not trying to argue with you at all, just giving you a heads up from what I experienced. I tried the mvb but ended up going back to basking lights and the tube UVB.