New to forum, light and temperature question

[ashley7988]

I haven't gotten my beardie yet. I just bought a 40 gallon breeder tank and am in the process of getting everything together this week. I was told by a woman at a pet store that has a beardie that on one side you have a light that has the UVB, UVA, and heat combined, so I plan on getting that. I know the temperature on the basking side should be between 100-105 degrees. Well with that light, that would be the only one on during the day and then another light at night (what she told me to do) she said that as long as the cool side was above 65 degrees then thats fine... I thought it should be at 85 degrees?

Last question is how long do I leave the daytime light on and how long do I leave the night time light on?

I have read that you don't need a night time light at all, but in the zilla kit I got it has a night time light. I've done a ton of research through google but I'd rather know from people that have dragons.

 

[Germ]

Kudos to you for wanting to prep & get everything set up properly prior to acquiring your new BD.

I haven't gotten my beardie yet. I just bought a 40 gallon breeder tank and am in the process of getting everything together this week. I was told by a woman at a pet store that has a beardie that on one side you have a light that has the UVB, UVA, and heat combined, so I plan on getting that. I know the temperature on the basking side should be between 100-105 degrees. Well with that light, that would be the only one on during the day and then another light at night (what she told me to do) she said that as long as the cool side was above 65 degrees then thats fine... I thought it should be at 85 degrees?

For the most part, Pet Stores are one of the poorest source info on these beautiful creatures. Quite often the advice is harmful, the many threads on the subject will attest to that. The bulbs that have UVB & Heat combined (UVA is basically nothing more than 'White' light) are MVBs, Mercury Vapor Bulbs. These bulbs are designed for much larger enclosures, as they have minimum safe distances that must be adhered to & generally cannot be achieved in a small enclosure like a 40 Gal Breeder. In a 40 Gal, a 10.0 (10%+) UVB tube or compact, the tube being the better choice & a separate heat Bulb, both covering the basking spot, is the much safer choice for the health & wellbeing of your BD. If you get a a baby or a Juvenile, the Basking temp should be in the vicinity of 110F & should be measured directly at the basking spot, not the ambient temp of that whole side. Should have a Heat Gradient to 80-85F at the coolest area of the enclosure (Cool Side). The Basking temps you mentioned above are for adult BDs.

Part of the info is correct, night heat is not required unless your ambient room temps drop below the mid to low 60s F at night. BDs should be allowed to cool at night, it slows their metabolism down for a good nights rest. Night Lights of any Color will bother most BDs sleep & if night heat is absolutely required, a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) should be used, which provides heat but no light.

Last question is how long do I leave the daytime light on and how long do I leave the night time light on?

A BDs Day\Night schedule should be 12-14 hrs on, the rest off. Most of us have found that 12on\12off to be the better schedule. No night light, as mentioned above. A BDs Day\Night schedule should be consistent, On\Off at the same time of the day, everyday. An electronic\digital timer is an invaluable tool for this, will take care of the lighting when you or someone can't be there or happen to forget.

I have read that you don't need a night time light at all, but in the zilla kit I got it has a night time light. I've done a ton of research through google but I'd rather know from people that have dragons.

Kits are notorious for having the wrong lighting & equipment for these guys. Generally have the wrong type of Day bulbs, weak or no UVB, unneeded night lights, thermometers that are useless & not functional in this application. The round stick to the glass thermometers provided, do not give you the readings where needed, most of the time are not accurate. Even when they are, give the temp of the Glass, which is affected as much by the outside ambient room temps as the inside enclosure environment, therefore give inaccurate temps. They do not read the temps where needed, which is directly at the basking spot, not half way up the back glass where your BD will never be or have access to. Electronic Digital thermometers with remote or wired sensors\probes are what is required, so they can be placed\attached directly on\to the basking spot itself to give accurate readings of the basking temp & another that can be placed on or attached to the coolest area of the enclosure, generally the area furthest from the Basking\Heat Bulb.

A few good links to help get you started ...

Basic BD Care Sheet - A Place To Start

Bearded Dragon --- Exclusive Care Info Library

Beautiful Dragons Nutrition Chart

Is Bearded Dragon Co-habitation a good plan?

How To Sex A Bearded Dragon

Hope some of this helps & Good Luck.

 

[ashley7988]

Thank you so much!!! I just want to make sure I'm setting it up right so I'm going to hopefully repeat the info correctly. o
Okay so I need to get the tube light. The tube UVB and heat lamp will run for 12 hours during the day and nothing at night. My house stays around 70 degrees at night so should I get a CHE? I plan on getting a baby or a juvenile. I've been searching fot a reputable breeder here in Georgia, I don't want to get a BD from the pet store. It kinda sucks that the stuff in the kit is wrong... Those things are expensive but I want to make sure I do everything to ensure my BD lives a long and healthy life.

 

[Germ]

No you would not require a CHE, as your ambient room temps are well within comfortable ranges for the BD.

You are very welcome. Once again, you are doing a good thing, getting all your ducks in a row to bring your new dragon to a proper environment. Many don't & I commend you for it. Read over those links provided a couple of times, the majority of care questions are covered, you will have a much better understanding of their Basic Care. Feel free to voice any concerns on the forum, there are many knowledgeable people on the forum, more than willing to give you good, solid, reliable advice & help that is sometimes hard to find on the net.

You do not have to use a Pet Store fixture for the UVB tubes, many of us use "Under The Cabinet" fixtures found at Hardware & Big Box Stores. An 18" or 24" would do the job nicely. These can also be hot glued to the glass under the screen to provide unfiltered UVB. A UVB bulb has a very limited effective range, a screen can block\reflect\filter as much as 50% of the effective UVB from ever entering the enclosure, meaning that Basking spot to bulb distances must be shorter, effective Bulb life is drastically reduced. Setup properly, above a the screen is fine, but you must replace the UVB bulb more frequently than without. It is worth thinking about, this quote illustrates ...

Here is the way that I mount and position the UV fixture in Mungi's 40 gallon Breeder enclosure...I do use the cheap fixture from walmart and it is hotglued to the inside back and side wall of the tank approximately 1 inch below the rim of the tank.

The basking bulb is suspended so that it is centered over the basking spot and the UV fixture is mounted so the the center of the bulb which is where the majority of the UV is emmitted is inline with the basking light and so that both lights shine down on the basking spot.
I also use a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil to help intensify and direct the UV light down onto the basking spot.
Hope this helps

 

[ashley7988]

Another thing the lady at the petstore told me was that I would need a water conditioner to remove any impurities before bathing or misting your beardie. I would think that is necessary?
I'm still a little confused about the MVB's. In the links it mentions them but nothing with it being used in a 40. I'm going to take your word for it though as I am totally new to the BD world!
This could be a stupid question but if you use hot glue to glue the tube UVB bulb inside the tank will the heat from the other bulb not soften the glue? Again, I feel like its a stupid question but right now I'm asking every question imaginable

 

[ashley7988]

Scratch the MVB thing, I found another site that goes into depth about them. No can do with that bulb! I am going to glue the UVB tube into the tank. So with those bulbs, you can just get one from walmart? Does it say anything about UVB about it? The only tube bulb I've ever bought was for a fish tank haha

 

[Germ]

Another thing the lady at the petstore told me was that I would need a water conditioner to remove any impurities before bathing or misting your beardie. I would think that is necessary?

This could be a stupid question but if you use hot glue to glue the tube UVB bulb inside the tank will the heat from the other bulb not soften the glue? Again, I feel like its a stupid question but right now I'm asking every question imaginable

It is my stance that if you can drink it, so can your BD. I have not (never) used bottled water or purified water in over 11 years. I can see this being a practice if your tap water is extremely hard or has a high mineral, rust or iron content, but otherwise, IMHO, an unnecessary precaution.

Your heat bulb should not be shining directly on the UVB fixture, so should not affect the hot glue, mine have been fastened that way for many years without issue.

Scratch the MVB thing, I found another site that goes into depth about them. No can do with that bulb! I am going to glue the UVB tube into the tank. So with those bulbs, you can just get one from walmart? Does it say anything about UVB about it? The only tube bulb I've ever bought was for a fish tank haha

You can use an ordinary under the Cabinet fixture from Walmart or other hardware store, but the bulb must be replaced with a Specialty formulated UVB bulb sized to fit the fixture (T5, T8, T12 etc.), that you must purchase from your local pet or reptile supply. I recommend the ZooMed Repti-Sun or ExoTerra Repti-glo 10.0 UVB tube, the Arcadia UVB bulb is a newer up & comer also, that has some good reviews, if it is available in your part of the world, 18"-24" to fit the fixture from Walmart. Zilla puts out the Desert 50 bulb, but is not as strong of output, I do not recommend them, given a choice.

 

[ashley7988]

Thank you so much!!! You've been a huge help! =)