Light setup

[Geneticjim]

Hey all. Someone brought to my attention that my Beardy may not be getting enough uvb light with my current setup.

It's the zoo med heat and compact fluorescent bulb fixture should I get a Mercury vapor bulb for heat and added uva/uvb or should I go with a 24" tube uvb fixture with a separate heat lamp.
OR
is my setup fine?
I don't feel like spending a ton more cash on a setup though. I can also remove some of the screen on the top so the uvb doesn't get blocked.

Lol HELP [emoji16]

 

[ballpythoncrazy]

I've heard that the coil bulbs give out very little UVB and the screen will be blocking it all, so it's likely your beardie isn't getting any UVB at all.

You'll want to put a UVB tube fixture INTO the tank, so that it isn't blocked by the screen. UVB tubs don't get very hot so it won't hurt your beardie at all.

Besides that I LOVE your set up!

 

[Geneticjim]

I'm not too sure how I will get the uvb tube into the tank

 

[Hdrydr31]

Well is the flat one your T5 HO tube UVB? and the basking one what is that one coil or bulb? I have my T5 pretty much like yours slightly above the mesh which during the day while I'm home I leave her mesh lids off because she just likes to have her head up over the edge but stays in..

 

[Geneticjim]

I have these two bulbs the pet store owner who has breeded bearded dragons for about 20 yrs told me its a good setup.

 

[Hdrydr31]

That is what am using and Izzy is happy healthy and doing great.. the T5 HO are great UVB tubes they will penetrate the mesh you just need to get him 6" away from it to get the benefits.
They are working well for me and Izzy is in a 55 gal

 

[Geneticjim]

The t5 that you have is a uvb 5.0?
What if I remove the screen below the uvb light?

 

[Hdrydr31]

The t5 that you have is a uvb 5.0?
What if I remove the screen below the uvb light?

yep I have the same one just in a 30" length.
The way you have it set up yea you could remove some mesh from under the T5 if you want. Just know each dragon is different some really do their best to get out, mine just hasn't/wanted to get out and I am disabled so I'm home most of the time to keep an eye on her as her set up is in the family room with us and the TV. Not to mention I give her running around time in a dragon proofed room so when she's in her tank she just want's to bask or sleep.

 

[Hdrydr31]

If your going to remove the mesh I think it goes 16-18" in penetration

 

[Geneticjim]

Thank you.

 

[Geneticjim]

Look what I found! Anyone try one? http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/E...Qcm9kdWN0Q2F0ZWdvcnkiO3M6ODoiTGlnaHRpbmciO30=

 

[PatsyB]

You're good with the T5 bulb even on top of the mesh. Just make sure the UVB and the heat lamp overlap a bit on the tank, they need the heat to absorb the D3.

 

[Geneticjim]

You're good with the T5 bulb even on top of the mesh. Just make sure the UVB and the heat lamp overlap a bit on the tank, they need the heat to absorb the D3.

That's y I was thinking of the mvb bulb since my setup it doesn't seem to over lap since the fixtures are side by side

 

[PatsyB]

You could move the UVB to the front this is how my heat and UVB is set up:

 

[PatsyB]

Nevermind, I looked at your other photos and saw that the front is how you get in the tank. You could put some sort of hanger on the wall that would allow the dome to come over the front of the tank. Like a shelf bracket or something.

 

[Geneticjim]

Nevermind, I looked at your other photos and saw that the front is how you get in the tank. You could put some sort of hanger on the wall that would allow the dome to come over the front of the tank. Like a shelf bracket or something.

I could always move the uvb to the front. It's not a big deal to move it to the back when I go into the tank. Will it reflect enough to hit the back? Ugh I should have just built a tank

 

[Geneticjim]

I could move his heat lamp hanger to the side closer to the front and angle it towards the back. Then just have the uvb hood in the back more towards his basking area

 

[Hdrydr31]

You just don't want to be moving the T5 UVB around alot to get him in and out as that can decrease the lifespan of the bulb. That's 1 of the reasons I mounted the shelf brackets to the wall I can slide it over or just let the dome one that I have on a dowel...

 

[Geneticjim]

OK so I guess I'm being ocd but I rearranged my lights. Better?

I checked the temps and it still get to 107. I had to raise the light a bit it was nearing 112.

 

[Hdrydr31]

It's looking good-only thing I hate to say is keep an eye on him and if you see him closing his eyes alot or he's avoiding the light area it means the light is hurting/bothering his eyes. typically you want the lights aimed down. Dragons have those ridges over their eyes to protect them from the sun that's shining down...