Light setup

[Geneticjim]

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...

Oh man. I can't win lol. I can readjust a bit. Can you suggest something? I'm at a loss I want to make sure he gets his heat uva/uvb. The side by side setup I had he was only getting under his heat light. It didn't look look like the uvb was getting him

 

[Hdrydr31]

Oh man. I can't win lol. I can readjust a bit. Can you suggest something? I'm at a loss I want to make sure he gets his heat uva/uvb. The side by side setup I had he was only getting under his heat light. It didn't look look like the uvb was getting him

I know I was afraid to say anything... Your doing good.. I don't know if you've seen my set up or not I can see if I can repost them I think I did it in this thread... Izzy is happy and healthy and her lighting goes (from left to right in her 55gal) Basking in a metal dome right next to that is a UVB (it's a coil I know not the best) then covering the 2/3rd's to the right is my T5 that's 30".
Izzy moves around alot from her basking area to right under the coil and she also spends time under the T5 in the am

 

[Hdrydr31]

This is how mine is and in the beginning when I first got her I just had the basking the coil uvb and I had a hood set up with a T8 and the hood was not correct so that's when I got the new hood and T5 and she grew up just fine and she's just under a year old and weighing in at 302 gr today..

 

[Geneticjim]

I know I was afraid to say anything... Your doing good.. I don't know if you've seen my set up or not I can see if I can repost them I think I did it in this thread... Izzy is happy and healthy and her lighting goes (from left to right in her 55gal) Basking in a metal dome right next to that is a UVB (it's a coil I know not the best) then covering the 2/3rd's to the right is my T5 that's 30".
Izzy moves around alot from her basking area to right under the coil and she also spends time under the T5 in the am

I appreciate your input! I am here to setup and care for Thoran properly.

 

[Geneticjim]

Is a Mercury vapor bulb overkill?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Is a Mercury vapor bulb overkill?

I really don't know anything about them just that they overheat if you don't have a dimmer/thermo on it ..

 

[Geneticjim]

I really don't know anything about them just that they overheat if you don't have a dimmer/thermo on it ..

They sound like a pita

 

[Hdrydr31]

I think the key is have good even decent lighting:Have a basking area, a good UVB and have 2/3rds UVB and add in good gut loaded bugs and good greens and really your little one will do fine... Keeping an eye on him seeing where he's spending time, how he's acting etc that's what clues you into what they want..
A interested, caring owner = happy healthy dragon

 

[PatsyB]

I have a thought......You said that the basking spot was 112degrees before you moved the light up? What if you swap the tank around, put the hammocks on the other side and the hide is your basking side? T5 bulbs have a reflector so they penetrate the mesh. I use the 10.0 bulbs and at 17 inches I'm registering good UVB coverage so you would be just fine with a lower basking spot.

 

[Geneticjim]

I have a thought......You said that the basking spot was 112degrees before you moved the light up? What if you swap the tank around, put the hammocks on the other side and the hide is your basking side? T5 bulbs have a reflector so they penetrate the mesh. I use the 10.0 bulbs and at 17 inches I'm registering good UVB coverage so you would be just fine with a lower basking spot.

Hmmm. I use a t5 5.0 and my tank is 18" tall. Should I keep the basking spot closer to the uvb light since its going through the metal screen? I'm just lost lol. Too much thinking about light placement. My wife thinks I'm nuts

 

[Hdrydr31]

Hmmm. I use a t5 5.0 and my tank is 18" tall. Should I keep the basking spot closer to the uvb light since its going through the metal screen? I'm just lost lol. Too much thinking about light placement. My wife thinks I'm nuts

lol take a big breath your fine lol I totally get how your feeling I was there before too .....we all have been I got a butt load of bulbs of spares figuring out what to do where to place blah blah lol

 

[Geneticjim]

lol take a big breath your fine lol I totally get how your feeling I was there before too .....we all have been I got a butt load of bulbs of spares figuring out what to do where to place blah blah lol

Lol. That's y I was thinking MV bulb but it sounds like it opens up a whole other can of worms

 

[PatsyB]

We all go through the light obsession in the beginning. Having one in front of the other is just fine. The light fixtures themselves don't need to be overlapping but the lights should overlap on the same side. So you are good, you just need to get the basking light shinning straight down. Like I said I use a 10.0 and it gave good UVB coverage at 17 inches (I tested with a meter) I would think you would still get good coverage with a 5.0 at 8-8.5 inches down.

 

[Geneticjim]

I thank you both for dealing with my ocd and for your helpful info

 

[Hdrydr31]

I leave the mesh lids off during the day as I'm home and she doesn't crawl out unless to stare at me to bring her out. lol
T5 HO 5.0 tube UVB Zoo Med With Hammock 6" below and the bridge platform/ramp to go down to bottom.. my next bulb will be a 10.0
EXO Terra 150 coil UVB With angled bark log lowest at 12" up to 9"
Exo Terra 50 Watt Basking bulb top of bark log and hammock at 8" with the ability to get out of direct heat if on her hammock.