Lighting for my Baby Beardie!

[Tessa]

Hello! I'm fairly new to the forum and I'm just trying to make my baby's environment as comfortable as possible. I know I'm not doing things right but I'm trying to fix them. Right now I have him in a 20 gal tank. I will upgrade him as soon as possible but I'm sure it's okay for now.
I have a red light that a guy at repticon said is "all they need." This is obviously not true because I measured part of the tank temp and where the light hits, it's only about 89 degrees F. I really just need some help with this. I know there's a great website called LLL reptile supply. If someone could just tell me EXACTLY what I need and I will order it immediately. All this research is just confusing me and I just want my baby to be happy and warm.
Any help is appreciated!

 

[Tessa]

On Amazon I have different things in my cart. I have a hammock of course! Then I have a double pack of basking lights 100 watts each. Then I have a reptisun 10.0 high output UVB bulb 15 Watts and 18 inches. Is this good? Also how I mount the UVB in a 20 gallon tank? Thank you for your help

 

[Tessa]

I'm so nervous because it says that the stuff won't get here until nov 23-30 and I just want him to be warm and happy

 

[Hdrydr31]

On Amazon I have different things in my cart. I have a hammock of course! Then I have a double pack of basking lights 100 watts each. Then I have a reptisun 10.0 high output UVB bulb 15 Watts and 18 inches. Is this good? Also how I mount the UVB in a 20 gallon tank? Thank you for your help

Just make sure that you really watch the temps and watch your little guy for signs of being too hot, being that for now your little one is in a 20 it could get hot quickly, so being able to pull the light up away from him in the meantime while your looking into a larger tank. With being a 20 it's hard to provide a cool side for him to go to.
Just watch him as he will "tell" you what he is needing/feeling. You could even give him some light breaks with a timer even if it gets too hot.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I'm so nervous because it says that the stuff won't get here until nov 23-30 and I just want him to be warm and happy

Can you go to the local petstore to get a basking bulb (this can be your back up bulb) ? you could even go to the local home depot and get a metal dome clip work light.

 

[PatsyB]

I can't believe the person at Repticon told you all it needed was a red light that's insane! So...no red or any other color light whatsoever.

He's going to grow out of the 20 gallon tank quick so you are going to need to start thinking of getting a bigger tank. 40 gallon is the minimum for an adult. I've had both of mine in a 40 since I got them and they never had any problems with it. Just offered lots of things for them to climb on and places to hide. The other problem with a 20 gallon is that you aren't going to get a good temperature gradient. You need a basking spot that gets to 110 degrees (little more is okay) and a cool side that is 75-80 degrees. At night the whole tank can drop to 65 degrees with no problem.

When getting your light think about how big of a tank he's going to end up in. You want the UVB light to cover at least 2/3ds of the tank. Mine actually covers the whole tank and they have hides to get away from it. The Reptisun 10.0 HO bulb is good. If you have your light resting on a mesh top you should really go with the T5 size fixture and bulb because it penetrates the mesh more than the T8 size bulb. As far as mounting the light it can either rest on the mesh top or attached to the underside of the top. You want the light over them not on the side of the cage where it could hurt their eyes. Along with the UVB light and fixture you need a dome light fixture for your basking bulb. 100 watt bulb might be too hot for a 20 gallon but is okay for a bigger tank. I actually have had to use a 150 watt in the winter to keep it warm. Make sure your dome light fixture works with your light. I have some fixtures that can only handle a 100watt bulb. For basking lights you can use reptile basking lights or you an use halogen flood lamps that you can get from the hardware store. I prefer the reptile bulbs, I know they are more expensive but I just have better luck with them. I try to find sales and stock up.

You need two digital probe thermometers, one for the basking spot and one for the cool side. You can also get a temp gun and measure temps that way. You also need small crickets or dubia for him to eat. He's going to need to eat 3x a day as much as he wants to eat in 15 minutes. Salad items too...heres a food link to give you ideas. http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf

Little ones like to climb so a hammock is good. Bendy vines are also fun for them. You need to give a hide preferably one on each side of the tank so they can get out of the "sun" when they need to. They are good escape artists so make sure that your tank lid is on tight.

Amazon is a great place to get things that you need especially they calcium w/o D3 and multivitamins. Another site that I really like is Dr. Foster's and Smith. They always have good deals and sales. I got my Zoomed 36" T5 fixtures from them last year for like $50 each.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Well said PatsyB!

 

[mjp19827]

Ang zip a

 

[Tessa]

Thank you for your help everyone. I will make a bigger tank my next purchase. I want to be sure that he is comfortable in his tank of course. For now I will use the Reptisun and then the basking light. I have a thermometer, so I will keep an eye on that. He has many hiding spots where he can escape the heat/light. I will need to go grocery shopping for some greens for him! I tried feeding carrots and apples which he seemed to like the carrots a good bit.