What kind of lighting/heating is best for my baby?

[ProphesizeWithYourPen]

I have a 6-month-old Beardie in a 10-gallon aquarium. I'll get a larger aquarium for him one he's bigger, but right now he's pretty small; he was the runt of the litter.

I have a 60-watt basking light, a 10-watt UVB light, and an infrared light that's going to be on 24 hours a day. Is this adequate?

Also, do you think I need an under-tank heater?

 

[PatsyB]

That's a lot of lights for such a small tank! The hard part about heating a tank that size is you need a temperature gradient. There needs to be the basking area 105-110degrees and the cool side 85 during the day. At night (as I said in the other thread) the temp can drop to 65, no lower than that. You also need to provide a hide on both sides.

I would try to get a bigger tank as soon as possible.

 

[sayy_robbayy]

I have a 6-month-old Beardie in a 10-gallon aquarium. I'll get a larger aquarium for him one he's bigger, but right now he's pretty small; he was the runt of the litter.

I have a 60-watt basking light, a 10-watt UVB light, and an infrared light that's going to be on 24 hours a day. Is this adequate?

Also, do you think I need an under-tank heater?

I agree with the above response^^^

May I ask, why will the uvb light be on 24 hours a day ? Just wondering bc that's not necessary for your baby beardie

 

[sayy_robbayy]

Oops just re-read your post, I misread it. I thought you said you had UVB light that will be on 24 hours a day. Sorry about that ! Just make sure you have a cool side and a hot side with an even hotter basking branch/something for your baby to perch on. With a 10 gallon tank, this is hard to achieve. Petsmart will be having a $1 per gallon tank sale soon I believe at the beginning of the year so I would look into getting a bigger tank and this sale with help with cost efficiency. Also to help with cost, you should get a 50+ gallon tank that way your baby can grow up in it and you'll never have to buy another one. Having the 10 gallon tank as a feeding tank will be a good idea since you will have it anyway and this will keep crickets/roaches/worms from getting away from your baby beardie and hiding somewhere in its bigger tank. I hope this helps ! Best of luck ;D

 

[jarich]

Welcome to reptile keeping and the forum!

I agree with the need for a larger enclosure. As Patsy said, unfortunately it's just not possible to create the proper temperature gradient in such a small space. If you check on Craigslist or other such sites you should be able to find second hand tanks for quite cheap usually. Just make sure to give the little one lots of hiding places.

As for the lighting, unfortunately you've got a couple issues. First let's start with the UVB light. Sounds like you have a compact fluorescent bulb. They really only produce a small area of exposure, and not very good exposure at that. The animal needs to be directly underneath, within 6 inches of the bulb, or they get practically no exposure to UVB wavelengths. It's much better to use a long fluorescent tube style light that is about 2/3 the length of your enclosure. The high output T5 from either Zoomed or Arcadia are the best.

Second, when you say infrared heat light, do you mean one of those red bulbs or is it a non light emitting ceramic heater? If it's a red bulb, that actually gives off light, then it's best to ditch it. Dragons can actually see better than humans can, so those red lights are just as visible to them as they are to you. Since they have a light sensitive "eye" on the top of their heads that helps regulate their sleep patterns, these red lights on at night can cause unnecessary stress or issues. Ceramic heat emitters (CHE) are often used for night time as they give off only heat and no light at all. A undertank heating mat can also be used for increasing night time temperatures depending on your substrate. You can also use radiant heat panels, which I actually prefer, as they give off a nice even warmth as opposed to the extreme and drying heat of a CHE. Whichever way you go, it only needs to give enough warmth to keep your enclosure around 65-70 at night.