Sorry, i initislly posted this in the general forum, but i figured I would get more info in the bearded dragon forum. Hello all, I am new to this forum. I registered because of all the great info I found. I have a question I hope to find the answer to. I have a 1 year old bearded dragon in a 40 gallon breeded. I am waiting for delivery of a zoomed slider hood for this tank. I wanted to know if anyone is using this hood with a mercury vapor bulb. I really like the look of the hood and the benefits of these bulbs. The hood has 3 incandecent porcelain sockets. I was thinking of using the center socket for a 100W mercury vapor bulb and the left one for a night light. Please share any thoughts on this setup. Thank you, Joe
This actually belongs in the Lighting/heating forum, but I'll give it a shot anyway. I have my beardie in a 20L with a 30" Slider hood. I switch between 50W and 75W Halogen bulbs on the left side (these hoods less than 36" only have 2 sockets). You want to put the heat source on one side (not the center) to create a heat gradient. Your dragon can then move around in the tank to the comfortable temperature. Whether you put the night light in the center or the other side depends on how the tank interior is arranged and where the dragon typically sleeps. See the care sheet for beardies on the site for what temperatures they should be kept at. I love this hood too, but it has some design flaws.
Will you be getting a bigger tank anytime soon? 40 is a bit too small for an adult beardie. How big is he? I am not 100% sure, but from what I have heard you shouldn't use a 'hood' for lighting since it covers the whole top of the tank. You should use a screen cover and put a UVB/Fluorescent and the heat bulb on top of the screen so there is air circulation through the exposed screen, and no humidity build-up. I am still new to BDs as well, and have learned alot here. I will be getting my first beardie in a month or so. So, maybe other more knowledgeable people will have better advice. Also, you mentioned a night light. Supposedly it is bad to have light on at night for BDs since they like to sleep in total darkness, so if you want heat at night get a ceramic bulb that is just heat and no light.
ok; you want to keep heat isolated to just one side. If possible, place the heat/uv (mercury vapor) bulb in the farthest socket. This aids in helping the dragon escape the heat and move to the cool side of the tank (which instead of 36", it would be better to have he/she in a 48").
I bought a 160Watt MVB today at a reptile show. I will put the MVB in the left socket and maybe a lower wattage ceramic heat element in the center for winter nights. This should yield the right temps throughout the day and night. Now my concern is that he may or may not be the proper distace to the bulb. I don't have a branch, but I do have a rock like structure that has steps for him to climb up. will be around 15" from the bulb. Is this a sufficient amount of space betwen the BD and the bulb? The packaging on the bulb states that the UVB rays will travel 16" with this bulb. I have no problem buying a branch if I need to get him closer to the bulb. Thanks, Joe
