Basking lights

[Tim Winegard]

Hey, Everyone

I was wondering what wattage of light should I use for my future Beardie to bask in? If he was withing 6" of it.
Thanks alot

[Jeff_Favelle]

That would depend on the size of cage now wouldn't it? I mean, a 100W bulb in a 4x2x2 cage is nothing, but in a 10 gallon tank, you'd fry the lizard. More information is needed. A LOT more.

[Tim Winegard]

LoL
Sorry about that
But it is a 4x2x2 would this get a basking site 6-10 inches away the right temp?
Thanks

[Tim Winegard]

This would not be the only heat source in the cage though

[Jeff_Favelle]

Ok, now wattage of the bulb isn't the only factor. Is it going to be an incandescent? A flood? A spot bulb? All those things matter too.

[Jeff_Favelle]

For our dwarf monitors, we use a 125W Flood in each cage (4x2x2). The bulbs are 12 inches away from the spot where the lizards bask and the temps get to 140F+. Just to give you an idea. Also, each surface (including the lizard's skin) absorbs heat differently. So that can affect your desired temperature ranges as well.

[Tim Winegard]

Thanks,
I was gonna use a 100w tight beam basking light and a ceramic heat emiter to get the temp of the cage up
The basking site is supposed to be about 100-110F
what wattage should I use for this??
Thanks again

[Jeff_Favelle]

Hmmm... floods work better than spots. A spot bulb reminds me of a magnifying glass. They scare me to death.

[lance]

yeah i agree with jeff
try to stay away from the spots

[Tim Winegard]

Ok so..
Im building a wooden enclosure for my Beardie. I was wondering how big flood lamps are? Would they fit in the cage or would I have to cut I hole in the top. Its a 4x2x2 melamine with front sliding glass.
Thanks again guys

[eyespy]

A flood should fit in your cage just fine. So many factors contribute to how much heat your bulb will throw, the best advice I can give you is to get a bunch of household bulbs in several different wattages. Try each in the cage for at least 2 hours with all the "furniture" you will be using and also your substrate of choice. This will give you a fairly good idea of what wattage you will need. There are some things household bulbs cannot simulate, though.

For example, I'm using a mercury vapor bulb right now to give both heat and UVB in my melamine cage. Before switching to MV I used a 150 watt bulb, but a 100 watt MV keeps my temps within range. Mercury vapor bulbs do get much hotter than regular incandescents. If you are planning to use one of them, make sure you have a ceramic light fixture with a heavy duty appliance-type cord and some good ventilation.

If you're using a tube fluorescent for your UVB, all you really need is a household bulb as your heat source unless for some reason you need really high wattage, in which case specific reptile bulbs might work better.

[Tim Winegard]

eyespy,
do you use commercial reptile lights to create a basking spot for your Beardies? If so what make and how many watts are you using. Also I will be using a fluorescent light for UVB its a Lumichrome 1xx
THanks alot

[eyespy]

I've got a real mish-mash of products in my house because I run a rescue and many of the products I use came with the rescued animals or were donated. If I am using a mercury vapor bulb, of course it's a reptile product, lol, and I use NatureZone, Zoo-Med Powersun or Capture the Sun bulbs.

If I am using fluorescent tubes, I just use a household incandescent to generate heat. They tend to burn out less frequently, are far less expensive and work just as well. My fluorescent tube of preference is Reptisun or Iguana 5.0 by Zoo Med. I have never used any other brand. If I get a different one by donation I exchange it as folks who use radiometers to measure UVB output all seem to agree that Reptisun is a good quality brand.

Many folks say they see improved color and activity levels when using mercury vapor over the fluorescent tubes but I haven't found that to be the case with my herps. I get good results either way.

I've never known anyone to take a radiometer to a Lumichrome, however, and I hear very good things about that brand. You should do just fine with that and somewhere between a 100 and 150 watt household flood light, depending on your house temp, substrate choice, and other variables.

[Tim Winegard]

Thanks again.
If I use a 100 or 150 watt flood light will it get a basking spot at the right temp. if it is about a foot away. I am having trouble with placing the bulbs the right distance away. And also would jus that one bulb keep the cage temp at 85F or would I need another heat source such as a ceramic heat emmiter?
Thanks again (sorry for all the questions) Im slow I guess. lol

[Uffern]

You want to make sure that the cool side of the cage does not excede 85 degrees.

My question for you is, what kind of ventilation does the cage have? Is it a big wooden box with glass on the front? How the cage is ventilated also has an impact on the heat.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Hey Tim, post pics of the setup when its done!! It'd be cool to see :D

[eyespy]

I don't need any additional heat source in my wooden cages, just the 100-150 watt bulb. This gives a basking spot of about 118 at roughly 11 inches away for the babies or 106 at 15 inches away for the adults, and a cool side of about 82. You do need to tweak the height of the branches, and I find that large flat pieces of shale or sandstone underneath them works beautifully. It also helps trim their nails and makes a nice belly warmer!

I like to put about 3 branches at different heights in a tripod type arrangement near the heat bulb so they have several different basking temps to choose from. You need to be absolutely sure these are secure and won't shift around to avoid pinning your beardie between them or the whole thing collapsing on top. Aquarium sealant works well once you've designed your creation. This works especially well for hatchlings so there's less competition for the prime spot.

Mine is basically a wooden box, with a 6x3.5" rectangle cut out of the back and a heating grill put over it for ventilation. There's also a 2" hole with a plastic cap for the power cords. The front is sliding glass panels, 1/4" thick.

[Tim Winegard]

Well its a 4x2x2 with sliding glass doors and about 4'x18" of pegboard running the length of the back. There is plenty of ventilation compared to some of the Beardie Cages I have seen. Its almost completed I started it yesterday.LOL. I will post pics of it when completed if your interested.
Thanks