# Light fitting



## Sarah47 (Mar 22, 2013)

Ok. Just bought a beautiful 4ft wood vivarium. I'm going to put a light fitting in for the reflector bulb. Can I buy just any from a DIY shop? Does it have to be a special one. It's not for a ceramic bulb just a 60w reflector bulb. Plus does it need to be 100w or will 60w be ok? Thanks


----------



## Sarah47 (Mar 22, 2013)

Sarah47 said:


> Ok. Just bought a beautiful 4ft wood vivarium. I'm going to put a light fitting in for the reflector bulb. Can I buy just any from a DIY shop? Does it have to be a special one. It's not for a ceramic bulb just a 60w reflector bulb. Plus does it need to be 100w or will 60w be ok? Thanks


Sorry. Should say its for a bearded dragon


----------



## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Sarah47 said:


> Ok. Just bought a beautiful 4ft wood vivarium. I'm going to put a light fitting in for the reflector bulb. Can I buy just any from a DIY shop? Does it have to be a special one. It's not for a ceramic bulb just a 60w reflector bulb. Plus does it need to be 100w or will 60w be ok? Thanks


Firstly, well done on heeding the advice given and buying the 4ft straight off. Seeing as its a low wattage bulb you will probably get away with a regular plastic fitting. I myself however use ceramic bulb holders just to be sure as they can get quite hot especially if on full whack. THIS is an example of what I use. Bulb wattage depends on ambient room temps however I would imagine 60w will be plenty, it usually is. Try a 60w and go up in increments if needed until you're happy. 

If you're using a dimmer stat then remember you want to have the bulb dimmed as little as possible so it remains bright, if it is dimming too much then you either need to reduce bulb wattage or increase the distance between the bulb and basking spot. : victory:


----------



## Sarah47 (Mar 22, 2013)

Thank you. Where's the best place to put the thermostat probe in the viv?


----------



## Tyzer (Nov 11, 2012)

Hi 
Thanks for listening and getting the 4ft your beardie will be much healthier and look better 
I use a 100w for my 5 foot viv so 60w should be fine for a 4 foot 
Also i use the light fittings that you get in your house youl find them in alot of hardware shops for 2-3 pounds


----------



## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Sarah47 said:


> Thank you. Where's the best place to put the thermostat probe in the viv?


Agh. I hate that question. Its a really difficult one to answer and people differ in their views. It also depends on which stat you have. 

Chances are (unless you're buying one of the new digital stats) your stat will not allow the probe to get up to above 32-34c. This means if you place the probe directly on the basking spot it will dim the bulb at 32-34c so will not allow the basking spot to get up to a high enough temp. So obviously for this reason you can't place the probe there. 

So, you have to place it further away from the bulb. This means the bulb will only dim once the probe location has hit the temp you've chosen on the stat. If you place it just outside the basking zone then chances are it'll be far enough away to get the basking spot to a high enough temp 41-45c. Because it is fairly close to the bulb it will have good quick control over the basking temp, any slight fluctuation in temps at the basking spot will result in the stat acting accordingly. However, if for some reason the cool end where to get too hot then the probe would of course not pick this up being located in the hot end so the stat will effectively have limited control over the cool end temps. 

You could of course place the stat probe in the cool end to get around this. If you did this and set the stat to say 25 then it would ensure your cool end never rises above this temp (within reason) so would ensure that your dragon always has a cool place to go to if it needed, which is very important as of course it will mean you never overheat your dragon. However, with your stat probe in the cool end it has less control over the basking temp. For example, when your viv is warming up the bulb will be on full whack and the basking spot could reach extremely high, possibly dangerous temps and with the probe in the cool end the stat will not recognise this until the cool end reaches the set temp on the stat, only then will it dim the bulb. 

Its a catch 22 really and you need to decide yourself what works best for you. What I will recommend again is its very important to use the correct wattage bulb. As I said you want a bulb which is basically always at near enough full power when at your set temp. This means that even if something were to go wrong and the bulb were to go constantly on to full whack it will be little different to how it is controlled by the stat so it will not become dangerously hot. If you have a unsuitably high wattage bulb then it will firstly dim to much when its reached desired temp as it doesn't have to work much and if something were to go wrong it would drastically increase in temp becoming dangerous!

Sorry for all the text, it really is a difficult explanation and there's a lot to cover. I hope it isn't to confusing. Don't be to put off, a lot of it comes down to first hand experience which is why I suggested getting the viv all set up way before bringing home your dragon. : victory:


----------



## Sarah47 (Mar 22, 2013)

tomcannon said:


> Agh. I hate that question. Its a really difficult one to answer and people differ in their views. It also depends on which stat you have.
> 
> Chances are (unless you're buying one of the new digital stats) your stat will not allow the probe to get up to above 32-34c. This means if you place the probe directly on the basking spot it will dim the bulb at 32-34c so will not allow the basking spot to get up to a high enough temp. So obviously for this reason you can't place the probe there.
> 
> ...


Have you seen the new habistat high range dimmer stats? I assume the probe would go in the basking end? They go up to 40c


----------



## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Sarah47 said:


> Have you seen the new habistat high range dimmer stats? I assume the probe would go in the basking end? They go up to 40c


Well it could go in the hot end yeah but not directly under the basking lamp as ideally you want a temp of at least 41c, I tend to run at 45c at the hottest point with a gradient down to 40c.


----------



## Abercrombiezombie (Mar 16, 2013)

For a beardie, you need temps of around 140f basking. 

To get that, you will need a 100w which packs out plenty of heat. In order to cope with the heat, PLEASE dont use a normal fitting from the local DIY.

The link to the stuff in the ebay sale is what you need, but I would add some fire board between the fitting and the viv.

You will get some say its over kill, but I know quite a few with burnt vivs, and even one or two with burnt homes, due to not dealing with the heat. The costs of these bits is not high, and its sure a lot less than you could be looking at.

As far as a stat, I dont know any stat that works as high as 140f designed for reptile use.

Only problem you may get is not getting a gradient in the viv due to it being 4 foot.
If it gets to hot, pop a 75 w reflector or even a 60w. Thermometer is way more useful in a beardie set up than a stat.


----------



## IanC (Dec 15, 2012)

AbercrombieZombie said:


> For a beardie, you need temps of around 140f basking.
> 
> To get that, you will need a 100w which packs out plenty of heat. In order to cope with the heat, PLEASE dont use a normal fitting from the local DIY.
> 
> ...


plse tell me you dont really mean 140f ?? 60c ?
i can get to Toms quoted temps 40c-46c using a 60w spot bulb in a 4*2*2 viv quite easily and i use ceramic bulb holder the cheap plastic ones can burn or melt which is not good


----------



## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Ignore AbercrombieZombie! You do not need that high for a beardy, and in a standard 4ftx2ft viv you're likely going to overheat the tank and, as he said, cause a fire hazard.

Tom's advice was spot on, stick to that advice regarding temperatures. If your beardy basks for long periods of time you can up the temperatures but it's important to keep the cool end cool enough.


----------



## Sarah47 (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks. I've got a 100w halogen bulb in and it's not getting the ambient temps right. I've got 30c hot to 25c cold end. Don't know what to do. Add a ceramic heater?


----------



## Abercrombiezombie (Mar 16, 2013)

Yes I do mean 140f.

Although I should say up to, which means 120 to 140 f.

But then I dont have one or two Beardies and havnt had them for a year or two..... :whistling2:

Ideal set up is a min 6 by 2 foot with an un stated heat source regulated according to environmental factors by the wattage. The size viv allows for heat dissipation and gradient.

Just check the ave temp of their natural enviroment and tell me that only gets to 86f !

Oh, and unless your in a very cold environment, it wont be often your home gets to less than the aussie desert at night time, so no need to wast funds on heat mats for the night !.


----------



## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Abercrombiezombie said:


> Yes I do mean 140f.
> 
> Although I should say up to, which means 120 to 140 f.
> 
> ...


You left out a fair bit of information there! To suggest a basking spot of 140F in what most would assume as a 4x2x2ft viv (which is the minimum recommended around here) is dangerous for the animal as it won't get the cool area it needs. It would perhaps be better if you recommend that thermogradient and state the viv size too, otherwise a lot of newbies (and their animals) would be in trouble! 

I also didn't see anyone saying basking spot should be 86F?

I also wouldn't recommend anything unstatted for newbies. Yes it can be done where lights are concerned, however with such high temperatures I would suggest using a thermostat (even a crappy mat stat) as a safety net.


----------



## Abercrombiezombie (Mar 16, 2013)

An animals requirements is not dependent on the size enclosure you choose for it. 

I state there could be a problem due to it be a 4 foot viv.

Location should not make a difference to what is seen as the lowest recommended needs of an animal.

Yes, I mis quoted the temp of 86 from care sheet I read on this very forum, apologies for that error.

A stat will help if the heating equipment it over rated for the environment and it reaches the levels needed. Although the idea of locating the probe further away from the source kind of works, its a false practice as it does not take account of the basking area.

A crappy mat stat as you call it works fine on heat elements up to 100w, but to suggest one would be better than nothing on a 100w spot (the example used) is dicing with problems, operation on the very edge of tolerance is never a good idea.

A temp range of just 5 or 6 c is pretty limited!
and suggestions to use household fitting going un noticed !

dont tell me, a beardie under a lamp with its mouth open is panting and to hot ?


----------



## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

Abercrombiezombie said:


> An animals requirements is not dependent on the size enclosure you choose for it.
> 
> I state there could be a problem due to it be a 4 foot viv.
> 
> ...


mat stats on bulbs dont work - thats why they call them mat stats. the bulb will blow often. 

Beardies will pant under a heat bulb - this is becuase their head is smaller than the rest of their body and gets hot more quickly - the panting is trying to keep the head at the right temperature while the rest of the body warms up.


----------

