# Uv lighting



## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi all just got our first bearded dragon and just after some advise please. 
We have a 14 month old bearded dragon and the Vivarium only has a basking light and a heat mat, we have been told that the Vivarium needs a uv light but there is no fittings(housing)in the Vivarium. I have been given a power supply for a uv tube but doesn't have a deflector shield, firstly do I need a deflector shield and can a ordinary householder fluorescent tube be ok for a uv light?? Cheers in advance.


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

You need a reptile uv tube as the the ordinary flourescent house tubes do not give out uv which the animal needs. You need a high output one such as arcadias 12% and yes a reflector is a must. Is the power supply a starter unit?


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks for getting back to me, when you say a starter unit not too sure what u mean but what I've been given is a power supply and at the end of it is 2 connectors that just push in at each end.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

that is probably the starter unit, just make sure you get a tube that will fit it (it should say on it which type, for eg T8 )

you can get reflectors and tubes at most pet shops and online shops including ebay, for eg Arcadia T8 D3 range


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks for that advise I'm on eBay now looking. The Vivarium is 3ft long so I'm lookin for a suitable deflector shield and tube now. Thanks again


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

unless you are building a starship, you want a Reflector rather than a Deflector Shield :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Lol I thought that when I posted it. Deflector shield was for the Death Star lol


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Just checked the power supply and it says t8 on it and also says upto 40 watt so I'm thinkin AS its a 3ft Vivarium I will only need an 18" tube? Is that right????


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Is this bulb fine for a 3ft Vivarium 



Hagen Exo Terra Repti Glo 15 watt 5.0 Vivarium Reptile
Tropical Terrarium Tube/Bulb 18"

- 30% UVA
- 5% UVB
- 15w 220/240v
- 46cm(18") 
- 25.5mm diameter
- Tropical Terrarium Lamp
- For reptiles with high UV requirements
- Ideal for all tropical and sub-tropical reptiles
- UVA (30%)stimulates appetite, activity and reproductive behavior
- UVB (5%) promotes Vitamin D3 synthesis
- Recommended in combination with Repti~Glo 2.0
- Suitable for tropical animals such as Phelsuma Species, Iguana Species, Tropical Tortoises, Chameleon Species, Most Turtles, Fire Skinks etc


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

for a beardie you want 10% UVB, look for a UVB 10.0 version (often labelled as for "desert" species)


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks very much that's what we just ordered. Thanks for all your help on here


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Can I just point out that a 3ft viv is not big enough for an adult beardie, 
4 x 2 x 2 is the recommended mimimum. Also how are you using the heat mat? They really are not much good for beardies or any diurnal lizard really. If it's for night time use then your better off with a ceramic bulb and stat but night time heating is not needed unless temps drop as low as 60f.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi Debbie we have been told that a 3ft Vivarium was fine but we are looking to try and get a 4 ft one but at the moment a 4ft Vivarium is too expensive. We bought our beardie which came with the tank he is in. I was told by a pet store that it's fine to have the mat on all the time but as I don't sleep where he is of a nighttime I don't know if it drops below 60f. So I am getting conflicting advise from so many people/ stores about heat and mats and temperature. Thanks anyway for pointing out the Vivarium size. 


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

wait, stop!

your controller is MUCH too powerful and will burn the lamp out.

Putting 40w through an 18w tube will just burn it out

The science of lighting for reptiles is no longer a dark art, this is your animals life support system. Without the correct access it will get painful and expensive to mend metabolic conditions.

if using a T8 system in a 3' viv you will need a 25w 12% UVB lamp and reflector fitted to the roof of the viv at the hot end. Then use natural stone under your hot spot so that the distance between the dragons back and the reflected lamp is 10" and no closer but the n trailing off into shade from there.

Heat, Light, energy from light in the form of UVA and UVB, hydration and nutrition are all core parameters that have to be supplied accurately and in a safe and measured way.

In essence we enact "wild re-creation" that is to copy the parameters of the wild in a safe and measured way. It is only in this way that we safely supply the needs of our pets which are highly evolved and biologically diverse animals.

this may explain more Safe lighting for a bearded dragon : Arcadia Reptile

john


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Arcadiajohn said:


> wait, stop!
> 
> your controller is MUCH too powerful and will burn the lamp out.
> 
> ...




some power supplies offer a range of powers, eg 14-40W in a single unit - Are you saying that these power supplies are unsuitable for the power rating they claim John? want to know because I am giving my leo UV for the first time, and was hoping to simply use an old starter unit I have that's rated 14-40W, with a small UVB 2% bulb @ 14W...


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks for the heads up. We have ordered the correct bulb so all good thanks, we are looking for a 4ft Vivarium but they are a bit too expensive at the mo.


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

> I was told by a pet store that it's fine to have the mat on all the time but as I don't sleep where he is of a nighttime I don't know if it drops below 60f. So I am getting conflicting advise from so many people/ stores about heat and mats and temperature.


If you want to use the heat mat then make sure it is fitted on the side wall of the viv away from the dragon then. This ensures he wont fall asleep on the mat and get too hot. I don't know where some of these shops get their ideas from really I don't. Most of it seems to be old outdated advise and they just don't seem to have looked at recent changes.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi Debbie so do you think the heat mat is wrong to use??? We have the heat mat nearest to where the basking light is but he tends to not go that far over if I'm honest.


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Well I don't like them personally for diurnal lizards but some do use them without problems. But I definately would not place on the floor as they could easily burn the animal if they fell asleep on it, some heat mats can get very hot if not statted.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

It's on the floor but covered in calcisand so doesn't burn as he wont come into direct contact Cheers 


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

all heat sources must be controlled by a thermostat, without exception, that is the reason that animals get burnt by heat mats, its nothing to do with the mat or type of animal...its down to incorrect usage.

but with a beardie, you really shouldn't need anything more than the basking lamp/ceramic anyway, if setup properly it should provide the required basking and ambient temps


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Cheers for the help and advise guys much appreciated all the help. Just want to make sure we have everything right for him


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

So is the general feeling is heat mats are a Nono then?


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

a mat is just not necessary for a beardie with a heat lamp/ceramic, heat mats only get to about 40C, which almost 10C lower than a bearded dragon requires to bask at

(they can under some circumstances get allot hotter, but those temps are usually uncontrolled and dangerous)


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Once the uv light arrives on Tuesday and I've fitted it I will switch off the Heat mat and see how we get on. Cheers mate


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

some digital controllers can run a range of wattages, we make a twin, so it runs any 2 lamps between 18 and 40w.

if it is a set wattage controller like 99.9% of all controllers and it says 40w and you run it with an 18w lamp you will burn the lamp out for sure

very, very few are multi wattage

john





CloudForest said:


> some power supplies offer a range of powers, eg 14-40W in a single unit - Are you saying that these power supplies are unsuitable for the power rating they claim John? want to know because I am giving my leo UV for the first time, and was hoping to simply use an old starter unit I have that's rated 14-40W, with a small UVB 2% bulb @ 14W...


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

hmm my old starter is definitely 14-40W, but i don't remember any controls for changing the power output, been a while since i used it, wil see what it says when i get it out of storage!

I thought that the Power rating tho, was a Max Power rating, it shouldn't be providing more power than is required by the appliance added to it, the power output should match whatever is being drawn from it? at least that's the way it works for other powersources I've used...? (not tube lamp sources)



Scott1970 said:


> Once the uv light arrives on Tuesday and I've fitted it I will switch off the Heat mat and see how we get on. Cheers mate


the UV light wont produce any useable heat, so you might aswel switch the mat off now, as long as the beardie has a ceramic or lamp heater...


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

We have a basking light at the mo


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Scott1970 said:


> We have a basking light at the mo


kool well as long as its providing a basking area of 115f/46C (temp of substrate directly below lamp), then you are good to go


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks for that. Some really great advise of all thank you


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

I think he is mainly wanting to use the mat at night time.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Actually it's on day and night.


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

You shouldnt need it on during the day if you have the correct wattage of heat bulb that should be enough.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

We have a 100 watt bulb in but it doesn't reach 110 on a good day it gets to 96. Don't know what else to try, but when the uv light arrives we will be hoping the temp increases


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Scott1970 said:


> We have a 100 watt bulb in but it doesn't reach 110 on a good day it gets to 96. Don't know what else to try, but when the uv light arrives we will be hoping the temp increases


what kind of blub is it? standard filament or a halogen flood? filaments are pretty useless, halogen flood (not spot) are great, I use only 2 X 35W halogen floods to provide a 135-145 basking spot for my monitor without to much troube

96f is no good, really need to get that sorted....get a Halogen Flood lamp, 42 or 50W will probably do, they are much more efficient


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

It's a 100w bulb from pets at home. The daylight basking spotlight


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Scott1970 said:


> It's a 100w bulb from pets at home. The daylight basking spotlight


then its probably a standard filament bulb...get a 50W halogen flood bulb and you shouldn't have any problem getting the right temp, i guess you have a dimmer thermostat aswell?

you can get halogen floods fairly cheap at supermarkets, although they don't tend to last as long as some of the bigger brands like GE, but they are cheap ~£3 for 2

halogens last 3X longer than standard filament bulbs too 

double check it is a Flood lamp not a Spot lamp, shoud be on the box, and the glass should be frosted


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

The box says Daylight basking spot (multi purpose) the make is EXO TERRA so I thought it was a standard spot. Do the halogen bulbs at supermarkets come with the large screw in type


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Scott1970 said:


> The box says Daylight basking spot (multi purpose) the make is EXO TERRA so I thought it was a standard spot. Do the halogen bulbs at supermarkets come with the large screw in type


yeah, E27 or Edison Large Screw, they are usually labelled with both - should also be R63 Flood (that's refers to the width of the beam)

I would get a few different power ratings, 42W, 50W and 60W, see which ones holds the temp best, try the cheaper ones first to see which power you need, might take a few weeks, and it may change for eg during spring and summer; once you know which power you need, then get the more expensive GE or Arcadia brand, which should last the better part of a year

those standard bulbs are ok for some species, when the only need ~90f basking temps, for not really much good for desert species - pets at home staff don't usually have much of a clue unfortunately!


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Just on sainsburys website now, they have halogen bulbs so what exactly is the bulb at sainsburys I'm goin to be lookin for?? Thanks


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Sainsburys have R50 halogen reflector bulb 28w. R63 halogen reflector bulb 42w
R80 halogen reflector bulb 70w


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

its very important that they are labelled as Flood, otherwise they can cause hotspots which can burn


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Will check when I get to sainsburys. Cheers


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

The bulbs say reflector can't see anywhere where it says flood


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Scott1970 said:


> The bulbs say reflector can't see anywhere where it says flood


i wouldn't risk those ones unless you can tell for sure if they are flood rather than spot, the risk of burns is too high unless its definitely a flood lamp - try Homebase or a dedicated lighting shop like Ryness (if they still exist, duno lol) - otherwise you can buy them online, GE are a good brand, so are Arcadia (although you pay a premium for reptile specific brands)


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Cheers mate


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

If the bulb doesn't say spot on it would that be the one???


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Scott1970 said:


> If the bulb doesn't say spot on it would that be the one???


not necessarily to be honest, you can try and check for yourself, if the glass is frosted that's a good sign, screw it in, and switch it on, and hold a piece of plain white paper underneath it and move it up and down 2inches to 10inches away from the light, if you see any bright spots on the paper, then it probably isn't a true flood and could be dangerous, if the lighted area is evenly bright with no brighter spots at all, then it might be a true flood...i'm not guaranteeing anything either way tho, unless it says Flood on the box


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

another way to check, is with an IR Thermometer Gun (an important bit of kit for a reptile keeper! £15-20 on ebay, or as much as you want to pay for more accuracy) leave the light running for an hour, and then use the IR gun and very very slowly sweep the gun over the basking area, try to cover every bit of it, and check for temperature spikes, if its all nice and even, then you are good to go - again, unless it says flood on the box, i'm not guaranteeing anything


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Cheers


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks again guys for all your help and advise. Gonna go and try tomorrow now. Great site this cheers


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

I would have thought in a 3ft viv that a 100 watt basking bulb would have got the temps needed unless it is a very high viv:gasp:.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

What's a vivgasp??


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Well Debbie yes you would wouldn't you and no not a high Vivarium ***128551;


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

many things can affect it - looking at the pics, the viv is sitting on a wooden floor, that will instantly drop the temp a few degree's, also its wooden beams with gaps, that will suck a little more heat out too, and the house central heating temp will affect it aswell

ideally you want the vivarium on a stand at least 1ft off the floor, and the central heating at 24C in that room - your 100W would probably manage ok in those circumstances...but of course neither of those things are practical for everyone, so higher powered heater is often the right solution


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

cloudforest I've not put any pics up of my viv lol. Gonna go today to a few other shops for some lighting.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

lol ok...must have been sumone elses thread


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

No worries mate.


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

I would what? Sorry dont understand.


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## TaxMonkey (Oct 14, 2014)

Debbie1962 said:


> I would what? Sorry dont understand.


I think he's referring to your statement below;



Debbie1962 said:


> I would have thought in a 3ft viv that a 100 watt basking bulb would have got the temps needed unless it is a very high viv:gasp:.


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Just a statement nothing meant by it. I have a 4ft viv with a 60 watt bulb in and it gets to the correct temps. It is a warm room so maybe that helps. I shall not comment anymore just trying to help.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

Debbie please don't be like that I wasn't meaning to offend you or anyone, I was simply agreeing with what you said.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

As I'm new to having a bearded dragon I want as much info/help as possible. Once again sorry if my comment was misunderstood.


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Sorry I misunderstood too. Thats the trouble with the internet sometimes. Big hugs lol.


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## Scott1970 (Jan 8, 2015)

No probs Debbie. Just off to get a 4ft vivarium so happy days


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