# bearded dragon setup help with heating



## dippa (Oct 3, 2011)

Sorry if this is a stupid question(s)

Recently bought a 4x2x2 viv and have a 150watt infrared bulb for my basking area and a 10% uv tube at the back wall half way up. I have the basking bulb on a dimming thermastat but i'm not hitting the right tempature and can't figure out the best place to postion the sensor for the dimming thermastate. If I place the sensore at the other end of the viv I'm hitting temps upto 160f but once I bring the sensor closer the basking bulb goes off. 

*So my question is, where should I place the sensor and does it matter if the basking bulb goes of or does it need to be continously on to bask ?*

*Also should i use a 100watt rather then a 150watt in a 4x2x2 viv*

I've also seen many different vivs using two bulbs - one being a infrared and the other being a basking daylight bulb and also seen a ceramic heater with a pulse thermastat i think...

*If someone could please advize me on whats what and what should I use thank you *


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

I would use a lower wattage bulb. Depending on how warm your house is then I would suggest either a 100W or 75W. And I would definately use a white bulb. Beardies are attracted to white light and recognise this as a source of heat. An ordinary household reflector spot bulb is fine - you don't need an overpriced reptile one.

You need to play around with the wattage of the bulb and the placement of the stat sensor and sometimes even the angle of the bulb. Start off with 100W (as the weather is getting cooler) and placing the sensor about halfway along the viv on the back wall a couple of inches from the floor. Set the stat to 90F. If you find that the warm side is getting too hot and the cool side too low then you may have to angle the bulb so that it shines towards the cool side a bit. Once you have got the ambient temps right in the viv - mid 80s cool side and mid 90s warm side - you can turn your attention to the basking temps. Place a rock or log beneath the bulb and adjust the height of that until you have a basking spot temp of 115F for a baby or 105F for an adult.

Night time - all heat and light off. Unless your house drops below about 60F you will not need any extra heat.

It does take some trial and error - which is why it is a good thing to set the viv up a week or two before you get your beardie.

Hope this helps


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

as above 

Buy a white lamp. 75-100w

put the sensor halfway between the hot end and the cold end and monitor the temps. If you still cant adjust the thermostat to get the right hot temps move the sensor away from the hot end. If the cool end is too hot when the basking spot is correct lower the spot lamp over the basking area which will make the heat more localised in that area.

make sure the thermometer is placed where the dragon basks.


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## paulyervant123 (Aug 17, 2011)

I have 3 vivs of that size with beardies in, I have the thermostat and thermometer probes in the middle half way up the viv and set it to 32c, I find that the basking area under the bulb gets around 38c-42c.


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## jadeybaby (Oct 8, 2011)

Okay heres how mine is set up, for visual i'll add a pic. 

I have a 3ft viv. 
The temps are around 78 80 at the cool end. Now some may think im a little contravertial here. However, i dont have a thermometer at the basking end of my viv. The reason being this. Beardies Thermo regulate. They also open their mouths when basking. This tells me that my beardie is trying to cool himself down. So i gather from this that my beardy finds the basking temp hot enough. 

So with this in mind, i have set it up so that the prob for my habistat 300watt is in the cool end under his hid. This i set to 80f. 

I use a 160 watt bulb. I also (at the hot end) have a heat mat. This before people comment, IS NOT ON THE FLOOR. I have put it on the rear wall of the viv. I leave this on all day and all night. 

I also have a 10% uv tube that goes (from the cool end) 24'' across the length, this will be upgraded to a 12%, however the basking light has added uv till the new year.

By doing all of the above i manage to maintain 78-80f at the cool end and i have just checked 115f in the basking area.I turn off all lights at night and leave the mat on giving me....... wait for it..... 65-70f right the way through till the morning when the lights are back on. 

My beardy eats, poops and is happier than a pig in s**t as any beardy should be. 


Hope this helps.

p.s apparently imageshack.us is having problems, will post a pic a little later.


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## dippa (Oct 3, 2011)

Thanks for the advice everyone most appreciated - if you could please post a pic jadeybaby I would be greatful


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## jadeybaby (Oct 8, 2011)

dippa said:


> Thanks for the advice everyone most appreciated - if you could please post a pic jadeybaby I would be greatful














Okay from this picture you can see that there is a hide in the back corner, because beardies like to bury them selves when they sleep i have ripped up some tissue and put this inside. Also you can see at the front a thermometer food/water dishes etc. 
Under the hide i have put a standard floor tile with the rough side up. The tile helps keep his hide and the cool end ... cool but make sure it is rough side up otherwise they will slip and slide across it. 










In this picture, aside from my beardy, you'll see the basking light above a rather large log. Its about 15" front to back and about 10-13" across. This i actually found while walking my dog. I've pulled of most of the outter bark, and given it a good clean. 
I've found that the bonus with this is that there are little hidy holes for crickets, so depending how you look at it, your beardy will have to hunt for his food. This promotes more natural behaviour if you feed inside the viv. However this being said, if you do decide to feed your beardy in the viv
A: make sure MOST of the spare crickets are out when you put him to bed.
B: make sure there is veg, that your beardy can eat, in the viv at night. If there is food in there then the crickets shouldnt go and nibble on your beardy. 
The log, i would say, is about 8-10" away from the basking light. As i said before i get a good 115f at that distance on the log surface. 










Here is a view of the hole viv from the log onwards, you'll see the uv light running from the cool end, roughly up to the edge of the log. What you cant see very well in this pic is, that sticking up from the log, the thin branch that runs across the bottom, actually sticks up from the log to add an extra area for his to access the uv. 
Be careful with any logs or branches you put in the viv. make sure they cant wobble or fall over and squish your beardy. 

One last thing that you cant see is the prob which enters the viv behide the large log, and ends up under the hide at the other end. This is where i started out with the prob under the basking spot. however as my habistat only goes up to 95f the light switched off ever few minutes. As beardies are attracted to white light it sort of rendered the light pointless so opted for moving the probe. Seems to all work fine now.

One thing you will find, is that you will continually be learning. And even setting up the viv takes adjustments all the time till you find something that works for you and your beardy. For example, the imp head that is in my picture, not perticularly useful but he likes climbing on it and i like the look of it.

Hope this helps and sorry if its a little long winded.

Oh almost forgot. The heat mat is on the back wall behind the scenery. As i said this is never turned off. I will add though that the mat is optional. I only have it because my house gets very cold at night.


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

The set up looks great but is a little small for a dragon.
Would recommend a 4x2x2 with the same temp gradient and a dimming thermostat. 


Re the original question a 75w white bulb is usually enough and position the probe where you can get the basking temp to 100-105. This is usually halfway between the hot and the cold end.


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## jadeybaby (Oct 8, 2011)

He's only 4/5 months, planning to upgrade in a few months as im gonna be breeding down the line and will need the little vivs for the babies.


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