UVB Lighting Question! >_<

well i need a new UVB light but after googleing which is best i see so many different answers someone says the reptiglo is good but others say no some say the reptisun is good others say no! then there is MVB bulbs but i don't know which is best for him!



and secondly i want to hang my UVB on the inside of his cage because on the outside of the screen its atleast a foot away from him so if i am able to put it inside it would be easier to leave it at 6 inches so he can benefit from the UVB how do i hang it from the inside tho?

ummmm ...I use Power Sun, I get them at Pet Mountain.com they are by far the cheapest there...literally half the amount of what you would find in store. They do need to be kept 12-18 inches away from the reptile. I use this for all my UVA/UVB needing reps.

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

ummmm ...I use Power Sun, I get them at Pet Mountain.com they are by far the cheapest there...literally half the amount of what you would find in store. They do need to be kept 12-18 inches away from the reptile. I use this for all my UVA/UVB needing reps.

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umm...not to sound like a pest or a troll or anything but i was just reading the caresheet on here and it said this



"Anything lower will not produce the uvb requirments that a beardie will need for very long ( including 8.0s, and 5.0s). These fluorescent bulbs should stretch the length of your Beardies enclosure and your B.D. Should be able to come within 6-8 inches of the light. The UV light should be placed over the cage and not directed through the glass, glass will deflect the UV rays"


thats why i asked

That is true if you are using like a repti glow or some other flor. like that which will not provide you with heat. You will have to have a second light for heat.

PowerSun is basically an all in one. It is a mercury vapor so it has UVB and UVA and provides the heat as well. Even though these are more expensive we use them as to NOT have to use two bulbs and hopefully save a little on energy. If you decide to go with one....I would highly recommend not buying in the stores as they are typically right around $75. If you order from petmountain.com you can get them for about $35. Also if there are any problems they will ship you another right away even before receiving the other back. (I was really impressed with that). Also you will want to replace them about every 6-8 months. So all in all it is not cheap but for us it is easier and hopefully saves us just slightly on space and electricity.


If you are interested in bulbs like this I would NOT recommend Sun Glow. Personally speaking I just did not have good luck with the bulb....and I don't know why but I always felt like it was the generic version and really unsure about its output.

By the way....you are not a troll....lol. Ask away...I love to help out other herpers... :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

That is true if you are using like a repti glow or some other flor. like that which will not provide you with heat. You will have to have a second light for heat.

PowerSun is basically an all in one. It is a mercury vapor so it has UVB and UVA and provides the heat as well. Even though these are more expensive we use them as to NOT have to use two bulbs and hopefully save a little on energy. If you decide to go with one....I would highly recommend not buying in the stores as they are typically right around $75. If you order from petmountain.com you can get them for about $35. Also if there are any problems they will ship you another right away even before receiving the other back. (I was really impressed with that). Also you will want to replace them about every 6-8 months. So all in all it is not cheap but for us it is easier and hopefully saves us just slightly on space and electricity.


If you are interested in bulbs like this I would NOT recommend Sun Glow. Personally speaking I just did not have good luck with the bulb....and I don't know why but I always felt like it was the generic version and really unsure about its output.

By the way....you are not a troll....lol. Ask away...I love to help out other herpers... :-)

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wow really informative answer! thanks!!! i was looking at pet mountain... and its absolutely insane how cheap it is compared to my local pet store!!! i think im gonna go with a repti-glo tube bulb for now tho because i just got a new heat lamp and dome haha =P but really thanks a billion for such informative quick answers!!!

I'm not sure what it's called but we use the 10.0 Exo-Terra brand long tube and the 10.0 compact fluorescent. We're probably going to be switching to a MVB very soon. It's coming up on time to replace both of them. Also, our beardie doesn't really like to be on the sand [<- also, sand isn't the best substrate for babies just so you know. we got bad info when we first got our beardie but she does incredibly well on sand and absolutely refuses to eat anything that falls on it when she throws food out of her bowl]. She sits in her towel covered tree half the day [under the heat bulb] and spends the other half on top of her log under the UVB bulb. Both put her up about 6 inches closer to the bulb. But

Hey Mav......our beardo :P....is on laminate. My hubby made a custom cage and we use laminate for pretty much all of our lizards. Its pretty cheap and easy to clean and disenfect. We cut the laminate to fit the cage and then take the same color caulking and do just a very very thin layer in the cracks. Its cheap...inexpensive....clean....no smell....and easy to work with. We even put this laminate on the sides of our enclosures as well. Just keeps everything sealed and safe!! After that you can just decorate as you wish. We have started making all of our own backdrops from styrofoam and cement. Its super uber easy and fun as you can make what ever you want...

Hope that helps you!!

Yea we've been looking into different substrates, but we just changed the sand when we moved with some calci-sand we had left over. Next time we need to change it, we'll probably do laminate since it sounds the easiest. We hadn't heard anything about it first hand though! Thanks for the tips! Do you just wipe up the poo with like a paper towel? Is it safe to use Lysol/Clorox type wipes with beardies? Though I will miss seeing her dig into the sand when she sleeps sometimes.

I don't mean to thread-jack. If you can message me back that would be awesome!

use the Reptisun 10.0 flourescent tube bulb or if you are in the UK get the Arcadia 12. They are the best :) oh and make sure your dragon can get like 6 to 10 inches away from the uvb. News paper or paper towel or tile is the best substrate won't lead to impaction.

Clorox wipes is what i use I just ring them out then after wiping with that i'll wipe with a damp paper towel.

I use chlorohexadine personally. I order it from reptilebasics.com It is super super cheap to buy a big ole gallon. You mix a little with a bunch of water and it last FOREVER!!!! We clean everything with this ...snakes, lizards etc. I even clean off my counters with it when I am doing something with raw meat and when someone is sick in the house I use it to clean off areas. It will disenfect everything and is totally safe for the animals. In fact if your animals have any cut or scratches this is what vets use to clean wounds with.

I highly recommend it!!!! Plus the best part is ....it really has no smell to it which is nice when you have an enclosure without a lot of circulation.

What I do in our cages is spot clean everyday. So spray some on and wipe it up. Then once a week or so I will totally clean the cage. But typically this is easy to clean up any urine or poo right away. Plus I have a little brush and pan that I brush up the greens with each morning prior to putting new ones in. Seriously our cages are literally perfect all the time. It just makes life so much easier and for beardies especially its very healthy and clean. Plus no smell....I hate the way the sand smell. UGH. You can however put in a small box of sand for them to play in if you want. Bob has a small "toy box" in her enclosure and we can fill it with sand for fun.

thanks guys i was currently away for 1 day missed my baby =P but im back now! and im going to get the bulb tonight i just gotta figure out a way to put it IN the cage so he's 6-8 inches away haha right now hes about 16