Posted by:
BDlvr
at Sun May 20 05:51:23 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by BDlvr ]
Beach Beardie I'd like to see a pic. of your set up.
Well, to answer eminart's questions.
I love a 5' cage. The extra foot really helps with good temperature separation. But I think 18" just isn't wide enough unless you have no cage furniture. Once you put a hide log or something in, 18" just doesn't leave much width left. So if I had to choose I'd have to say go with 4 x 2. Also keep in mind that the minimum recommended floor space for an adult bearded dragon is 8 sq. ft. (4 x 2) and that a 5' x 18" is only 7.5 sq. ft.
I have MVB bulbs and am disenchanted with them. I'd go with the regular fluorescent tubes. A Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 gives penetration to 20". A Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 gives penetration to 12". So two 5.0's would be worthless if your dragon is over 12" from the bulbs.
In my terrariums, I have Zoo Med 10.0 bulbs running the entire length of the cage. I agree with Beach Beardie that in the winter the cages seem awfully dark. But, keep in mind that The tanks have a dark rainforest type background. When I built my new cage I installed three 3' strip lights in a 5 by 3 1/2 Melamine enclosure. When I put 3 bulbs in, the cage seems blindingly bright. The reason is that the white Melamine just has a lot of reflection. I therefore only use 2 of the fixtures which is 6 foot of bulbs in a very wide 5' cage. The Dachiu's only use (1) 3' fixture with a homemade reflector in their 4' by 3' enclosures and they seem plenty bright. There cages are white Melamine also. According to testing the Zoo Med's are good for a year. I split the difference and change mine every 9 months.
[ Hide Replies ]
|
RE: Help Me with Setup - BDlvr, Sun May 20 05:51:23 2007