Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All

I am going absolutely crazy with the contradicting information from various different breeders regarding this dilemma. Unfortunately my Rocky has passed on and I have decided to rehome 2 more water dragons as babies to sub adult age. I have bought a 6L x 3W x 3H viv and I don't really know the best way to heat it. I have been told a hundred different ways by various breeders but now it is making the decision that is the difficult part because I am all confused! Some have said heat mats/others have said heat mats aren't enough to heat a viv that size. Some have said 150W ceramic bulb/others have said 150W isn't enough but a 250W would be sufficient. some have advised on an AHS 500W/others said that's way too much and I need a 350W AHS. Can somebody pleaseeeeeeee help! It was bad enough deciding on what size viv to get and now I have bought one there is no going back. Now I just need a good and efficient method of heating for it. And as for the UV lighting too, some have advised on 3 or 4 individual powersun bulbs instead of a 10.0 uv tube! I can't tell you how my head is spinning, but I would rather get it right the first time rather than have the Water Dragons sick and stressed because I didn't get it right and have to keep trying different methods! That is the last thing I want for them!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Thank You

that's kind of an odd configuration for CWD with it being longer rather than taller. If you put your heat sources, basking sources and UVB close together where they can bask and get UVB at the same time you should be fine. I guess it all comes down to how much you want to spend. Big Apple Herp has some outstanding new hoods which are approx. 15" X 15" and house a Reptisun or Mystic compact fluorescent bulb along with a ceramic heat emitter and a basking bulb. 3 separate cords with individual switches are provided and each base is ceramic.
I like Mercury Vapor bulbs, but to achieve the "arboreal" effect that your dragons will prefer, IMO a mercury vapor lamp will put them too close to the output to use either a self-ballasted or externally ballasted form of them. I would go with 2 of the units I mentioned above for 2/3 of your enclosure and put the pool area in the "cool" zone heated with an undertank or submersible heater. CWD should be heated from above, again, my opinion and undertank heat sources are not adequate for their needs. I have a 3 foot tall by 1 foot deep by 3 foot across bookcase viv that I use a 150 watt CE in and it does fine. I also use a externally ballasted MV, but my basking area is the 12" from the light that is called for.
Hope this helps. Please post back if you need more info. Big Apple Herp also has some really nice fluorescent fixtures with space for incandescent bulbs. I have one in my large enclosure that holds a 36" Repti-Sun 10.0 tube and 2 additional incandescent bulbs for heat. It also has 2 plugs on it for to power additional items in your enclosure. Diane
My Larger Set-Up and description

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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago