Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

We're thinking about adding a bearded dragon to our reptile family. We currently have a several boas and pythons, 2 chinese water dragons, 2 leopard geckos, and 3 brown anoles. I've never had any interest in beardies before, but they always have them at the reptile shop we go to and they've kinda grown on me. My boyfriend also likes them because they're so docile when they're older. So I have a couple questions...

First I was wondering if anyone could direct me to a website that shows the different color morphs so we can decide what we would like to get.

Second I was quite shocked to learn recently that the coil style UVB bulbs may not be safe. We currently use Zoo Med's Compact Fluorescent for our anoles and our water dragons and haven't had any problems. Can someone tell me more about the potential problems of this style of UVB bulbs? Do they cause a problem 10% of the time? 20%? More? We can definitely put the tube style UVB in with the beardie but we would have to redo the cages for our anoles and dragons to change them to the tube style...

I use the Exo Terra compact 10.0 bulbs and have never had a problem. I also use tubes and have the same results with both. People will jump all over this based on the UV bulb site, but I have now used them for 3 years and will continue to do so. I believe the problem compact was RZilla. I don't use any RZilla products. My baby bins are under the tubes, but all of my adults are under the CF bulbs. No matter what bulb you choose to use, you should still put your dragons out in the sun as time, and temperatures allow. Does them a world of good.

As far as morphs, there are a lot, both actual and made up, but no site that I know of that lists them.

Good luck with your future dragon.
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www.moonstonedragons.com

The issue with the compact UVB bulbs began several years ago when they first came out...most companies who were producing the bulbs which were causing issues in many reptiles have since changed how their bulbs are manufactured/designed so now they are not a danger (or much lesser a danger).

www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm explains the problem in the past and its updated fairly regularly, so you can see which bulbs are still a problem and which are now safe.

For sites with morphs, to my knowledge there isn't one single site that has a list of all the possible morphs of bearded dragons. However, there are quite a few sits which specialize in certain patterns, colors or combinations. Check the sponsor links in the bearded dragon forum, past posts of our regular posters (many who are also breeders with their own lines of bearded dragons..such as phantom dragons, fire and ice, and many others. A google search for bearded dragons will reveal breeder websites...the classifieds here is a good place to start as well.
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PHLdyPayne

Check out www.dachiu.com and click on their links tab. They have a huge list of bearded dragon breeders there.

Thanks,
Jessica

Yellow Room Reptiles

I'm aware of 2 local instances where lizards suffered the effects of the compact bulbs within the last 6 months. The manufacturers claim that the problem is mostly that the bulbs were placed too close to the animal against their instructions. The UV guide people feel it's caused by a different mix of chemicals in the compacts vs. linear tubes. Also keep in mind the manufacturers did not recall any bulbs so the potential problem bulbs are likely still in warehouses and stores even though the manufacturers claim they have solved the problem.

A few years ago as spring approached I changed one of my 100 watt household bulbs to a 100 watt equivalent household CFL. I noticed that the dragons stayed away and kept their eyes closed more. This was long before the UVB CFL issue. Take a look at a 100 watt equivalent CFL vs. a 100 watt household. You can look at the regular 100 watt no problem but the intensity between the tubes of the CFL is way too bright to the point of being very uncomfortable. This is why I will never use CFL in animal enclosures again.

I agree with BDLVR...the manufacturers may claim to have made adjustments but who knows how many bad bulbs are still for sale...non of the stores that I have asked about it did anything at all....most didn't even know.Why buy something that has the very REAL potential for harm when there are so many other choices? And the BEST light comes from the most natural...The SUN...if you can get the animals outside for 30-45 min.per day[ I do all summer long and use NO uvb bulbs for the past 16 years during the summmer,just household bulbs for heat] but in the fall winter I use tubes or mercury vapor bulbs.....

What brand CF caused the problem?
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www.moonstonedragons.com

I don't know. I rarely see an animals setup. I only see the animals and then ask about their setup. One was a RES that had swollen closed eyes causing it to no longer eat. The vet assumed it was an infection and tried various treatments. It's a shame how knowledge and experiences do not travel between hobbyists and vets.

The 2nd was 2 baby dragons. I was real worried about them but it's surprising how they ate crickets even with their eyes closed. It took about a week for them to totally recover.

I don't like CFL's also because it gives only one small area of the cage where they can get UVB. Even the best CFL's only claim 20" distance for usable UVB, so there is only a narrow cone that they must be in to do any good. Also linear tubes add light to the entire cage which is more attractive and better for the animal.

I think I'm going to switch my water dragons over to the mercury uvb since I won't have to change the fixture for that. If we decide to get a bearded dragon I think I'll just put a tube style UVB in. For now I'm just going to browse around websites and check out all the different morphs : )