Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a baby bearded dragon today and put him in my reptile tank (about 4 feet long, 2 feet wide) and put my old heating light that I used to use a long time ago on top of the tank. It's just a standard heating lamp but I know there's something about needing a UVA or UVB lighting to help with the calcium. (I get the abbreviations mixed up)

Can someone point me in the right direction on the light I need to get? I've seen two types, the longer type that cost about $40, and then there's also the clamps that cost about $10. Do they make standard size bulbs (that go in the clamped lights) that can fulfill this UVA/UVB lighting need? It would save quite a bit of money if I could get one in the standard bulb version.

Any suggestions?

I had one other question, are there any lights that are combination, meaning they can provide all the types of lighting needed at one time? (Instead of having 2 heating clamps)

First thing I would do if it's a baby bearded dragon (under 8" or so) is section off the tank into a 24" x 24" section. In my opinion.. 48" is too big for a small baby.. they will have a harder time finding their food, can get stressed out, and it's harder to heat.

As far lighthing.. you can go a couple of ways. You'll want a UVB bulb in my opinion. You can either get a flourescent UVB bulb or a Mercury Vapor Bulb that provides heat and UVB.

If you go for a flourescent, goto Lowes. For $10 you can get a dual strip 48" flourescent fixture already wired with a plug. Buy a 48" Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb and a regular 48" cool white bulb for brightness into the fixture. For $6 buy a 100 watt capacity metal dome light at Lowes and put a regular 100 watt house light bulb in it.

MVB are more expensive but they offer better UVB output and a lot of people here can give you good advice on those. I do not use them, but many love them.

Just make sure your basking area for the dragon is around 105 to 115 on one small area, and ambient temps in the high 80's with a cool zone in the low 80's or very high 70's. It is critical that the ambient temps of the cage are not over 90 degrees.. your dragon will overheat very quickly.

good luck with your new dragon.

brandon
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Dragons by Nature