Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have had Spike for 4 months now. (Christmas present for my 7 year old daughter.) At first he was lethargic and reluctant eater. Got some great advice from you people and replaced infrared light that store sold us with a Zoo Med basking spot. Immediate improvement! Yesterday, the spot burned out. Not being anxious to fork over another $20, I replaced it with the infrared bulb. Today Spike is lethargic. Off to Pet Depot in a few minutes.

Seems like a lot of people are using infrared. Anyone else have similar experiences?

the petstore basking bulbs are EXACTLY the same as one from your local hardware store...but twice as expensive!

In a pinch regular old lightbulbs can be used for basking--most prefer spotlights as they concentrate the heat into a smaller area.

Beardies are stimulated by light not just heat...probably the reason your guy is bummed out.

im sorry for this silly question. Infrared are heat bulbs? and they are the regular light bulbs you use at home?

Beardies respond to light. Regular household bulbs and spot lights provide heat and light. The 'reptile' spot bulbs that run about $10 each at a pet store are the SAME exact bulb as sold at the grocery/hardware store for $4.

Infrared provide heat and light in a less visible spectrum. Beardies can still see this 'red' light--and it can interrupt their sleep. Ceramic heat emitters are a better option for night/supplemental heating if needed.

To further clarify--I'm talking about basking bulbs that DO NOT supply any UVB.

Mercury vapor bulbs provide heat, light and UVB light. They are much more expensive.

It seems like this is a perfect example of how important not only heat, but light is to beardies health. They react to bright light and suffer, as you saw, without it. You can use a regular household bulb, just make sure its nice and bright!
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