Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My little beardies are not eating like I think they should. They are not starving and do eat some. Just not like I thought they would compared with every other baby I have heard about. They definitely are not eating 50 crickets each a day. Maybe a few each.

The basking temps on each are around 110 to 115 degrees with a cool zone in the upper 70's lower 80's. I currently have 5.0 UVB bulbs on each. All of the necessities are met. They always have salads (I do know they can be finicky with those) and a varied insect diet. Supplementation every insect feeding. Vitamins once a week. Each one has shed.

The only thing that I can think of is that maybe they do not have enough UVB. I am going to upgrade to 10.0 bulbs. I was also think of also buying mercury vapor bulbs as well. Would that be too much UVB? Do the MVB's give off the same kind of heat as regulart basking bulbs? I currently use a 75 watt basking bulb. Would the 100 watt MVB be too hot or does it not give off as much heat? Would all this be too much UVB? The reason I am thinking a MVB is that they bask most of the time and I want the UVB to get to them.

Any opinions or advise would be greatly appreciated. I want to get my little ones everything they need.

The MVB do give off heat, and often it is too much heat for a tank, as it raises the ambient temp too much. I would just stick to the 10.0. They give off a good amount of light fairly consistantly. If you read through the old posts, there is a great post by Cholchine that gives a break down of different types of light sources and their value.

>The MVB do give off heat, and often it is too much heat for a tank, as it raises the ambient temp too much. I would just stick to the 10.0.

I don't consider a lamp that can double as a UV bulb and a heat source to be a reason to go with an inferior product. At reptileuv.com you can buy low wattage bulbs (60 W) that still put out enormous amounts of UV, otherwise they can simply be adjusted by height. If you are serious about the captive care of your pets, and you have reason to believe that the best kind of UV light will benefit your pets, I see no reason to make the investment in Mercury vapor bulbs. BTW: when was the last time you have them checked for parasites??

Nevertheless, I appreciate the recommendation, here is the link to my rant.
Click here for the link

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"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."
Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)