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Hi my name is William Davis and my frilled dragon Jo Bhu may have lighting issues. A few days ago I saw some negative comments about a exo terra light. Today I noticed he seemed to be blind in one eye. He does not keep it closed but it is closed more than it should be. When I tried to feed him I approached the side he was favoring and he did not seem hungry. When the food was on his other side he went right after it. It is a repti glo 10.0. Also I have a 100 watt powersun I was going to put in a cage I am building for him. I seen bad things on this bulb as well. Any suggestions on which to use , if either. What would be best for him in a 55 gallon. I am getting 2 new frills and will be putting them in the 55. Do I need to buy a 160 watt powersun and a repti SUN 10.0, I have not seen any bad ratings for the 160 watt PS.

Hi,
Here is a site that can answer your question about your light
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm. very good reading!

Sorry for not answering the light question. I use a Mega ray 100watt SB.... never had a problem. I think 160 watt for a 55 gal. breeder may be to hot. I used a 100 watt sb in a 40 gal. breeder at the required distance 15 inch and the temp was running to hot 135* basking 100*cool side. What is the size of your cage and the basking spot distance.

For the powersun the cage is 6*3*2.5, I have tempguns to decide height of basking spot. I was going to leave the tube for the 55. Thank you for responding. I changed his bulb a month and a half ago from repta sun 10.0. I notice that the lights put off two completely different colors( repta sun by zoo med and repta glo by exo terra). I changed my beardies to the same tube bulbs at the same time, should i discontinue my use. What would you do? Money is an issue but so our my herps, a much bigger issue.

William Davis

If this is what your lamp looks like then yes I would turn it off
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-tests.htm
just copy & paste
I think the PS MV is a good lamp from what I hear but I never used one.

hi there!
if you have a compact florecent bulb (florecent that fits in common house light bulb socket) then its causing the problem.

i dont think you need a 160 wat, 100 wats penitrates up to 18 inches with its heat if not more. it can easily heat up half that tank. if you wnat to put two 100 wat mvb on either side with a common house lamp in the middle to bringg in light in the middle i think that would be a great idea. you dont want ambient air temp to be over 95, 85 is a great ambient temp with a cool area of 80 is ideal.

you say you want to get 2 more frills and put them in the same 55 gallon tank. i dont think this would be a good idea AT ALL. a 55 gallon is typicaly to narrow and to short to be able to house more then 2 up to about 5 months of age or snout to vent 4 inches length over all 10 inches with tail. and wont be good at all to house an adult.

the mesurements you gave us at 6 feet long sound more like a 100 gallon. i could have read wrong.

i would advise against putting more then 2 frill in there unless they are young.

frill dragons are not that social of creatures and could be stressed easily by roomates. never put 2 males in one enclosure together. you can easily sex a frill dragon the same exact way as a bearded dragon by lifting the tail up while holding your dragon. you'll either see 2 bumps on the side, or one bump in the center of the tail just after the vent.

frills can bee sexed as early as you can buy them. my lil girl was only 10 grams when i bought her and i could sex her in the pet store.its very obious between male and female. i saw a bin of 15 frill dragons at a reptile expo recently and i could sex each and every one of them very obious.

btw. glass tanks are easy to build up on. creating a taller enclosure with benifits of glass. lmk if you want help expanding

female frill dragons are very much more skittish then male frill dragons. as a result stress can be an issue along with refusing to eat. this typicaly develops as they get older. or even from begining it could be a problem if they have had tramma in previous care from shipping or stores or who ever had them in their care prior.
just got to be carefull. stress can eventualy kill one of these guys if not cause other health issues that last their lifetime.

As far as the bad eye, what makes you think it's a lighting issue?

I do not plan on putting my younger frillies with my boy. I have a custom cage my larger is going in as soon as I secure all of the wood on the sides( basking ledges at different temps to help him regulate temps as well as just looks). No it was not a compact but a tube(36 inch repti glo 10.0) , had problems with the compact as well. I changed out the light not long before his eye was giving him problems. I have read things about the light. When I changed to the mvb he stoped closing his eye. Vision does not seem 100% in the one eye. Jo Bhu has been in my care for about a year and I know how he acts.and looks. He has never looked at me with a wink so I feel it is his eye. I am not just being paranoid, my frill is a beast to his roaches and acted as if he did not see them on the one side. When I put them on his other side he perked up and attacked. I believe I may have figured out the bulb issue but have still heard bad things about the bul itself, without my folly. I accidentally changed his fixture as well. The one he had prior had no reflective backing( which double uvb output), he also does not have a lid on his aquarium( which cuts it in half, which might of fixed my problem). I do not use a lid because he does not like it. Yes maybe once every three month he may go out to go to sleep (always beside the tv in my room),but stays put in the daytime. I am shocked I did not think about the fixture before. I would like to know what the person that questioned my "bulb problem" thinks it may be. I am not trying to be rude. If it was something else I am always up for suggestions. Sorry it has been so long since I responded( computer is iffy). Thank you for the responses.
William Davis

if your using a compact florecent light, the type that is spirle and screws into normal light socket, then thats definantly the issue. those cause alot of problems such as you described. if your not using a cfl, please take him to a vet and see if he needs eye drops or any treatment. if the uvb light is CFL then he should heal on his own with out needing vet visit. seeing that he hasnt been effected by lights long

He was under a 3 foot uvb bulb not the coil, He now is under a 100 watt powersun and I have put the normal bulb( what came in it at home depot) in the 3 foot tube fixture. He does not shut his eye anymore and seems to have much better sight. I actually read they were "going" to fix the compacts. It seems that the bulbs should be burnt for 100 hours before being put over a herp( at least what I read). I personally love the powersun, it always perks up your herp. They do not last a very long time where I live. We have a high number of surge problems( unsteady voltage). The quality of the product far surpasses that of the tubes. A powersun can project uvb up to 6 ft. This is why I bought it, Jo Bhu being a frill love to go up and down in his cage. His uvb canreach him anywhere he goes. I d however recomend a shade spot in the warmth and cool( they will regulate uvb consumption), but not a hide just a shady spot.
William Davis

glad you spent the money on the best uvb sorce avalable right now.

idk if i'd trust up to 6 feet, but it works great for deep enclosures!

glad to hear your frill is doing better, there could have been issue with your liniar tube, i have actualy read about a case, but i have heard it could happen.

good luck!! o and post pictures some time