Wanting to know the true facts about beardys.

[Fireflyshuffle]

Hey guys,
I thought id post a thread about beardy lighting as i looked in previous posts about this discussion but it seems to be up in the air as to what lighting is best for a beardy. and i mean UVB lighting.
Should a beardy have uv light 5.0, 10.0, a mercury vapour or any other suggestions? i realise mercury vapours apparently work more efficient with uv but some people are also saying that most uvb lights are a waste of money and its better to take them outside. In saying that, doing both would be the best..right? but if they are taken out twice a week for an hour each time, what lighting is recommended? I have 5.0 repti glo on my beardys but everyones now saying use 10.0
ps. is it true the 10.0 is causing problems for beardys eyes?
cheers

 

[Dave]

reptiglo 10 is bad, reptiglo 5 is bad too, you need reptisun 10 5 or Arcadia D3 (Best bulb) MVB's give more uvb and can be the basking bulb, you can't use 'em in really small enclosures as they throw off alot of heat. Sunlight is best, But I keep a MVB on mine anyway. What if its raining etc and you can't take em out. So thats why I use it. If powerlines went down during the day (could happen) Then I just take mine out to the sun. So having both is the best. if something happens then you can use the other one.

 

[Fireflyshuffle]

wow thanks for that. very usefull.. see who said the young ones are annoying time wasters!! theres kids out there that are very helpfull.thanks dave94 im going out now to buy a proper light now i know whats best.
your a champ

 

[Dave]

No problem. The reptiglo 5 isn't super bad, it won't hurt eyes like reptiglo 10. just doesn't give enough UV rays. Remember if you get a tube 5-7inches above them, and MVB 12inch for 100watt 16inch for 160watt ;

 

[Chris1]

MVB's are good, but get to hot in small cages.

all UVB lights are bad 4 their eyes if the tanks doesnt have good lighting, the theory being the pupils expanded and lets too much light in,..therefore if a tank is brightly lit UVB lights shouldnt cause eye damage.

i use the repti glo 10 tube, and take tehm into the sun for a few hours on weekends since most of my dragons tend to jump out of the cage after an hour of 2 of basking and dont use the UVB.

compacts are useless within a month.

tubes and compacts only throw the light a max of 12 inches, 6-8 inches being the best distance.

 

[Fireflyshuffle]

ok so i have hes basking spot 9 inches away, its probably not the best so ill find some more sterdy platforms for her today so she can get a bit higher.I noticed yestersay when i sprayed her her eyes pretruded?(or popped out) that is normal is it?or is that a sign of swollen eyes?
i also bought the reptisun 5.0 yesterday. couldnt find the 10.0 anywhere or the mvb.
There buggers to get the right ones too.. so fluro uvb has to be replaced every 6 months right?
i wonder where i can ge tthese mvb

 

[lynfrog]

plenty of places on the net to get them and ;have them sent. im in the coutry and have to do that all the time. sometimes the postage just brings it up to normal pet shop prices anyway.

 

[mysnakesau]

...........all UVB lights are bad 4 their eyes if the tanks doesnt have good lighting, the theory being the pupils expanded and lets too much light in,..therefore if a tank is brightly lit UVB lights shouldnt cause eye damage........

Is this why they say less than 5.0 is no good? I don't fully understand all the numbers but one of my sales reps told me that beardies require minimum 5.0 UVB but go as high as you can afford. Do these numbers mean how bright the light is? And the brighter the light the better? OR do you use basking lights as means to light up the cage to make the UV safer?

I hope that made sense

 

[Chris1]

MVB's from herp shop.

as in like frogs eyes?
they puff out their eyes to crrack teh skin before shedding,..looks way freaky,...

yep, flouros need replacing every 6 months.

teh 5 is fine, my first 2 beardies grew up under a 5 without sun supplemented and they were fine.

 

[Chimera]

I don't think the concepts of bad and good really apply to the lights listed here. I'd agree that the spectrum from a Reptisun 5.0 is better then that of a ReptiGlo 5.0, but the selection of a 5.0, 10.0 or Mercury Vapour is really determined by the application.

If you have a standard 3' enclosure with a basking site that gets within 15cm of the globe, a ReptiGlo 5.0 will certainly do the job. For a larger enclosure you may want to look at the 10.0 or compact fluros. Remember that minimum distances apply to compact fluros as well as MV globes.

If you're going to use a MV globe then you will need to consider how the heat will build up in your enclosure making sure it is safe. Also most people only run the MV globes for a few hours a day rather then the entire day.

As a final point, remember that UV isn't a silver bullet for MBD. A good diet and proper heating/thermoregulation plays a larger part in preventing MBD. I noticed you used the word "they", if you have multiple beardies in a single enclosure then you will need to keep a close eye to make sure they are both thermoregulating properly as stress from cagemates can result in poor thermoregulation/feeding which can result in MBD.