Blue Tongue Lizard heating & lighting set-up

[newbie1979]

Hi everybody,

I'm posting here because i'm a little confused - and yes, i have searched, i am building an enclosure for a blue tongue. I have the enclosure - now i need the other bits and pieces... the dimensions of the enclosure are 1200 X 600 X 600

I was going to use a 24" fluoro batten with a Reptisun 5.0 - further research suggests i would probably be better using a 10.0 and coupling that with a 2.0 for extra brightness - so going a double rather than a single. Some have said i should use the coil tubes as these provide greater penetration of UV in the enclosure - although the data i have read so far suggests that a Reptiglo 10.0 only penetrates 50cm and the 5.0 penetrates 30cms. So what are other people using? Should i maybe do a 2.0 coupled with an NEC T10 UV tube? Also, is a 24" long enough for that tank or should i go a longer tube? I was planning on orienting the fluoro batten further down toward the cold end - should it be positioned in the middle of the tank? it's going to be mounted above the front panel so you can't see the tubes when you look in the front of the enclosure. Or should i look at MVB globes?

I also proposed using an IMIT thermostat with a ceramic heater - research is leaning me toward using a better thermostat like a Habistat or something like that and then setting it up with a day/night setting to reduce night time temperatures. Others have suggested i scrap the ceramic element and go with a basking light (infrared maybe?) - what do you do? If i go for a basking lamp how do i control night time temperatures?

Any thoughts/advice would be much appreciated

Kind regards

 

[bigfella77]

I just use a 20w heatmat with a thermo and a 5.0 26w uv on a timer in a 3ft tank and they seem to be doing allright.

 

[Chris1]

why dont you make a little shelf at the back of the enclosure, 30-40cms for the floor and mount the UV tube to that,....ive heard too many times that coils can cause eye problems.

i dont provide artificial UVB light for any of my lizards, instead i get them out in the sun fro a few hours a week and that is more than sufficient.

i use lights not CHE's since theyre a daytime animal and daytime animals do better in a well lit environment.
no thermostat, just varied globes from 60-100W depending on the season.

you can always have an extra socket and run the CHE at night if youre worried about night temps.

 

[newbie1979]

G'day Chris, thanks for your reply... you too bigfella...

Ideally i'd like to get light coverage over the whole enclosure during the day - I'm not too keen on the coils hence why i'd like to use the fluoro tubes. Maybe i should be thinking of the 36" tubes rather than the 24" so as to get a greater intensity/depth penetration for the UV light. What are your thouhts on going the NEC T10 and say a Reptisun 2.0 or even a Reptisun 10.0 with a 2.0? Would the Reptisun 10.0 have sufficient penetration in a 1200 X 600 X 600 enclosure?

Would an infrared globe be better for day and night? The thermostat controller (probably going to go a habistat) can't switch on a day basking lamp and then at night switch on an infra-red or blue globe. So i need one heat source that will be good for both day and night - hence why i'm figuring that an infra red one would probably be better. I'd like to keep a thermostat as where i am it gets quite cold and, conversely, quite hot ambient temperatures dependent on whether it's summer or winter. Also, in regard an infra red globe what brand/wattage would be best?

Your advice is much appreciated

why dont you make a little shelf at the back of the enclosure, 30-40cms for the floor and mount the UV tube to that,....ive heard too many times that coils can cause eye problems.

i dont provide artificial UVB light for any of my lizards, instead i get them out in the sun fro a few hours a week and that is more than sufficient.

i use lights not CHE's since theyre a daytime animal and daytime animals do better in a well lit environment.
no thermostat, just varied globes from 60-100W depending on the season.

you can always have an extra socket and run the CHE at night if youre worried about night temps.

 

[Chris1]

for UVB,....a 2 foot tube would be plenty, just put it in a place where they can get near it easily.

Red globes say they dont keep animals up at night,.... but they do.

so how about a ceramic heat emitter in 1 socket connected to a thermostat so you can control day/night temps like that, and a really low wattage bright globe in a second socket beside it to provide light with the light just on a timer?

habistat make a thermostat where you can set different temps for day and night (controlled by sensing light),...the 'night eye' ones,...

so you could sort that out to change when the day globe turns off,....

 

[jact38]

Solar Glo MVB from Exoterra is perfect. Great UV and great heat.

Or The NEC blacklight for UV with a 2.0 curly for light, is excellent.

Or, put in a CHE on a stat with a normal basking light for daylight and a UV source as well....but that is getting costly - although its good for night warmth.

We have all of the above in various enclosures, I would still say the solar glo is best.

Andrew

 

[notechistiger]

I wouldn't bother with the UV personally. I normal fluro for light if you'd like to the enclosure to look nice in the day time. UV isn't as important for blue tongues as proper diet and heating are.

 

[ajandj]

Sorry, but l beg to differ about the UV for skinks. I've had 2 indoor and 3 outdoor skinks over the past several years. i never had a UV in thee enclosure because l believed the tank was fine, it was infront of a window.
My little Maxi ended up wth MBD and it's terrible. I had a great Herp vet in the area and after going thru everything relating to heat temp, globes, indepth into foods, my vet told me if only i had used UV/UVB in the tank, Maxi wouldn't have got MBD. It's a shocking disease, that kind of sneaks up on you. It looks like they have been run over by a car. Anyway, my opinion is to definately use UV

 

[LippyM]

I wouldn't bother with the UV personally. I normal fluro for light if you'd like to the enclosure to look nice in the day time. UV isn't as important for blue tongues as proper diet and heating are.

I agree with this. I have kept bluetongues indoors without UV for ten years. Outside in the sun for a few hours each week is better than any bulb on the market. ... And your bluetongues will love it!

UV helps to produce Vitamin D which assists with the absorption of calcium. A healthy diet can also provide your lizard with the Vitamin D it needs.

Bluetongues are baskers. They love a hot spot so I too would go for normal UV to light your tank (if required), but for heat you can't beat a spotone bulb from Bunnings. I use 100w for my 4x2x2 tanks. It's cheap and easy too. It doesn't need to be complicated, although it can be overwhelming when you start out! Pic attached of one of my tanks shows just that setup.

For nightime I provide a small under tank heater under their hides in spring & autumn. This is usually turned off in summer and in winter whilst they are brumating.

 

[notechistiger]

Sorry, but l beg to differ about the UV for skinks

I'm not at all saying that it's BAD for them. However you tend to find that while the guides say to use UV in their enclosures, the people who have been keeping more then one for many years say other wise. It's seems more a preference of giving them a perfect diet and heating (and perhaps an hour or two outside every now and again) or putting UV in their enclosures (and newbies would probably be better off sticking to UV).

Regardless, it won't hurt them either way if you position the tubes properly.