Hey all,
I just completed a new bearded dragon enclosure for my pygmy bearded dragons
by converting a display cabinet with glass doors into an enclosure. The inside of the enclosure measures 87cm x 42.5cm x 66cm. I've got one vent down on the left hand side, and on the upper right where the two bulbs are.
The bulb installed is a 160w Exo-Terra Sun Glo mercury vapor bulb. I thought this might be better for UVB given the height of the enclosure. The front ceramic light fitting (not showing in picture) sits in front of the Sun Glo and to the right.
My plan was to run the Sun Glo during the day (I've got it running now - 9:30pm in Newcastle, and it's about 34 degrees at the basking site where the rock on the right is), with the other ceramic fitting holding a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat.
This way, if the temperature drops and the Sun Glo mercury vapor bulb is insufficient, the ceramic heat emitter will kick in. My main concern was that coming into the warmer months, and considering my room gets quite warm, that the Sun Glo bulb may cause the enclosure to heat up too much.
I guess my main question is -- what temperature is okay for the basking spot? In my previous enclosure, it was around 32-33 degrees. But reading around, I'm finding all sorts of different information.. Anywhere in the range of 30 up to 40 degrees.
I've also since removed the ramp (I didn't like the idea of them getting too close to that bulb, and falling off the wooden ledge).
The thermometer probe on the left (black) is sitting around 26 degrees, the middle one (white) is about 32 degrees. The thermostat probe is basically just in front of the largest rock at about the largest rock's height and is at 34 degrees.
I guess my best bet is to not put the dragon in there (she's there for the picture) and monitor the temps for a little while. If the mercury vapor bulb is going to be an issue, I may put it on a timer so it is on around 6am-10am and 4pm-8pm, that way it's avoiding the heat of the day and from 10am-4pm, the enclosure gets a chance to cool down or retain its heat from the ambient temperature.
Does anyone have any idea or thoughts?
Cheers,
Mark
I just completed a new bearded dragon enclosure for my pygmy bearded dragons
by converting a display cabinet with glass doors into an enclosure. The inside of the enclosure measures 87cm x 42.5cm x 66cm. I've got one vent down on the left hand side, and on the upper right where the two bulbs are.
The bulb installed is a 160w Exo-Terra Sun Glo mercury vapor bulb. I thought this might be better for UVB given the height of the enclosure. The front ceramic light fitting (not showing in picture) sits in front of the Sun Glo and to the right.
My plan was to run the Sun Glo during the day (I've got it running now - 9:30pm in Newcastle, and it's about 34 degrees at the basking site where the rock on the right is), with the other ceramic fitting holding a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat.
This way, if the temperature drops and the Sun Glo mercury vapor bulb is insufficient, the ceramic heat emitter will kick in. My main concern was that coming into the warmer months, and considering my room gets quite warm, that the Sun Glo bulb may cause the enclosure to heat up too much.
I guess my main question is -- what temperature is okay for the basking spot? In my previous enclosure, it was around 32-33 degrees. But reading around, I'm finding all sorts of different information.. Anywhere in the range of 30 up to 40 degrees.
I've also since removed the ramp (I didn't like the idea of them getting too close to that bulb, and falling off the wooden ledge).
The thermometer probe on the left (black) is sitting around 26 degrees, the middle one (white) is about 32 degrees. The thermostat probe is basically just in front of the largest rock at about the largest rock's height and is at 34 degrees.
I guess my best bet is to not put the dragon in there (she's there for the picture) and monitor the temps for a little while. If the mercury vapor bulb is going to be an issue, I may put it on a timer so it is on around 6am-10am and 4pm-8pm, that way it's avoiding the heat of the day and from 10am-4pm, the enclosure gets a chance to cool down or retain its heat from the ambient temperature.
Does anyone have any idea or thoughts?
Cheers,
Mark