Viv Temp Concern!

[HarleyQuinn1985]

Originally Posted by nicnet

If its a vivexotic then its 20 inch high and not 1ft high ;p

What bulb are you using? Is it a specialist reptile bulb or one from local shops. I have found that the specialist bulb can be very big as some of them are actually designed for iguana etc and not for smaller reptiles.

You should have enough room in that viv for the light.

Your bulb should not be much bigger than a standard household bulb really. If its nearly double the size then I know which one your using and that is your problem, its designed for 4ft tall vivs and not 20 inch ones.


lets have some pics of your setup please so we can help out and see what is going on.

What other lighting have you got, UV etc.

Sorry the uv light is a strip light. I believe is a 30inch or a 36inch, 10w. Again was told by the local reptile shop that this was adequate for a beardie....

[MCEE]

Originally Posted by nicnet

If its a vivexotic then its 20 inch high and not 1ft high ;p

If it is an LX48 it will be 16" high.

Only the VX and EX are 20" high.

[nicnet]

Originally Posted by HarleyQuinn1985

Yup its the vivexotic and the bulb was the reptile bulb we bought from teh shop. It IS huge.

We don't have a thermostat....we were told by our local supplier we didn't need one but said person tried to sell us a heat mat (which we refused cuz we were told elsewhere that beardies might burn because they don't feel heat the same on their bellies).

The only pic I have of the set up is this one:

image

Please tell me you can see this pic? The bulb is 100w reflector thing. We paid nearly a tenner for it....

I know from teh pic it doesn't look like much but Myles still isn't fully grown (he's year old) and I know that by the time he is fully grown this bulb will just be too big and it WILL burn him if we put anything beneath the bulb for him to bask.

We haven't changed too much with his decor beyond another log in the right hand corner beyond the heat bulb....as I say he just keeps trying to burrow and he tends to lie under this big log now so I was worried the tank wasn't warm enough...

Ok, when you say your viv is only a foot high, where exactly are you measuring it. That looks higher than 12 inches to me.

You can get smaller bulbs, go to local supermarket and get a standard household reflective spotlight bulb, can get a pack of 2 for around £3. You probably find they are smaller than the one your using. Your main priority is temperatues, makes little difference which type of bulb your using as long as its doing the job.

Get some dead measurements on that viv please.

[MCEE]

Originally Posted by HarleyQuinn1985

Sorry the uv light is a strip light. I believe is a 30inch or a 36inch, 10w. Again was told by the local reptile shop that this was adequate for a beardie....

???

You MUST provide a UVB lamp. An Arcadia T5 12% being the best on the market at present. The 39W model is needed for a 4ft viv (preferably with a reflector).

As for your heat lamp, any household spotlamp will do. B&Q pack of two for about £3, for example.

If your viv is a Vivexotic LX48 it may be too small. Floor area is all important. Also, beardies will use any available height if your vivarium is tall enough and you provide branches etc. for them to climb. If your Viv is a VX48 you may, just about, be OK. If it is an EX48 you are definately OK although a 24" high vivarium (VivExotict don't make 24" high terrestrial vivs) would be a better choice.

[nicnet]

Originally Posted by MCEE

???

You MUST provide a UVB lamp. An Arcadia T5 12% being the best on the market at present. The 39W model is needed for a 4ft viv (preferably with a reflector).

As for your heat lamp, any household spotlamp will do. B&Q pack of two for about £3, for example.

If your viv is a Vivexotic LX48 it may be too small. Floor area is all important. Also, beardies will use any available height if your vivarium is tall enough and you provide branches etc. for them to climb. If your Viv is a VX48 you may, just about, be OK. If it is an EX48 you are definately OK although a 24" high vivarium (VivExotict don't make 24" high terrestrial vivs) would be a better choice.

He has a UV tube, as he already stated in the post you quoted. Although he said it was 10W instead of 10%. look at the photo of the viv where there is clearly a UV strip in there.

[MCEE]

Originally Posted by nicnet

He has a UV tube, as he already stated in the post you quoted. Although he said it was 10W instead of 10%. look at the photo of the viv where there is clearly a UV strip in there.

Ah, OK. I did see the tube but when he said it was a "strip" light at 10w I assumed that that was all it was, a 10w standard tube of some discription.

[HarleyQuinn1985]

Originally Posted by nicnet

He has a UV tube, as he already stated in the post you quoted. Although he said it was 10W instead of 10%. look at the photo of the viv where there is clearly a UV strip in there.

I'm a she (lol)

Yes thats a UVB strip light sorry. DOn't know why I said 10w, pregnant and not having an awesome week.

Ok Viv measurements....give me two secs...

Length: 48in

Depth: 15in

Height:16in

This is the measurements from inside the viv, to show you how much space Myles actually has to roam. We wanted to put a little paltform in there originally but when we saw how...short (height wise) it was we changed our minds, so we just have a few logs.

Unfortunately I think we have done this all wrong and might need to buy another tank. We were relying on an experienced friend of ours to help but when the time came to purchase the kit he wasn't about (I think he felt bad as he offered to pay for the lighting as an engagement gift and maybe had changed his mind about it and thats why he didn't come with when we got the set up)

I will go to B+Q and try to find the smaller bulbs. As long as his tank heats up right for now he will be ok til we get him a larger viv right?

[nicnet]

Sorry to say but at 16 inches high your always going to have that problem with the lights. Its not an immediate issue but looks like you may have to upgrade your viv at some point.

Get all 'the boys' together and tell them to make you one. I'm sure one of them will know which side of a screwdriver is the working side. If you look in habitat section there are some plans somewhere on how to make a 4ft viv. Home made vivs can look just as good as bought ones, Have a look in my album at the viv stack my OH just finished making for me. Its MDF and painted with water based gloss paint. All glass was scavenged from local tip and cut to size.

I get my viv spotlights from Tesco. £2 for a pack of two on their economy ones. They last longer than my Arcadia reptile ones did. Always keep in spare bulbs anyway so the 2 pack is handy.

[HarleyQuinn1985]

Originally Posted by nicnet

Sorry to say but at 16 inches high your always going to have that problem with the lights. Its not an immediate issue but looks like you may have to upgrade your viv at some point.

Get all 'the boys' together and tell them to make you one. I'm sure one of them will know which side of a screwdriver is the working side. If you look in habitat section there are some plans somewhere on how to make a 4ft viv. Home made vivs can look just as good as bought ones, Have a look in my album at the viv stack my OH just finished making for me. Its MDF and painted with water based gloss paint. All glass was scavenged from local tip and cut to size.

I get my viv spotlights from Tesco. £2 for a pack of two on their economy ones. They last longer than my Arcadia reptile ones did. Always keep in spare bulbs anyway so the 2 pack is handy.

Its just frustrating for us as we thought "Hey, we managed it!" lol. Funny you should say the boys btw, 3 older brothers

We'll sort it, might need to wait a few months before we can get a taller viv but as long as we don't put a stepladder right under the light we'll be fine for now and wee Myles won't get burned.

Thanks for all your help. tesco is closer so will try there first