Vivarium Uv Light Setup
Lighting for your plants animals.
Vivarium uv light setup. Your uv light should be placed twelve inches from the floor of the enclosure. It s important that there is a cool corner that offers a respite even for a species like chuckwallas or uromastyx which thrive in the heat. The basking spot temperature for both my veiled yemen and panther chameleons is about 2 5 and 3.
Since you ll need to control the temperature inside the vivarium place it somewhere out of direct sunlight and install a uva uvb and basking light. The height of the lamp above the position of the bearded dragon is vital because the effectiveness of the uv output falls as the distance increases. Lighting is one of the most important types of equipment you ll need to think about when building a vivarium.
Bearded dragon light and heat setup. If inside a setup use the t5 6 with reflector again around 13 inches. Unfortunately vivarium lighting is a complex and confusing subject which often bewilders novice keepers.
It s important to choose a uv bulb that emits a particularly high level of uvb light as well as uva light. The main thing to remember is that uv doesn t need to be offered across the length of the vivarium gone are the day of squeezing in a 46 bulb into a 48 vivarium. Measure the tank s length and get the suitable length tube.
Aim to position your uv bulb high up in the enclosure so that it has good coverage across the entire floor space. As mentioned above uv bulbs should be the long strip variety and as long as you can fit in to the available space. Don t bother with a 3 ft vivarium go straight to 4 ft or more by doing this you avoid having to re drill all the light fixtures and fittings and purchase larger uvb bulbs to span the tank.
Most bearded dragon owners tend to buy a 48 x 24 x 24 vivarium like the one pictured below. But be glad you needn t be intimidated by the topic. Using uvb bulbs for chameleons.