What brand of lights do you use for your bearded dragon?

[Turiell]

Hey everyone, I've got a question about the lights for a bearded dragon enclosure. I know that bearded dragons need a basking light and an UVB/UVA light. I've been looking all over the internet for the right one but I'm just not sure which ones to get. So I thought I'd turn to the people I trust the most. So, what kind of brand of lights do you use for your babies? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance, ya'll!

 

[Dovey]

I gave up on all that UVA UVB crap quite some time ago. I now use mercury vapor lamps. It's UVA it's UVB it's UV whatever the hell they need. The downside is they are expensive, but so are UVB lights! Also, once you turn them off they have to have a cooling petiod because they do create heat. The upside is simplicity and efficiency. I have 100 watt mercury vapor bulb heating and lighting an entire 55 gallon tank for my bearded dragon. More often than not, he's not even basking as close to the lamp as he could be. However, be sure and pay attention to the customer reviews. I forget which lamp it is, but one of the big reptile companies has crap lighting, including one of these. Spend medium bucks to get better quality-- cheap bucks always equals crap lighting.. Also, they do require ceramic ballasted dome lights.

 

[Turiell]

Hey @Dovey thank you for your response. Do you remember if the lamps you use are the Arcadia brand? And you only have one lamp in the enclosure? I'm just making sure I'm understanding correctly. If I put a mercury vapor light in my enclosure and a UVB/UVA light on the other side, would that be too much light and end up hurting my dragon?

As far as your dragon not being as close to the basking light as he could be, I guess that's okay for the dragon? I read that they have to be so many inches from the light. Sorry for all the questions. I've just read so many different things in my research, so I'm just checking here to see how people here keep their dragons. Like I said, I trust the people here. After all, they got me through my first year of keeping Ts!

 

[Cas S]

I use zoo med. I've heard that arcadia is the best, but I cant get any in the states.

 

[Dave Jay]

One thing with the common fluro UV lights,(not tubes) is that they lose their "potency" after about 8 months whether you're using them or not apparently, so they need replacing often and you should buy "fresh" stock from a supplier with a high turnover.
If you let your lizard brumate it doesn't need UV as it is not eating, so buying a new globe every spring is a good routine to get into.
As for your other question, the light and heat should be at one end of the enclosure to create a gradient. The hide or burrow should be at the other end, but a range of hiding spots is best if space allows to take advantage of the temperature gradient .

There are various ways to measure UV, cards are available cheap online but I've no idea how accurate they are .