Lighting / Heating ?

[james.w]

I am getting my all American tomorrow and am setting up his home. It is a 40 gallon breeder aquarium. I got a flukers sun dome rated at 160W and a exo Terra solar glo 160W bulb. Do I need any other light or heating elements for my tegu?

 

[JohnMatthew]

I'm not familiar with those bulbs so maybe someone else can help there. As for the temperature, set up a thermometer at the coolest spot and under your hottest light(on the surface it's facing in the enclosure, not on the actual bulb/dome). It's hard for us to know what you're temps are going to be unless we have the same lights, sized tank, mulch depth, and ambient air temperature (my house stays around 80). You're best bet is to play around with what you've got and find out for sure. You might want to check out temp guns, they're real cheap and once you've had one you'll wonder how you got along without it.. it sure beats having tons of thermometers with probes strung out everywhere. Best of luck and be sure to post pics of your tegu in his new home!

 

[james.w]

Do I need any other lights for him to be healthy or is the solar glo enough? Also is a under tank heater recommended with tegus. I have them for my boas but not sure if I should get one for the tegu.

 

[isdrake]

Don't forget the visual light. People tend to have too dark enclosures. Use normal fluorescent tubes (of at least I think they are called that in English) with 6 500 kelvin.

 

[slideaboot]

I am getting my all American tomorrow and am setting up his home. It is a 40 gallon breeder aquarium. I got a flukers sun dome rated at 160W and a exo Terra solar glo 160W bulb. Do I need any other light or heating elements for my tegu?

Those bulbs sound AWFULLY hot for such a small aquarium. I'd DEFINITELY run the lights all day today and do multiple temperature checks throughout the cage, multiple times today. You'd hate to cook your little guy.

 

[james.w]

So i switched from the 160W to a 125W Exo Terra Solar Glo. Can i use a full spectrum flourescent UVB bulb that does not produce heat for the UVB and a regular basking light for the basking area?

This is the UVB bulb i am thinking of using.
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[rrcoolj]

So i switched from the 160W to a 125W Exo Terra Solar Glo. Can i use a full spectrum flourescent UVB bulb that does not produce heat for the UVB and a regular basking light for the basking area?

This is the UVB bulb i am thinking of using.
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Yes... I believe solar glos are mercury vapor bulbs you defiantly wouldn't need any more uvb in such a small enclosure. You can definatly have a heat bulb and a uvb bulb seperate. that's what I used. I had a total of 160w on the hot spot supplied by house bulbs and a repti sun 10.0 on the hot spot also for my tegus 40B setup.

 

[james.w]

Is there such thing as too much UVB? Would it cause any problems if I used the Solar Glo MVB for UVB and basking and then used a 18" flourescent bulb for UVB spread throughout the cage a little more.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, there IS such a thing as too much UVB. Think of it this way... look at the people who go to tanning salons every day. Their chances of having health problems (such as skin cancer) are DRASTICALLY higher than someone who wears sunblock and protective clothing every day, and most of that is a direct result of excessive UVB exposure. That's just the easiest way I can explain it. If you're going to use a MVB for their heat and UVB, then all you need is a regular ol' CFL house bulb (on the opposite side of your basking side to provide extra light). If you're going to use a separate UVB and basking (heat) light, then place the heat lamp on one side, with the majority of the UVB tube light joining it. (BTW, I'd ditch the Reptisun 5.0 and go with the 10.0, and set it about 12 inches from their basking spot... taking into consideration how "high" your tegu is, so therefor measure 12 inches from the UVB light to the highest point of your tegu.)

Lighting can be a little confusing... okay, more than a little confusing. I know that I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of products out there to choose from.