New to Tegus but had many Ball Pythons HELPPPP!!

[kickedjoass]

I really want a Argentine B&W Tegu and I have alot of snakes and lizards. I just dont understand the lighting. i Read the care sheets here but what kind of lights do i need and how many watts? ANd how long should i leave the bulbs on a day?

 

[Tux]

you need uvb/heat, you can either do this with separate bulbs or with a mvb. wattage will depends on the setup, ambient temp in your house etc. I use a 12/12 light cycle but some people use a 14/10.

 

[rrcoolj]

I dont' have a tegu yet but you don't need to be an expert to know the answer to your question. Lights should be on 10-12 hours a day timers are great for this. LIghting, you must mean uvb bulbs. Watts is not revalent in this case it's more about length and the tube should cover the basking spot. As for heat, you want a basking bulb. Watts can vary greatly depending on cage size and the surrounding temperature.

 

[Tux]

Length is much less important than output and placement of UVB emitting bulbs. If going for a tube you want the reptisun 10, if an MVB megaray or powersun but megaray has an output closer to natural levels out in the sun in places like FL.

For a heat light if you use a tube uvb pair it with a halogen bulb or a regular incandescent don't spent $ of a "reptile basking bulb" as they are no different than a halogen bulb.

Also rrcoolj you should not give your tegu less than 12 hours of light, the light cycle varies from 12-14 hours naturally as summer has longer days but I don't bother adjusting for it and just keep it on 12/12 instead of going to 14/10.

 

[kickedjoass]

so you want me to keep both lights on for 12 hours then turn both off? sorry im bothering you Tux. So should i also get the all in 1 or the tube and the halogen ?

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

I havent done alot of research on the various brand names of lights, but I can tell you this: I went to petsmart and bought an ex-terra uvb bulb ($30) and use a 100watt heat lamp, along with an under tank heater set on low (controlled by a reostat). I havent had any problems with my tegu. I also take him ouside every 2 days or so and let him get natral sunlight which is alot stronger than uv lights. even on a mostly cloudy day. dont forget the calcium/phosphorus supplements. you had lizards before so you should be familiar with dusting food with supplements.

 

[DaveDragon]

I havent done alot of research on the various brand names of lights, but I can tell you this: I went to petsmart and bought an ex-terra uvb bulb ($30) and use a 100watt heat lamp, along with an under tank heater set on low (controlled by a reostat). I havent had any problems with my tegu. I also take him ouside every 2 days or so and let him get natral sunlight which is alot stronger than uv lights. even on a mostly cloudy day. dont forget the calcium/phosphorus supplements. you had lizards before so you should be familiar with dusting food with supplements.

OH MAN!! Lose the UTH! Tegu's get their heat from above, they go underground to cool off. The mulch can act as an insulator and cause the temp to rise above the UTH possible causing a burn on his belly.

The Exo-terra bulb for $30 is probably only a Full Spectrum bulb, which is very deceiving, it produces NO UVB. A MVB in a pet store is about $80. A 75W halogen flood light puts out more heat than a 100 watt incandescent bulb. Getting him outside every 2 days is the best thing you can do, especially since he's probably getting no UVB in his tank.

Be care full with the supplements, too much can be worse than none at all. Rodents supply all the nutrients they need, I feed ours rodents once or twice a week and tukey/liver/fish on other days.

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

thanks for the info. The under tanks is set on low and only on the basking side,but Ill turn it off just in case. The light bulb package said it provides uvb. I guess the natral sunlight is the way to go. I didnt know that several mice per week provides all the calcium they need. Ive been giving mine 2 mice/week AND lighly dusting food 1/week. Should stop dusting?

 

[rrcoolj]

Thanks tux for the correction getting herps mixed with fish lol. Depedning on the size of the cage I wouldn't use a megaray though if it's a small cage. If it's a large cage then I think it would be okay. COrrect me if I'm wrong but don't megaray(or any mercury vapor bulbs) need to be a certain length from the animal because of thier intensity.

 

[DaveDragon]

A 100W MegaRay shouldn't be closer than 12" from the animal. A 160W - 18".

I use 100W PowerSuns over 20G long tanks for our hatchlings last year, that distance provided just the right basking temp.

 

[Tux]

Dave is correct,

Using the tube\heat lamb combo has the advantage of providing the ability to control temps easier (thermostat) but the UVB output is less where as the MVB requires a little more planning in a setup to get the temps right but provides more uvb. Also MVBs last longer than tubes do (though they each have different decay rates).

The other option and what I'm doing with my adult enclosures is to use the Megaray EB series of lights, they produce no heat so do require a heat lamp but have similar output to the megaray SB and are guaranteed for a year (though they can last well over a year and a half). It all depends how you want to approach things.

Too much calcium is less of a risk than too much of some vitamins but it can still be bad. It also depends on which type of calcium you use as most are not absorbed too well from what I gather.