Hi guys,

I have made a vivarium to house some beared dragons the dimensions are.

45" Length x 24" Height x 20" Depth, here are the photos



The guy at the shop said that the lamp shade would be ok for the size of the vivarium, but i`m concerned about the distance from the ceramic 150w bulb to the basking rock.

When you take into account that i`ve added an guard to it the distance would be around 7" from the Bearded Dragons back. My main concern is that the Bearded Dragon will try to climb onto it and burn themselves.

Please any comments

Thats a valid concern and will likely happen at some point. 150 watts at 7" seems like it would generate too much heat. What readings are you getting from a digital thermometer? The one you are using in the picture is not going to give you accurate temps.

If the dragon isn't basking on that hide, the constant beam from the light at such a close distance could generate some serious heat.

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I have just phoned the shop and they said that it would be fine as long as I cover the lamp shade with some wire to prevent the lizard touching the bulb.

I have a thermostat the can control the temp and it gets to around 95 on the basking rock.

Typically I would agree with him/her. To prevent direct contact, mesh should always be used. (I assumed you were going to be using a mesh guard since your first post says "into account that i`ve added an guard to it".)

The problem I am seeing is that the mesh is "reachable". That is simply inviting the dragon to reach up and climb on it.

The mesh guards are a preventative measure to stop direct contact. With the light beaming on the metal, it too will get hot. It will actually get very hot at 2 inches from the face of the light.

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I am using a ceramic bulb would that make a differance?

Also he said that yes they might try to climb on it once but they realise thats its hot, will not try again.

The ceramic bulb still creates heat I think. You will have the same problems. What if that one time burns the lizard really bad?

If you mean a Ceramic Heat Emiter, that metal is going to get extremely hot. Ceramic Heat Emitter's are designed to be placed well out of reach of the animal. They get hot enough to burn anything that comes into contact with it.

The person at the shop is right. Once the animal gets burned, it will likely not try it again. The problem with that theory though is that the animal first must make contact with the hot metal to realize its not a good idea to touch it.

Ideally, you should try to prevent the contact all together, so the animal doesn't sustain any injuries, or the chance of an injury, with the initial contact.

Have you considered changing the setup slightly? If this is an option, I have an idea that may help limit the chance of a burn, but will require you spending more money on the enclosure.

They make a 5.5 inch diameter porcelain socket and dome. I would first grab that. Then I would head over to ReptileUV and buy their Mega-Ray HP - 60 Watt Heat Projector.

I use several of them and have to say they are as impressive as they sound. With the smaller dome, and that emiter, you would help prevent injury and keep your dragon safe.

Hope this helps!

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I would definitely move it back. That is a burn injury waiting to happen, especially with a ceramic heat emitter, those things get REALLY hot.

The new cage looks nice otherwise, maybe you could cut a circle in the top and putthe light there.

What are you using for a UVB source?

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

I have covered the shade with wire and checked the temp of it. Its warm to the touch but not very hot, it does getting hotter as you go up the shade.

The UVB source is a 36" Repti glo 10.0

Thanks guys for your comments, I now have a donated female Bearded Dragon "izzy" in the viv and she is very happy as she was in one half the size. Man she is nosey she can see the tv where she is and she loves the simpsons. Also she always has her nose up to the plexi to see the goings on in the room. Bearded Dragons are great fun!