blue belly lighting?

Question
QUESTION: What type and brand of light should I use for my blue belly lizards? My tank's size is 18x18x18. I'm new to reptiles and I don't fully understand the whole lighting subject. But I do have an undertank heater and I already have a round fixture.

ANSWER: Hello Kiely,

There is quite a bit of misinformation about lighting that is for sure.  You will need a UVB light which is important in helping with calcium & vitamin absorption.
A good UVB light for him would be the Reptisun 5 or 10 tube bulb, NO compact/coil lights at all, they are not good & are hard on the eyes.  
Here is a link where you can buy it from for a good price:



You will need just a basic basking light like a regular household lightbulb or a low wattage halogen or flood light.  Also, the stick on type of thermometers are not very good about measuring the basking spot accurately.  You can hold onto it, because it will measure the humidity & the ambient temperatures.  You will need to get a digital probe or a temp gun to measure the basking temperatures more efficiently.  

They will need basking temperatures of around 85-95 but no higher.  The UVB tube should be 6-8 inches from him, right alongside of the basking light to encourage basking while he gets warmth & UVB exposure.

Do you plan on using calcium supplementation?  He will need that several times per week, as well.  I would not use a loose substrate either, it poses an impaction risk especially with smaller animals.  So, try to choose tiles, non adhesive shelf liner, paper towels, or felt.

I would not use the undertank heater in combination with overhead heating as he will get too hot.  At night, when you turn off the basking lights & UVB light, if the tank gets a little cool, you can turn the undertank heater on.  They need a 10-12 hour daylight cycle & a 10-12 hour night time cycle.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What wattage level would you recommend for the Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp(25 or 50 watts)? My tank size is approximately  25 gallons.

ANSWER: Hello Kiely,

I would recommend a 50 watt that should be sufficient to get the basking temperatures to where they need to be.
How is he doing today?  Did he eat anything for you?


Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: That's perfect. I already bought a 50 watt. I just wanted to maked sure it was correct.
Actually, I don't have any blue bellies yet, because I wanted the cage to be ready for them. Sorry I made it sound like I already had one.
P.S. How do I tell a blue belly's gender? How old do they have to be to tell?

Answer
Hello Kiely,

GREAT, that should be perfectly fine.  Oh wow, that is excellent that you are planning ahead before getting one.  It is so much less stress for your lizard when it is all setup fine for him when he gets into his new ohome.
Well, usually, you can begin telling the gender by roughly 6-8 months due to femoral pores starting to form, but it is still hard to tell.  I believe that the males have a tendency to have more blue coloring than the females who are not as colorful.

Tracie