Am i doing this right? HELP!

[PeanutDragon]

I got a beardie on the 15th of Jan. He is around 3months old now.
I will first explain my setup then my problem.

Current setup

Tank:
116cm x 50cm x 50cm

Day Lighting:
25w EXO TERRA Natural Light Ion Deodorizing (coil)
25w EXO TERRA Reptile UVB 150 (coil)
75w EXO TERRA Intense Basking Spot (coil)

Night light:
150w EXO TERRA Heat Glo (bulb)

Thermometers current reading :
Dial : 34 celcius (20cm from basking spot)
Stick-on : 30 celcius (cool side)
(i know these thermometers are not accurate and i need to get different ones. Any advice on what to get would be appreciated)

When we first got him he ate relatively well. He would eat between 10 - 30 roaches a day. Then his appetite started going down i would say after about 3weeks. He then ate very little and some days nothing. We were going crazy trying to figure out where we went wrong. We looked at all our lighting again an realised we did not have a UVB light. So dumb i know. So we got the UVB light I mentioned in the setup a week ago. He has now gone from eating 2 crickets a day to 7. He has understandably grown very little in the past 2 months and i feel so bad for making him suffer like this.

What i really want to ask is do i now have the correct setup? There is so much info out there i find it really confusing.

Also i have read that coil bulbs are bad for beardies. (Not sure where to find tube lights?)
"Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia)."

[PeanutDragon]

Anybody who can help please let me know.

Just want him to be healthy and happy. If i need to get tube lights or not i dont know, anybody with any advice would be much appreciated. Just want to know if my setup is right or if i need to change something..heard that we should not use infrared but so much conflicting info..

[rico]

Hi ,

Its strange that no one replied to your post. Anyway , here's my 2 cents..

1. Your cage is abit too big (in my opinion) especially for a baby. Is you dragon able to find the food ?
2. The temperature for the basking spot should be measured at the level of your bd .. but your bd would move around it , regulating its temp. (I use a temp gun, its about R400 for a good quality one but totally worth it.)
3. Cool side may be abit too hot , my cage of 120cm X 60cm X 60cm is around 22-26 deg on the coldest part (Use a normal household bulb for basking..its cheap and works great - I use a 40w in summer and 60w in winter).
4. Appetite loss may be linked to the UVB. Don't use the coils , get a proper UVB 10 tube. I don't use the most expensive but they work well and i change them every 10-12 months (http://www.reptilecity.co.za/catalog/pr ... and-uvb-uv) , I think they deliver at additional cost.

In my opinion , the above could be the problem .. I'm no expert but I have learnt from experience and my bd is almost 2.5years old and in pristine condition.
Also , bd's grow rapidly until about a year.

@Experienced/Expert herpers , Please correct me if I am wrong or mis-informed.