This is a specific conversation about Bearded dragon lighting — UVB and basking done right — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Photokeratitis from a compact coil UVB is a genuinely serious injury, and unfortunately it's not rare — those bulbs emit UVB in a concentrated, uneven beam that can cause real eye damage even at manufacturer-recommended distances. The good news is that with the right flat-tube setup your dragon's eyes should recover well, and you'll never have this problem again. To make sure I point you to exactly the right kit: how long is the enclosure, and is your dragon still showing symptoms like closed or swollen eyes right now?
The enclosure is 4 foot by 2 foot. His eyes are still a bit puffy and he's been squinting, but the vet said no permanent damage and to just switch the lighting immediately. He's 4 years old, fully grown.
inparticular.ai
Good that the vet caught it early and confirmed no lasting damage. A 4-foot enclosure with a fully grown adult is exactly the setup where getting UVB right really matters — you need consistent, wide coverage across the whole length, not a single-point source. Before I give you my recommendation: what's your current basking spot temperature, and are you using a separate heat bulb or was the coil doing double duty?
Separate heat bulb, that side runs about 42°C. The coil was only for UVB. Basking is fine I think, it's just the UVB I need to fix.
inparticular.ai
42°C basking is spot on for an adult, so yes, we're just fixing the UVB. For a 4-foot enclosure with a dragon that's already had an eye injury, I'd go straight to the Arcadia T5 HO 12% Dragon Lamp in the 54W 4-foot size, paired with an Arcadia ProT5 Kit controller — the kit includes the reflector and everything you need. T5 HO tubes spread UVB evenly across the full length of the vivarium rather than concentrating it, and the 12% variant is specifically designed for desert species like bearded dragons at distances of 30–45cm from the basking spot. Unlike coil bulbs, there's no 'hot spot' of intense radiation close to the bulb, which is precisely what caused the photokeratitis. Mount it at the front two-thirds of the ceiling so your dragon gets full-body exposure when basking but can also move into lower-UVB zones. Replace the tube every 12 months even if it's still lit — output drops well before the light goes out.
That sounds good. Should I be worried about his eyes during recovery — do I need to do anything different while he heals?
inparticular.ai
While he's still squinting, keep the new T5 tube at the higher end of the mounting range — so 40–45cm from the basking surface rather than 30cm — for the first two to three weeks. This gives him therapeutic UVB exposure without intensity stress on already-irritated eyes. Make sure he has a hide or shaded area at the cool end he can retreat to completely, so he controls his own exposure. If the squinting and puffiness haven't resolved within two weeks of switching to the T5, go back to the vet — occasionally there's a secondary infection worth treating. But in most photokeratitis recovery cases, simply removing the coil bulb and giving it time is all that's needed.
Perfect, thank you. I'll get the Arcadia T5 HO 12% kit ordered today.
inparticular.ai
Great choice — he'll be much better off for it. One last thing worth noting: the Arcadia ProT5 Kit comes with a reflector already fitted, but make sure you don't cover or partially block it with a mesh lid if possible, as fine mesh can reduce UVB transmission by up to 30%. If you do have a mesh top, just lower the tube so effective distance stays within range. Hope his eyes clear up quickly.
