Boring Enclosures

[HKzForDayz]

I am just curious as to what everyone opinion on the best ways to set up a Beardies enclosure is, beyond just heating and lighting.

Should we give them lots of options for climbing? lots of places to hide? is it better to put a lot of stuff in there for them or leave it more bare? I see a lot of people on here with very boring enclosure with mostly just free floor space, Is there any reasoning as to why this would be ideal? or would it be ideal to create an environment that stimulates their mind by giving them a lot of options of things to do?

Genuinely curious, dont hesitate to put in your .02, I am sure a lot of this depends on the individual dragon, so I am not sure there can really be a "wrong answer" to my question

 

[DaisyDragon123]

My enclosures are boring. The first one is Daisy. The second one is Little Dragon (he now has a branch in his).

They are boring because of size limitations and to facilitate easy cleaning.

I really think that the minimum enclosure size should be bigger than a 40 gallon breeder. Dragons like to climb more than people realize. My ideal cage would allow for three basking areas with branches and rocks of different sizes. It would also incorporate different substrate textures and a dig box.

 

[HKzForDayz]

Now see, I wouldnt consider the top one boring at all. It has a basking spot, it has multiple places for him to climb, nor do I think I would consider the bottom one boring if it had a branch to climb on in it.

Mine aren't crazy complicated by any means, I just have always assumed it best to give them a variety of things to do in relation to their landscape ie climbing, hiding. basking, running

 

[HKzForDayz]

this is what my dragons' enclosures look like , its nothing fancy by any means

 

[CooperDragon]

You have to work with the space you have. In general, it's good to offer options. You want some places to climb and some places to hide. You want some high heat and UVB areas and some low heat and UVB areas along with some shade. The more space you have, the more you can do. I provide a lot of time outside the tank to supplement and make up for having a relatively small tank 36x18x18''. If you're looking for a goal, I'd shoot for something like Taterbug has set up. She built a nice tall 4x2x4' enclosure for Pepper and it looks great. I don't think it would be unreasonable to provide a whole room for an adult dragon though. They'll pretty much use as much space as you give them. They love to roam and explore.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I personally think its best to offer them a bit of variety. Give them some things to climb on, some things to hide behind or in, give them something to cuddle with, and open space so that they can run around. Obviously, this is harder with a smaller cage, so you work with what you have. (Cooper beat me to this).
This is how I have mine set up right now. I intend to change around and add a few things, but I think Diablo loves her enclosure so far! This is just after I added in the new reflector, so I hadn't put the branch I usually use back in yet, and the cardboard ramps provide a tunnel for her to walk through, as well as a hole in the cardboard box that she sometimes hides and/or sleeps in. Either way, I think the whole thing has its own unique feel to her tank.

 

[HKzForDayz]

I love seeing pics of other peoples setups lol. As far as I can tell, my enclosures Im using now should suffice the way there are setup. I am in the process of ordering six stackable 4x2x2 enclosures, to stack 2 wide and 3 tall, and I planned on doing something similar to what I have now , except I won't be able to use the magnaturals :|

 

[CooperDragon]

This is what I have for Darwin.

I also have two portable basking areas around the house. One plain basking light and one basking light and MegaRay 100w MVB. When we're home he moves about as he wants. The house is dragonproofed. He is quite spoiled.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I feel like I have the most urban tank out of all these tanks. :lol:

 

[HKzForDayz]

This is what I have for Darwin.

I also have two portable basking areas around the house. One plain basking light and one basking light and MegaRay 100w MVB. When we're home he moves about as he wants. The house is dragonproofed. He is quite spoiled.

Looks like your Darwin does to his greens like one of my old beardies , Towely , Did. She use to pick through her greens and squash medley and pick ALL the squash out :lol: :lol:

Nice setups btw. While we all have diff setups, we all for the most part offer the same variety of choice when it comes to climbing hiding running etc.

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah there are a ton of ways to do it. As long as there is good variety and they can move about easily then it's good. Yeah Darwin will eat his greens but LOVES squash, bell pepper, and green beans so will dig into those first.

 

[CooperDragon]

I feel like I have the most urban tank out of all these tanks. :lol:

You have the sweet watering system though. How is that working so far?

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I don't know how well seeing as I usually tend to be asleep during one of her more active periods, but I do know that I have seen her drink out of it at least once. I have to create a little pool first so that its easy enough for her to drink, but all you have to put some ice cubes into the bottle and it will drip perfectly into the water bowl. It also gets the humidity up a little, as usually the humidity will go down to 1% or so when I don't do anything about it. The tank is really well ventilated. Honestly, I really need to figure out a way to get an optimal humidity.
You can still use the magnaturals, you just have to get creative with how you put them up. We could always give you some ideas if you want to figure it out.

 

[CooperDragon]

I ignore humidity completely :headbang: . As long as my temps and UVB output are in good shape I don't worry. If the humidity gets to the point where I can feel it and it feels sticky in the house then the dehumidifier will come out. Otherwise, if it doesn't feel humid to me, then it's probably fine. Their natural habitat has a relatively wide range depending on season so I think they're hardier in terms of humidity tolerance than we give them credit for. My house is very dry in the winter and I have central AC in the summer so take my ramblings with a grain of salt too.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Yeah, its never seemed to be an issue so far for me either. Like I said, I have so many vents that all humidity just vents out, so I don't really need to worry about that too much unless the humidity gets ridiculously high. Even with the dish in there, it usually only gets to about 15% or a little higher.
Its a little too bad that I have to make sure it doesn't get to high, though. A water fountain would look pretty awesome in her tank. :lol: