New to this forum...New to Beardies...could use some help...

Hi everyone,
'A friend of a friend' of mine is enlisting and can no longer take care of his beardie. When I saw her (her name is Sandy) I could tell just how unhappy she is, so I agreed to take her. I love beardies but I've never owned one before. I'm picking her up today. He says she's about a year old. He has a 40g breede and basically a large piece of driftwood as decor, plus a 12" UVB light, extra dome lamps and a spare basking bulb, Calcium and Vitamin supplements, over $100 in dubai roaches and timers.
So. I know there are probably a lot of other things I need. But after browsing through these forums, and the newbies sections, there seems to be a lot of debate over 'what's best.' I just want to give her a happy healthy life.
Once I pick her up and get her settled in, I'm going to get (ceramic?) tiles from Lowes to use at the bottom of the tank. I already ordered this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IOBZT80/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 from amazon because my house is pretty cold most of the time (should be here by tomorrow).
I also need to get a screen for the tank, since he does not have one, and I have a cat.
I really want to make sure I get the lighting and temperature completely correct. Is what he provided enough?
At night, what should the temperatures be? what is the lowest and what is the highest temp?
What are your opinions on using live plants?
Where do you prefer to get your live food and other supplies?
Is there anything else I am missing?
Thank you so much for reading my questions. Please be kind, I am very new to keeping a reptile (having never kept one). I just want to the right thing for her so she can have a happy and healthy life she deserves.

I usually get almost all my live food on amazon and dubiaroaches.com, however with the recent cold weather ive had to get most food from local stores because when they ship, or at least the crickets, they usually come dead. Not all of them but some.
Basking temps should be around 95-105, no higher than 110 i'd say.
Cool side should be 70-85.
At night it can get as low as 65, i once had it drop to 55 one night when i didn't have a ceramic heater and usually my room was cold even in the winter so i dont have to worry about that now as i keep my room at a good 75.
The humidity should be around 30-50% or so.
If the uvb is a reptisun t5 10.0 then it is perfect, however if its a t8 then it will be needed to mounted inside the tank using wire. Or if its a t5 5.0.
It might be hard to keep plants alive in such a warm setup.
As for food, dubia roaches are perfect feeders for the insect portion, i give my beardies crickets, calciworms, and red runners for variety along with dubia roaches. Mustard greens, collard greens and turnip greens are good basic easy to find veggies, or at least i'd call them easy to find. If its older 1+ years usually veggies is what it will be eating the most while the insect protion is more of a 3-4 times a week i think with veggies every day.
For the supplements your gonna want to dust the food with calcium 5 times a week with multivitamins two times a week.

I’m concerned about your uvb bulb. In a 40 gallon tank, I’d definitely get a 24 in. Reptisun 10 t5 uvb long tube with a reflector fixture that can be set on top of your screen. Your dragon’s basking spot should be about a foot away.(An Arcadia t5 ho 12% d3 bulb is even better, but more expensive) These need to be changed yearly. If you go with a Reptisun 10 t8 uvb tube, it must be mounted on the inside about 6 in. away from her basking spot. These need changing every 6 months. The length of your uvb tube should fit about 1/2 of the length of your tank, and put on the warm side. You can upload a pic of the tank setup, and it’ll be easier to see if you have it right.
Also, she should be on a 80% feeder and 20% greens diet until around 2 years old. Look up nutrition on the beautiful dragons website to get a better idea of what she can eat. Greens need to be the base, but other veggies and occasional fruit are ok. Thank you so much for taking in your friends dragon as he serves in the military! I kind of had my dragon thrust in my care by my son without knowing anything about them also. If I can learn good husbandry, you can too! This website was a life saver for me. I read through the care sheets many times before getting things correct. I spend hours everyday researching. It’s so much to take in all at once. Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions if you’re not sure about something. We’re here to help.

Thank you so much for your responses!
I agree about the UVB light. I was thinking this one, as you recommended: https://www.petmountain.com/product...eptisun-t5-ho-10-0-uvb-high-output-bulbs.html. What is the difference between that one and this one?:https://www.petmountain.com/product...o-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-fluorescent-bulb.html. I see that a lot of people mount them inside the enclosure. I'm having trouble finding a fixture that can be mounted in the tank but also be reflective, as I have read that this is prefered. It certainly must exist, as so many people have them lol! I would greatly appreciate any recommendations.
Tomorrow I'm going to lowes to get tile and hopefully find something for the light fixture. I got her a new basking bulb, as it seemed the one given to me really didn't heat up much at all. She is certainly happier with the new one.
Food and timing has me a bit confused, to be honest.
I've timed her lights to go on at 5am (I read that the lights must be on two hours before feeding?)
then at 7am I feed her as I run out the door to work. I gave her ten Dubai roaches this morning and left a salad (collard greens and a cut strawberry).
I'm home by 5-6pm, I fed her a few mealworms but wasn't sure if I should be feeding her late.
7pm her lights go off and the CHE turns on. Should the lights be on longer? less?
She didn't eat the salad today, other than a few munches of greens, but she was crazy about the roaches and mealworms.
Are my lighting times ok?
How much should I be feeding her?
When exactly should I be feeding her?
I have been following http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html as a guide of what's okay to feed her. I'm just a little troubled on the 'how much' and 'when'.

As a side note, she is quite sweet. She's a little shy (understandably). I'm sure this is all a big shock for her. I've been handling her but not too much, I figure it's better for her to rest and adjust?
I've attached some photos for reference (and yes...the tank glass needs to be clean, along with really all the tank. I've ordered flukers cleaner and everything is going to get a good scrub down and then the tiles put in )
Thank you guys SO MUCH for your help, really!! Having never before blinked at the idea of keeping a reptile, this is all quite overwhelming. I'm still getting over the fact that I purposely have a colony of roaches in my house! :shock: :lol:

The difference between those two is the bulb size. One is a t5 and one is a t8. The hood I purchased off Amazon for my t5 is a zoo med ho t5 model 26053. You can also look up hoods on Light Your Reptiles website.
You also need a better thermometer since those stick on ones aren’t accurate. Walmart has a nice one for about $13- Acurite model 00891W3. It has a probe. Put the unit on the cool side and run the wire over to the basking spot to accurately measure the temp there. It also will give you the temp for the cool side and the humidity. I have just a plain Acurite digital stick on for my ambient temp on the warm side. I also have a temperature controller to turn one of the extra lights off on the warm side if it gets above 93 degrees. You can maybe put a LED light over on the cool side just for light over there.
You could also use a hide. Your dragon needs a place to go to get away from heat and light.
Most people feed them in the morning and then in the afternoon also. See what works best for you, but try to keep it around the same time. She should be able to bask for at least an hour or so after feeding. I use dubia also and found them disgusting at first, but you get used to it. Better than stinky crickets. Look into breeding them. Sounds like you have lots.
I run my lights from 7am to 8pm presently, but increase it by an hour in the summer. You can turn them on at 6am if that works better for you because of your work schedule.

Besides size, the t5 ReptiSun is stronger, giving off more UV. Plus, it only has to be changed once a year, as opposed to every six months with the t8.

It comes down to preference, as both work, but I prefer a temp gun ($10-15 on Amazon) to probe thermometer as I can easily tell the temp of anywhere in the enclosure, as the probe only allows a single spot.

Your times seem fine, but I would stray away from mealies as they aren't easy to digest. Stick to crickets, dubias, BSFL, or silkworms, and the occasional superworm.


And KUDOS to you for taking her in, I am sure she will be much happier with you!!!

You clearly want to give her a happy life and it shows. As I think one member mentioned, a mesh screen can block up to 30% of UVB light so it’s better to have a Reptisun mounted inside the tank (Arcadia is also a great choice). For ordering feeder insects I like Fluker’s and Symton for BSFL (calciworms/reptiworms), Rainbow Mealworms for hornworms and crickets, and dubiaroaches.com for dubias and butterworms. Silkworms are another great feeder, although there are periods where they are difficult to find online. It’s great you’re willing to be a roach colonizer, as these are one of the best staple feeders you can give a bearded dragon. I’d limit mealworms, as they’re a bit lacking in nutrition and can be tougher for a beardie to digest. The general consensus on lighting is that beardies should get a minimum of 12 hours of light, but 14+ hours is ideal. One purchase I would consider making is a hide (a cave or a hollowed reptile log she can crawl into). Sometimes beardies in an all-glass tank can feel a little stressed/vulnerable (vs. an enclosure with three solid walls and a glass front). But no matter what the enclosure, all dragons like to have a place to hide or sleep when the mood strikes. Amazon carries the extra large reptile caves. If her current setup with the mesh top is going to be her permanent home you just need to be extra hawk-eyed when it comes to the cat. A cat wondering what a beardie tastes like can go from contemplation to action if all that’s standing between him and the lizard is a thin layer of mesh. But your new baby looks very sweet and healthy, and your desire to get everything right and give her a great life means she got very lucky when she moved in with you.

I am most gracious for everyone's help, once again!
I purchased a hide, she used it once but its there now if she needs it.
I have since made these purchases as well:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQU8HAO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GCQWX2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZ0H16C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
All the lighting equipment should be here by Sunday, so I can finally get that all setup.
I had been concerned the past two days since she had not poo'd...but thankfully this morning she changed all that. I do have some 'poo' related questions. I'll try to keep it PG-13.
While she had some formed 'log' stool, there was also a bit of what looked liked perhaps mashed up roaches or crickets? not really identifiable but not your typical 'log' stool. There was also quite a bit of water that came along with it. I'm assuming, as I have read, that this means she is well hydrated.
Unfortunately I have also discovered that she prefers to lay directly in it...I moved her to clean it all up but I'm going to have to find a way to clean her as well.
The other thing, which I admit is more a 'me' issue than a Sandy problem, is the smell. Holy smokes! :lol: I've changed a lot of diapers in my time but this was off the charts. Even after cleaning the tank, the whole room stinks. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive about it. I know better than to spray the room with Glade or any chemicals, but are there any solutions that you may have found to this stinky issue?

I'm off to Lowes to finally get those slate tiles. ReptiCon is also in town (I live in North Carolina) so I thought I would go and browse through. I'm hoping to find some BSFL for her to try.

Thank you again!

Great lighting purchases! And she’ll be a happy girl with her new cage decor. Regarding the poo issues, you’ve discovered the one big bearded dragon con most owners can all agree on—that their bowel movements can be terrifyingly large (in relation to such a small creature) and pretty unpleasant, even if they fall into the healthy/normal category. That said, if her bowel movements are continuously foul smelling and continuously liquidy/mushy then there’s a chance she may have parasites so a fecal exam from an experienced herp vet would be in order (although it’s never a bad idea to have a beardie receive a fecal/vet examination on a yearly basis regardless of whether she’s exhibiting signs of illness or not). In your case her current bowel movements may just come down to 1. Temporary relocation stress or 2. Diet. If she’s consuming a lot of veggies with high water content such as squash or zucchini, or consuming high-moisture feeders like hornworms then it just means she’s extremely hydrated (nothing wrong with a dragon that loves her veggies!). I have one dragon that would LIVE off butternut squash if she had the option so I have to make sure to balance her greens and veggies (like squash) so that her bowel movements don’t haunt my dreams. Your recent purchases and questions continue to reflect an owner that really cares about their beardie’s wellbeing so good job! Sounds like she’ll ultimately be a very well-cared for lizard.