Captains Getting a new Home!

Captain is getting upgraded to a 50g.

At my store we have the Reptisun t-5 hood on sale that includes a 5.0 blub for 36 bucks, unfortunately I know that the 10.0 would be best - but if I did an internal mount would this be satisfactory until this light died?

Second - I am going to go out in search of some good substrate. I am tired of changing newspaper nonstop. Does anyone have any good suggestions for permanent cheaper tank liner? I was looking at putting down pieces of rocky type tile but my husband thinks it will be too slippery on her claws.

I tried to do the whole fake plant thing. But Captain...well my fatty tried to eat a fake plant when she was in the petstore.S o I am super afraid of her doing it again. I had my daughters plant beside the viv, and she tried to get to it..like claw through the glass.. Does anyone have any suggestions for real plants? or no point, because she would just mow it down.

We've got a creek that has excellent larger smooth stones. I am going to go down and get some, clean them off with some cleaner I have...boil, and then bake them for a couple huors - so I can build her a little rock climbing area....

I want to offer her a snuggly blanket but am paranoid she'll suffocate...that stupid of me?

For substrate you could use non adhesive shelf liner (it's like vinyl) or tiles, I use a combination of both in mine. Shelf liner also comes in different colors which is nice. A lot of people use blankets and never heard anything happen, except make sure they can't snag their nails on the type of material you use. If you really want plants in there just make sure your humidity doesn't get too high. I've heard of someone planting stuff that is edible for them in the enclosure. I thought about putting wheat grass in mine, not sure how it would hold up in the conditions of the enclosure. Maybe you could try dandelions. As for the 5.0, I ran into issues with the reptisun 10.0 that were putting out uvb comparable to a 5.0. If the 5.0 is defective it would probably be worse. Personally I am not trusting the brand right now as it caused my beardies to stop eating and growing. I don't know if the problem was fixed or not. I bought arcadias 12% T5 instead from reptile basics inc ($20). I used a solarmeter to check the bulbs. If it were me I would not bother with a 5.0, it would probably have to be really close. As for the hood, just make sure there is no plastic lens on it.

Hi there, I agree with the idea of shelf liner for the flooring. The 5.0 should be fine mounted inside, and if you can take your dragon out in the sun a few times a week she'll get the best uvb in the universe.

Rocks can be simply washed in hot soapy water, use a smalll scrub brush if you want, then rinsed. No baking needed for rocks at all. With outside wood you bake , but not rocks. I have lots of wood + rocks from outside, no problems at all. I'd skip the plants....she will dig up, eat and trample them so then you'll have dirt + dead plants strewn about. On the other hand that would be fun for HER. :lol:

If you ever want to set up an outdoor enclosure for when you are out in the yard, here's a good one for about $50 shipped.
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The range from the 5.0 is greatly reduced vs the 10.0 so it will need to be mounted at an appropriate distance. Based on my recent testing, you'll want the 5.0 to be about 6'' above the basking area (or at least have that distance easily accessible) for it to provide effective levels of UVB (3-6 UVI in the basking zone).


With the 10.0 bulb, the effective range is increased to about 18'' from the bulb with the ideal output being at around 12'' or so. The difference in the two bulbs is mainly effective distance, similar to the difference between a T8 bulb and a T5 bulb.

I was just thinking be "super safe" with baking the rocks with any woof I've found.

Shelf liner? That sounds like a pretty awesome tank bottom, not to mention easily changeable if I want a different view ?. I'll probably do halfsies.


Yea the 10.0 Bulbs for the T5 hood right now are $13 so, for peace of mind it's not going to hurt the bank account based upon that chart. I could keep the 5.0 as a back up, for if I need to replace it but can't get to the store. (Always good to have backups)

Captain is in her new home, and wow I didn't expect it to look so bare.

The hood didn't have a plastic anything I could remove.

You can add things a little at a time. Maybe some driftwood pieces or a log of some sort. They don't need a ton of stuff really. The T5 fixtures don't usually come with a plastic cover. It's usually the T8 fixtures because they can also be used in aquariums so the plastic protects the light from water.