Newbie enclosure critique?

Hello everyone! I just acquired my first dragon two days ago. She's 2 years old and had a rough upbringing due to uneducated owners. They kept her in a 20 gallon (maybe smaller) with nothing in it except news paper and a food dish. Her lights were busted for I don't know how long, and they were using an UTH.

Now she is in an exo terra 36x18x18, though I'm kind of regretting not getting the 24 inch tall one... I'm using a reptisun 10 / 24 inch T8 in a fixture mounted inside her enclosure. Her basking light is an exo terra bulb and sits at one end next to one end of the uvb so she gets both while basking.
Her enclosure is quite sparse at the moment. I'm not sure if it's because of her previous set up and lack of decor or what, but all the new decor seemed to really upset her so I'm introducing a few items at a time. Currently she has her basking rock and a lizard ladder I thought was a hammock when I ordered it lol, but she likes to prop up on it anyway...I have a large piece of wood along with some bridges, back ground, fake plants, etc. She will also have tile in the future instead of the paper towel.

With the temp gun readings, her cool side temp stays around 77, warm side stays around 83 and the basking rock hits 95. My house stays 72 all year round so I'm not using a CHE for night time heat. Humidity stays around 35 to 40. I'm not sure she's happy with those numbers and I have a higher wattage bulb I'll be trying tomorrow. Her appetite seems to have dropped, which could just be stress from a new environment I suppose.

I've only had her a few days, but I adore her already. If you have have suggestions on the setup or how to help her get used to more enrichment items without her getting super stressed like she did, I'm all ears! I want her to have the best I can provide. I'm most concerned about her lighting and heating being on point.


Sparse, but we're getting there!

I'm glad you're able to give her a good home! Such an upgrade from a 20g already. I use the same tank so I can definitely help you get things fine tuned. I would try to boost the temperature on the basking rock a little. Shoot for between about 100-105 or so while keeping the cool end around 75-80 or so. I've had good luck using a PAR38 halogen flood light. The mesh will cut some of the heat that gets through so if you don't have any other animals in the house you could remove the top and suspend the lights from an adjustable stand. Otherwise you'll just need more powerful lights which is OK. If the heat gets too much for those plastic cross bars you can put some foil over them to shield the plastic.

You'll want a high quality UVB Light too. A T5 with reflector is just right for that tank. This is what I use and it's a really top notch light. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ Just set that over the basking area next to the basking light and you should be in good shape.

Here is a photo of my setup which may give you some ideas about how you could set yours up. I agree with keeping it a bit sparse at first though and just adding a little at a time and judging her reaction.

CooperDragon":ox80qmqh said:

I'm glad you're able to give her a good home! Such an upgrade from a 20g already. I use the same tank so I can definitely help you get things fine tuned. I would try to boost the temperature on the basking rock a little. Shoot for between about 100-105 or so while keeping the cool end around 75-80 or so. I've had good luck using a PAR38 halogen flood light. The mesh will cut some of the heat that gets through so if you don't have any other animals in the house you could remove the top and suspend the lights from an adjustable stand. Otherwise you'll just need more powerful lights which is OK. If the heat gets too much for those plastic cross bars you can put some foil over them to shield the plastic.

You'll want a high quality UVB Light too. A T5 with reflector is just right for that tank. This is what I use and it's a really top notch light. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ Just set that over the basking area next to the basking light and you should be in good shape.

Here is a photo of my setup which may give you some ideas about how you could set yours up. I agree with keeping it a bit sparse at first though and just adding a little at a time and judging her reaction.

Click to expand...

Sorry it's taken so long to reply! Thank you for your tips also. She's definitely loving the higher basking temps and she's starting color up just beautifully!

As for the UV light, I went ahead and ordered the T5, but I did have a question. Is there much of a difference in the amount of UV she would receive between the T8 mounted inside vs the T5 through the screen?

Yes. I try to offer 3-6UVI over the basking area. This is based on solarmeter readings I took in Australia a few years ago combined with some other research. Here are charts showing my test results for a T8 with reflector vs T5 with reflector. The first values listed are with no mesh top and the second are with a screen top from ZooMed for a 40g breeder (fairly open, a tighter screen mesh will block more).

CooperDragon":9y004hdl said:

Yes. I try to offer 3-6UVI over the basking area. This is based on solarmeter readings I took in Australia a few years ago combined with some other research. Here are charts showing my test results for a T8 with reflector vs T5 with reflector. The first values listed are with no mesh top and the second are with a screen top from ZooMed for a 40g breeder (fairly open, a tighter screen mesh will block more).

Click to expand...

Wow! What a difference! Thanks for sharing that. T5 it is then, for sure!