beaniethebeardie
Member
I rehomed a 2 y/o male beardie about a month ago, and the set up that he came with was absolutely abysmal. He's in a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium with a glass front, with barely any furnishings and things for him to climb on, a broken UVB light, an old ceramic heat bulb, and some tacky plastic plants sellotaped to the roof of the tank.
The UVB bulb didn't work when we got the tank, and I was advised by my local pet store (which sells beardies too) to replace it with the exactly the same bulb- an Arcadia Euro Range Desert 10% + UVB lamp, 25 watts. However, I later found a specialist reptile store who told me that next time I replaced the bulb I should get a Reptisun. The bulb broke again today, even though it was supposed to last 6 months (think there's a loose connection in the fitting) so I'll be buying the Reptisun as a replacement tomorrow. Unfortunately my beardie has to go without a UVB for the night.
The reptile store I went to said I was doing everything wrong with the bulb and the basking spot, etc, and gave me a list of things to change based on the photographs of the viv that I took for her. I moved the temp probe to the bottom of the cooler end of the tank, I moved the UVB light from across the ceiling to halfway down the back wall, and I moved his climbing logs and rocks all over to the basking side. She also gave me a new bulb holder and new bulb and told me to replace the old ones. However, it was only after removing the old bulb holder and screwing in the new one that I realised the thermostat wasn't working anymore (I have a dimming thermostat that goes up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit), and then I realised the UVB light, heat lamp, and thermostat were all wired up together. I'm still in contact with Beans previous owner, who said that was the set up the tank came with. Unfortunately, it now means I can't control the temperature of the heat lamp, because it's not connected to a thermostat anymore.
My dial thermometer (I'm getting a temp gun as soon as for more accuracy) is placed in the basking spot, and reads 104 degrees F. I moved the thermometer to the cooler side to get a reading for that- it's been there for about 15 minutes and so far reads around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm going to the reptile store again tomorrow to get a new UVB and also to ask about another thermostat, and how I can control the temperature of the bulb without a thermostat wired up to it. I'm also concerned that tonight the vivarium will be too hot for Beans, because the cool side doesn't seem to be that much cooler than the basking spot. What should I do??
Side note: I'm pricing up a new vivarium for him as soon as possible. This reptile shop is run by a woman who's owned all kinds of reptiles including beardies for 25+ years. They sell full set-ups for roughly £200 (roughly $245), and I'm going to buy him one of those, with everything already installed so that I know it's done properly. I'm thinking one of those mesh-looking black ones, specifically one that's vertical so I can fill it with branches and logs for him to climb on, as he's had barely anything in his tank for over 2 years.
The UVB bulb didn't work when we got the tank, and I was advised by my local pet store (which sells beardies too) to replace it with the exactly the same bulb- an Arcadia Euro Range Desert 10% + UVB lamp, 25 watts. However, I later found a specialist reptile store who told me that next time I replaced the bulb I should get a Reptisun. The bulb broke again today, even though it was supposed to last 6 months (think there's a loose connection in the fitting) so I'll be buying the Reptisun as a replacement tomorrow. Unfortunately my beardie has to go without a UVB for the night.
The reptile store I went to said I was doing everything wrong with the bulb and the basking spot, etc, and gave me a list of things to change based on the photographs of the viv that I took for her. I moved the temp probe to the bottom of the cooler end of the tank, I moved the UVB light from across the ceiling to halfway down the back wall, and I moved his climbing logs and rocks all over to the basking side. She also gave me a new bulb holder and new bulb and told me to replace the old ones. However, it was only after removing the old bulb holder and screwing in the new one that I realised the thermostat wasn't working anymore (I have a dimming thermostat that goes up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit), and then I realised the UVB light, heat lamp, and thermostat were all wired up together. I'm still in contact with Beans previous owner, who said that was the set up the tank came with. Unfortunately, it now means I can't control the temperature of the heat lamp, because it's not connected to a thermostat anymore.
My dial thermometer (I'm getting a temp gun as soon as for more accuracy) is placed in the basking spot, and reads 104 degrees F. I moved the thermometer to the cooler side to get a reading for that- it's been there for about 15 minutes and so far reads around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm going to the reptile store again tomorrow to get a new UVB and also to ask about another thermostat, and how I can control the temperature of the bulb without a thermostat wired up to it. I'm also concerned that tonight the vivarium will be too hot for Beans, because the cool side doesn't seem to be that much cooler than the basking spot. What should I do??
Side note: I'm pricing up a new vivarium for him as soon as possible. This reptile shop is run by a woman who's owned all kinds of reptiles including beardies for 25+ years. They sell full set-ups for roughly £200 (roughly $245), and I'm going to buy him one of those, with everything already installed so that I know it's done properly. I'm thinking one of those mesh-looking black ones, specifically one that's vertical so I can fill it with branches and logs for him to climb on, as he's had barely anything in his tank for over 2 years.