UVB over exposure ?

I am bringing home my baby Beardy tomorrow ! He is coming earlier than expected & we have been trying to make a DIY rock wall for him. I’m not confident that it will be dry enough to let him in it by the time he arrives.

I have an empty 30inch long tank I can put him in for a few days while it dries out . However my UVB - Arcadia 12% in a reptisun hood fixture - is 24 inches long. Would this take up too much space in the smaller enclosure ?

Hi there,

You can just mount it over the tank at an angle or sideways if you want. Or, if its only going to be for a few days, it will be fine, just maybe make it a bit higher than you normally would so that the dragon can escape to lower levels of UV also. A hide would usually be a good idea but since you're just getting your dragon, it might be more inclined to just hide all day long due to the relocation stress.

-Brandon

You can use it just make sure basking distance w/ NO screen is 12-15 inches or 8-10 w/ screen--
Karrie

Is there an ideal way of reducing relocation stress when using a temporary tank ? Will he experience it again in a few days time when being moved to the 40 gallon tank ? Or should I let him stay in the 30 gallon until he outgrows it ?

No I would move him --- hes gonna go thru relocation stress no matter what -- why wait might as well get it over w/. I had Blaze in a 20 gallon long tank for approx 3 weeks and he was around 2-3 months when I got him when his 120 gallon came in I moved him -- he was fine --- they may slow down on the eating but as they adjust he should get his appetite back --
Karrie

Okay so we have the temporary tank mostly set up for tomorrow. His 40 gallon tank will be ready in about 2-3 days. The reptisun UVB fixture is too big for the temporary tanks screen. Will it be okay to just lay it diagonally across the middle for the 2/3 days he’s in there ? My only other option right now is to use an old Sunblaster fixture mounted inside of the tank. I’m worried that this will be too close to him. The temporary tank is only 12 inches tall

(The humidity gauge is reading high but we just opened it and put it in there when the photo was taken, it’s steadily going down)

Yes as long as you have the 8-10 inches w/ screen for the T 5
Karrie

He’s here !! We have him temporarily in this 30inchx12x12 tank . I have the Arcadia 12% bulb in a reptisun hood fixture. I have it over hanging the side a bit because it is meant for the 40 gallon breeder he will be moved into. With the 150W basking bulb suspended above it I am getting a basking temp of average 108 and 78-85 on the cool side

he had a long travel day & got home at 9pm so we let him explore a bit and then shut his lights off for the night. Going to try feeding in the morning ! I got an order of 250 small crickets & 200 BSFLcollard greens, bok choy, squash, bell peppers, mango & blueberries for his salads & treats.

I also have wax worms, meal worms & superworms for my frog & hedgehog. How old should he be before he has any of those ?

Boy he is little -- the super worms I wouldnt feed unless they are real small - I am guessing not - he wont be able to eat those till hes around 3 months old and that is a guess - wax worms he can have as they are small but i would feed them really sparingly as they are fatty - you can use them and the BSFL to lure him to the salad bowl -meal worms I wouldnt feed either - they say the exo skeleton on them is too harsh - you can feed butter worms tho they are real soft along w/ silk worms they too are a soft worm and a good staple worm- just watch the size of the things you feed him - beings he is so little you dont want to feed him something thats going to impact him by being too big - the BSFL for salad lures and the few wax worm will be good for that - and you can feed as many BSFL as you want it will be a good compliment to the crickets- the silk worms too - you can order them from here www.reptilianarts.com and if you order in bulk like 50 they will come small and you will need to order food to feed them along w/ cleaning containers out daily- w/ the worms the staple feeders and salads what little he will eat but you want him eating some he will grow like a champ!! plus he will have a good healthy diet -- here is another website for silk worms www.coastilsilkworms.com
Remember he will be off on his food till he gets over his relocation stress-- he should eat some tho -- Have fun w/ the little guy/ or gal --- where did you get him from?
Karrie

I got him from a breeder in Prince Edward Island, I live in Nova Scotia Canada.

This morning he ate 10 crickets during a 10 minute feeding , he wasn’t interested in the BFSL just yet but did take a little lick of salad with one of the crickets .

I know fruits are only occasional treats are they okay for babies ? I have some mango & blueberries home

Fruit is fed as a occasional treat - you can try and maybe use them as a enticement but for the most part hes gonna go after those worms --- once he starts on the salads you can add them once in awhile - they say only occasional cuz there is so much sugar in the fruit and its not good for them -- some have a real sweet tooth -- my two dont even bother w/ fruit and I have tried all kinds and its a no go w/ them -- they dont like meal worms - in fact my oldest will only eat horn worms butter worms and silks that is all for worms - no fruit and very little salad - he will eat dubias no crickets-- my youngest will eat supers horn and butter worms and silk -- loves his dubias - have never tried him on crickets - they are both tired of BSFL -- wont eat them now either -- I think Blaze got burned out on them cuz I was using them to get him to the salad bowl when he was a baby - he quit eating them around 5 months old - it is trial and error w/ food w/ them ---
Karrie

Awesome thanks ! Nugget loved blueberries and mango we used to feed them once or twice a week . Gonna try some more BSFL tonight since he wasn’t interested this morning. He went right for the crickets though ! Seems to have a good appetite ?

Ok you need to get a piece of decor directly under the UVB approx 8-10 inches -- as from what I am seeing now he cant get under it at the distance it needs to be --- please adjust your decor - I would go get him something like this it will offer a heat gradient and get him to the distance he needs to be for the UVB https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/PetSmart/5290971 these can be laid different ways in the tank -- Petsmart has some great decor for dragons - and its easy to clean -
Karrie

I actually have that exact log ! But it doesn’t fit in his temporary tank. I’ve been looking around locally for something tall that will still fit and haven’t come up with anything yet.

The tank he is in is 12 inches tall so on that small log but he is about 10 inches from the UVB. I’m going to look around for something a bit taller until we can move him into the 40 gallon breeder

I do have this one that Nugget use to use that would fit but I’m scared to use any of his old stuff since he was sick. It also has some hollow spaces so I’d be worried the baby would get stuck