Good grief, this is so overwhelming! We got our beardie from PetsMart (which I'm now seeing is a scary thing in and of itself) 5 days ago. They weren't sure of this age - "between 3-5 months" :roll:
We bought this kit: https://www.petsmart.com/featured-brands/thrive/thrive-front-double-door-opening-terrarium-desert-essentials-kit---40-gallon-54712.html?cgid=5000640
After scouring this site for days learning, we've replaced the UVB coil bulb with the Reptisun 10.0 T5 and it's housed in this: https://petsuppliesplus.com/shopping/Zoo-Med-Reptisun-T5-HO-Hood/5217. We just installed that last night so he only had it for about 2 hours before lights out and now about 3 hours this morning. He's currently hiding in his little cave out of the "sun." I'm wondering if the T5 is too powerful or it's just coincidence that he's handing out under there for the first time? I'm not 100% sure how to arrange the basking lamp and the UVB since the enclosure is only 18" tall. Right now the UVB is on top of the screen because I was worried his basking spot was too high in the enclosure and he would be too close to the T5 bulb (the highest point of his basking spot is 9" from the top). We bought some chicken wire to potentially use in place of the metal screen that came with the kit to let some more heat in - his current basking temp is only 95 degrees with a 150W bulb.
Next question..food! He's only eating about 10-15 small crickets a day and a few bites of salad (collard greens and watercress). He has been shedding a little bit and I know that can effect their appetite but he should be eating way more than that, correct? He's pooped every day and it looks normal.
Sorry for the novel length post - I just want to be sure we're properly taking care of this little guy! He's so precious!
We bought this kit: https://www.petsmart.com/featured-brands/thrive/thrive-front-double-door-opening-terrarium-desert-essentials-kit---40-gallon-54712.html?cgid=5000640
After scouring this site for days learning, we've replaced the UVB coil bulb with the Reptisun 10.0 T5 and it's housed in this: https://petsuppliesplus.com/shopping/Zoo-Med-Reptisun-T5-HO-Hood/5217. We just installed that last night so he only had it for about 2 hours before lights out and now about 3 hours this morning. He's currently hiding in his little cave out of the "sun." I'm wondering if the T5 is too powerful or it's just coincidence that he's handing out under there for the first time? I'm not 100% sure how to arrange the basking lamp and the UVB since the enclosure is only 18" tall. Right now the UVB is on top of the screen because I was worried his basking spot was too high in the enclosure and he would be too close to the T5 bulb (the highest point of his basking spot is 9" from the top). We bought some chicken wire to potentially use in place of the metal screen that came with the kit to let some more heat in - his current basking temp is only 95 degrees with a 150W bulb.
Next question..food! He's only eating about 10-15 small crickets a day and a few bites of salad (collard greens and watercress). He has been shedding a little bit and I know that can effect their appetite but he should be eating way more than that, correct? He's pooped every day and it looks normal.
Sorry for the novel length post - I just want to be sure we're properly taking care of this little guy! He's so precious!