Dusty the Bearded Dragon

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jjsonic1883

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about 8 months ago around july 17, i got my bearded dragon dusty from petsmart, after my old one died after only having them for 3 weeks. i thought i would make this post to introduce him to this community, and to see if i need to improve on anything for his enclosure. i’ve checked his gender, and from what i found he seems to most likely be male. when i got him, he was around 3 weeks to a month old, and i kept him in the enclosure i kept my previous beardie, copper in. to this day, he is in a 40 gallon 18x18x36 enclosure, and his enclosure came from a thrive starter kit, i hear starter kits are usually bad but this one was honestly ok, it had good accessories, a good enclosure and it came with a carpet instead of some kits that come with sand. the only thing that wasn’t too good were the coils it came with. it came with normal lamp holders, just the basking bulb was a lower wattage around 100 watts, and there was a uvb coil bulb, which i hear isn’t good enough for your bearded dragon. he now has a 150 watt basking bulb, but he still uses the uvb coil bulb, however i’m soon planning to try and get a uvb tube stick, which i hear works a lot better. for his flooring, if thats the right word, he uses a thrive carpet for 40-gallon enclosures, i’m thinking about getting tiles soon, since i hear those can be better, and even file your beardie’s nails. anyways, his enclosure accessories include a basking rock with a hide, some rocks from my backyard, a food and water bowl, a hammock, and a fossil accessory for looks and for him to sit on if he wants to. well, moving on from his enclosure, it’s time to talk about dusty himself. i predict him to be around 9 months old right now, and he’s about 14-15 inches long and 2-3 inches wide. i don’t know his weight because i don’t have anything to measure it. his diet consists of around 15-20 large crickets a day, and he gets daily salad consisting of mainly collard greens with occasional other things like carrots and blueberries. he’ll also sometimes get other bugs, such as dubia roaches and sometimes waxworms as a treat. every other day i dust his crickets with calcium and reptavite as well if i have any. he goes to bed around 8 pm est and wakes up around 8 am, and his basking bulb is 150 watts so it should be around 100 degrees fahrenheit, but the thermometers in the enclosure say its around 90-95 degrees, but it’s probably off, and i don’t have a temperature gun to measure the accurate temperature. but anyways that’s about all there is to say about him, and i’ll also include some picture of him along with this post. i’d like to know what i should improve on with his enclosure, because i feel like my care could be off a little. but anyways, there isn’t much else to say, and this is an indroduction to dusty as well as a care check to see what i should improve with his enclosure.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please get rid of the coil UVB ASAP- I recommend this fixture and bulb
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html 24" fixture it comes w/ a 5.0 bulb hang onto if for a spare
your going to need to get this bulb a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 -- they are out of stock along w/ the Arcadias I was going to recommend look on line for a 22" bulb
you need to get Dusty this ASAP and ditch the coil please -- tiles are great for tanks you want a textured slated ceramic tile something not to coarse and something not to smooth - dont seal or grout leave loose but cut it to the size of the tank --
how are you taking the basking temps? NO stick ons you need a digital probe thermometer like this
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-digital-thermometer.html
 

jjsonic1883

New member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":jrck5j6c said:
Please get rid of the coil UVB ASAP- I recommend this fixture and bulb
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html 24" fixture it comes w/ a 5.0 bulb hang onto if for a spare
your going to need to get this bulb a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 -- they are out of stock along w/ the Arcadias I was going to recommend look on line for a 22" bulb
you need to get Dusty this ASAP and ditch the coil please -- tiles are great for tanks you want a textured slated ceramic tile something not to coarse and something not to smooth - dont seal or grout leave loose but cut it to the size of the tank --
how are you taking the basking temps? NO stick ons you need a digital probe thermometer like this
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-digital-thermometer.html
thanks for recommending, i’ll try to get that UVB bulb as soon as possible, and get a new thermometer, because even i can tell mine is off on temperature. i might wait for when he moves into a 50 gallon for the tiles because he could be moving into one in around 3-5 months, but i’m not too sure. anyways, i’ll try to get a new UVB tube and stop using the coil, and get a new way to take temperature. another thing, could the uvb tube you sent a link to fit in an 36-inch long enclosure? yesterday i measured it, and it was about 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 18 inches tall. i want to make sure i get him a uvb tube that can fit his enclosure, and i did see multiple sizes for that uvb tube.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes you do not want one the same length as tank--- 24" would be good-- he needs to be able to get out of those rays w/ out hiding from them
 

jjsonic1883

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Original Poster
KarrieRee":kv555ole said:
Yes you do not want one the same length as tank--- 24" would be good-- he needs to be able to get out of those rays w/ out hiding from them
ok sounds good, i’ll make sure to get that size so he can have the best UVB possible.
 
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