Soon to be New Beardie Owner - few questions

Hey I get my bearded dragon on Thursday (woohoo!), I just want to make sure that this list involves everything I need to get him. I keep trying to make a list, but then I always find something else I need to get.

- 20 gal tank (the baby I want cannot be more than 5-6 inches long. and I already have it planned to get the 55/60 gallon tank by Christmas)
- 1 60 watt bulb and clamp on lamp
- UVB bulb/light
- basking rock, branch, dish for salad (i'm using paper towels for now as a substrate)
- timer
- digital therometer

I already have containers for crickets as well as a spray bottle. I'm going to get an assortment of foods for him, but I think i'm starting off with just crickets for now, just until he settles in.

Is there anything else i'll need? Thanks

The 20 gallon tank will do for now and if you are already planning on buying a bigger one, that's great!
Make sure that his basking temperatures can get between 105-115, I needed a 100 watt bulb for that, but if your basking place is very close to the light, the 60 might do it. i would make sure I have a 100w bulb just in case his temperatures are not high enough.

Be careful what kind of UVB light you get, many pet stores sell uvb lights or equivalent that put out next to nothing and will affect your baby's health. A good light is the Exo-Terra Repti Glo 8.0. It's a fluorescent tube.

You might need two thermometers, one for the hot side and one for the cool side.

Hope this helps and that your beardie will have a home where he can be healthy and happy! Good luck with everything and welcome to the forum

Hello and Welcome! :wave:

It sounds like you're well on your way to being a great beardie slave....like the rest of us. :wink:

Hello, and thank you!
I'm so excited to get him tomorrow, it's an anniversary gift and even tho the actual date is in 2 weeks I convinced my boyfriend to get it for me now. It kind of went like "Yeah... yeah, you see, I need to, uh... study it. Yeah, I need time to figure him out, it's gonna take time... *twitches with excitement*" XD

I'm kind of annoyed that those dial therometers don't work. I've always used them without any real problem, but I wouldn't want to risk anything. They were just so easy to use. =(

I'm getting One on monday and I need to know the samthing you need to know, but what does the timer do? I didn't get one of those. I bought mostly what I need though. Also does one side of the cage need to be heated and one side cold? I bought a little cave for it to go inside and hide if it wants to. It would be cold in there I figure.

The timer will switch the lights on and off at the same time every day. If you get one, you will soon see how helpful it is. When i first got my beardie, i did not get a timer right away, so I would get up every morning and turn his lights on at around 7 and turn them off around 9-10pm. Then I realized that if i want to feed him before I go to work, he needs to be under the light for at least an hour or he won't eat when he is cold. So i would have to get up an hour earlier just to turn the lights on!! :? Also, when I went on vacation and had the sitter come by to feed him and clean the cage, I could not ask her to be at my place at both 7am and 10pm. Beardies are creatures of habit and like the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening.

Yes, the cage needs a warm/hot(basking) spot, and a cooler one, where your beardie can go if it's too warm or wants to take a nap. It would be good to have 2 thermometers--one on the warm side, and one on the cool side, to make sure you have the right temperatures. How old is your beardie? When I first got mine, I put a hiding place in there but soon took it out because he spent most of the time hiding, when he needed to bask. Instead, I put lots of fake leaves in one corner (the farthest from the light) so when he needs to get in the shade, he goes and sticks his face in those leaves, it's too cute. (doesn't happen very often, though)

Hope this helps.

I bought 2 different lights, one for the day and one for night. I'm figuring that I'll have the heat light on during the day which is 75 watt bulb I believe and for night I'm going to switch to a night bulb which is a 60 watt bulb. I also have the long florencent light to go across the cage.

Beardies do not usually need a light at night, they are not nocturnal animals as far as I know. If you have a basking light (which you do) and a good UVB light--fluorescent tube-- then you should be fine. Make sure that your UVB light is not a ESU or something similar, they are useless. A good UVB light is Repti Glo 8.0 or Reptisun 10.0

We bought a repti-glo 2.0, is this bad? I asked about the 5.0, she said it was for tropical areas, not desert. Do I need a different kind or is this one alright?
The baby is only about 4 inches long and very alert. He's adorable
Anyway, the basking area is at about 95 now, just turned it on about a half hour ago. It's a 100 watt, but with my a/c on and everything throughout the day, I figured it was okay. We got a night one too, because my room can get cold especially in the winter. it's a 60 watt. He looks pretty happy, I showed him his basking area and at first he wouldn't stay on it but when I went back to check on him he was on it grinning away

You need the 8.0 (sorry since I know you already shelled out the cash!). You should definitely use the 100 watt bulb for basking if it is only 95 in that area. I would also add a handtowel to cover the top to keep more of the heat in. They need atleast 100 degrees in the basking area to properly digest their food.

It sounds like Josh is talking about heat bulbs and not a UVB. I just posted a biiiiiggg looooong post to him under the thread he started asking about what to do for a new beardie. You need a fluorescent tube by the name of "reptisun" or "reptiglo" in the wattage of 8.0 or 10.0 according to which brand you find. Beardies prefer NO light bulb at all at night. It is actually good for them to have their temp drop a little at night (down into the 60s to 70s).

I agree with Bianca, ESU brand bulbs SUCK! Don't buy those!

-Melissa

I got the Repti Glo 5.0 florescent light so I hope I should be fine for now. :?

aaagh! I KNEW it too! i was like "um, i've read everywhere that you need like something like a 5.0 or a 10.0, shouldn't i get one of those?"
"oh no, those are for tropical pets, you need one for a desert kind!"

... >> I kneeew it.

So how is he for now? how soon do I need a new one?

Beardies need a lot of UVB, don't know about the 5.0. I myself would think that you would need to get the Repti Glo 8.0 or Reptisun 10.0 right away, someone correct me if I am wrong but I am not sure that the 5.0 is enough.
Yeah, pet stores can easily make you throw money out the window like this, I bought my Repti Glo 8.0 from the very beginning, although they told me I didn't need it, but I just wanted the best light for my little cutie. Even with that one, sometimes I am not sure that Kramer has enough UVB in there. Every time I take him out in the sun, his colors change dramatically and he poops within 5 minutes of being in the sun! It's amazing! And the sun we get up here in Edmonton is not strong at all, and I can still see a huge difference.

I know you want the best for your beardie, so i would get the new light and maybe, before future purchases, come on here and ask some people instead of the ones at the pet stores. 5.0 is probably better than nothing, but as I said, if you want your baby to have a healthy appetite and be healthy altogether, he probably needs a better light. If someone on here thinks that the 5.0 is enough, please correct me!

I'm sure your beardie will be happy with you, you seem to care a lot and put lots of thought into everything

I'm going to take the 5.0 back when I get the dragon on monday then get the 8.0. But I could only find an 18" fixture, my cage is 25" long and I looked for a 24" fixture everywhere and so I had to get an 18" one so now I'm going to have 7" of space without UV. Should I just put it in the middle? Also 14 hours of which light needs t be on during the day? Both or does basking stay on all day?

Both lights (UVB and basking) need to be on during the day and the beardie goes back and forth as he/she pleases 8)
Make sure that your baby can get within 6 inches of the UVB and congratulations on your new UVB light!