New beardie owner

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Sam42696

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Okay so I'm the biggest nervous nelly and I want my beardie to be happy and healthy. He's a juvenile, and I got him on 6/10/16. So far I've purchased the 23 gallon national geographic terrarium and it came with a 13 watt UVB compact lamp along with a 50 watt basking bulb, carpet substrate, two shallow dishes for food and water, and one thermometer/humidity gauge, along with two dome lamps. I've separately purchased a small basking site/hideaway, a bigger one of that and then a big branch decoration that he can climb on.

I am very nervous of how I'm doing so far. I've read about the temperatures that the terrarium should be at and how I should have two thermometers, along with when the lamps should be on. I'm having trouble getting the terrarium warmer than 80 degrees Fahrenheit with the basking light on, and the humidity seems to be fine. Although at night time it does not seem to be warm enough. At least in my opinion because it gets as low as 70 without the basking light on but the UVB light remains on.

What I'm trying to figure out is whether I should be buying different lights for my beardie, I do not want him to get sick. I'd love for people to reach out without cruel remarks... I'd love get advice! I'm a first time beardie owner so I'm not too used to it yet. But boy do I love my baby boy Matzu! I've read a bunch of sites already, I've consulted fellow beardie owners, and also have talked with pet store employees and I still don't feel to confident in myself.

Thank you in advance!
Sam (Massachusetts)
 

illuminis

Hatchling Member
Hi Sam,

Welcome to the forum and to being a new beardie slave :lol:

The terrarium set-ups in the stores has a lot of good things but sadly the uvb bulbs that come with it are really not good, especially if it is a coil. You'll need to change that as soon as you are able to. Many people suggest the arcadia light fixture http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ . Myself I got https://www.amazon.com/Coralife-086...qid=1465831466&sr=1-31&keywords=reptile+light .
The 23g is good to start but beardies do get up to 18 inches so you should start planning on a 40g or bigger for when he/she gets to be an adult. Petco occasionally has $1 per gallon sale for their tanks or even Petsmart has the Exo Terra on sale (which is what I ended up with). This makes it so much easier because it has front door that open for easier access.

As far as heating, You said you have a 50 watt basking. I found going to Walmart and getting a flood lamp is so much easier. Using that as the basking light works alot better. I could get the basking spot warm either until I did that. Try a 65 watt flood light (non-LED). Once you get the bigger tank you may have to up that to a 90 watt. That way if it's too strong or too weak you can return it and get different bulbs.

The gauge they give with the terrariums isn't as accurate as getting a thermometer with a probe on it. Again you can pick that up at a department or hardware store relatively cheap. Just get and indoor/outdoor thermometer and get the probe as close to the basking spot as possible.

Night time 70 is good. I found even if the room gets to 65-68 they don't get quite as cold. The lighting should be on a 12on 12 off to even 14 on and 10 off during our summer times.

On a side note: I also am from MA. And for as much as I know I still am learning (beardie slave since 9/15)
 
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