Buying equipment, opinions?

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zlandaal

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Hi!

I'm going to be getting a bearded dragon soon (it's been almost a decade since I've had one!), and I went ahead and bought a 90 gallon aquarium on craigslist the other day (so its definitely happening now). I spent $75 on it, so I feel pretty good 8)

The dimensions are 4' x 18" wide x 2' high, so I have plenty of room and plenty of decisions to make! I'm just going to list everything I'm thinking of doing, and just looking for feedback before I go ahead and make the purchases.

First, for UVB, I'm going to get a 160W Mega-Ray. I'll have this suspended 18-24" above the basking spot on one side of the cage, using a ceramic clamp light fixture (probably something like this, since it handles 160W).

Second, I plan on having two basking spots (one with UVB, one without) at both sides of the cage. I'll be using 2 x 150W ceramic heat emitters on a dimming switch, with a simple clamp ceramic light fixture for 150W bulbs. I'll simply control those with a dimming switch to get the proper basking temperatures.

As far as cage lighting, I'll just get a 48" 5000K fluorescent light to go across the top.

I don't plan on getting a screen for the top, since I don't think a bearded dragon can climb 2' of glass, and I don't plan on having a basking spot higher than 6". Everything will just be clamped to the top of the cage.

For substrate, I'm thinking tile. Maybe shelf liner?

Other than that, we let our house get down to 65 at night and I'll have the UVB light and fluorescent light on a 12 hour timer. I assume the cage will be at a reasonable temperature with the two basking spots. Any advice/opinions on this set up? Any ways I can do it better?

I'm hoping to find a nice red/orange/yellow leatherback to buy in the near future
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi Z.....The tank size is great for an adult dragon and you won't need much supplemental heat or light using the Mega ray. I would suggest using an actual dome reflector for that bulb rather than the clamp lamp. Most mercury vapor bulbs need to point straight down or they can burn out for some reason if they are positioned at an angle. Also, the only reason you you need a ceramic heater would be for night heat [ and one should be sufficient ] if you have a chilly house at night. If your night temp. stays above 67 you won't need extra heat.

For extra heat + light during the day, probably a 60-75 watt at the most. Other posters may have suggestions too, but you can set up the tank and play around with the heat before you get your dragon. For a nice red/orange leatherback you might consider Rainbow bearded dragons, Tamra usually has nice healthy dragons of that color. Have fun ! :)
 

zlandaal

Member
Original Poster
Okay, thanks for your input! And yeah, I was thinking ceramic heaters for at night. I'll make sure that I mount the mvb vertically. I'm thinking I should have two basking spots though, and I think a cage of that size can support it.

I've been looking at getting a dachiu dragon, almost bought one from their auctions, but was outbid last minute! I'll take a look at rainbow too!
 
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