Hey!
Thanks for the info!
Sounds like you have a plan - your getting a bunch of good advice already! I personally am not a sand person for babies or adults or inbetwen at all.
I use some slate/ceramic tile that Lowe’s cut for me when in bought my girl Blue’s forever home - her custom viv she has lived in since she turned 1 years old. I love tile - it’s easy to wipe down, it’s easy to lay down, it’s easy to take up, and it holds temps. Something to def think about! I agree with the other post - that I would lay paper towels down in the 10 gallon - because you’re going to want to switch him/her out of that pretty quick - if you can get that ready for any day now.
The reason I mention having him/her in that 40 gallon now - is that in a 10 gallon - it’s so small that you won’t have a temperature gradient - it’s just way too small to give your dragon a warm side and provide him a cooler side at the same time - that’s really crucial for your dragon to have the option to move about in the tank to find the right temp for him at any given time ya know? It’s basically one big basking spot right now if that makes sense .... which - of course - you want a great basking spot - but you also want to the opposite of that and an inbetween spot too. Im a 10 gallon, there is no real way for him/her to regulate. At least that’s my view on it.
Hopefully you can make the switch sooner to the 40 ... from there, I feel like this is where people differ - some people are chill with a 40 being a forever home. That used the be the “standard” minimum you wood hear people say - but ehhhhh I’m not in that group. I think a good 4 feet in length - at least 2 wide feet - 2 feet tall has worked out super for Blue ... actually hers is not quite that tall ... it’s shorter - but ‘round about - I love this size. You can always go bigger than this as well! But for me - personally - I wouldn’t go any smaller. It’s a good minimum size to aim for.
You can get these vivs with light fixtures already installed inside - sliding front doors - endless custom possibilities. If you are able to secure one of these (check around on various sites for used ones!) ... then it will be probably be one the best investments you will ever make for you and your dragon.
Once you have a good structure in pace - the rest falls nicely into place. You could very well end up spending a tonnnn more money trying to upkeep a 40 gallon over time - from the separate light fixtures that have to be bought, to losing heat easily b/c of no insulation, constantly having to move equipment around ... it can get to drive ya crazy! But I understand that not everyone can make the investment for a larger customer initially - however it’s actuall a MUCH much much cheaper price in the long run - soooo much cheaper!
Regardless - the 40 is good compared to the current 10 gallon. I noticed you said the baking temp is 90 - 110 - how are you measuring these temps? What are using to take the temps with? What wattage bulb are you using with a 10 gallon tank?
It’s good that you are getting your bulbs and fixtures straight - Repti Sun and Arcadia are bulbs that I use for UV ... and a regular clear household bulb does the trick beautifully for a heat source - play around with wattages to ge desired temp - remember to be super careful in that 10 gallon - that will heat up very quickly all over the tank - there is no room/space possible to provide a cool down side for him/her, and no T8 UV bulb will fit a 10 gallon ... it’s way too long for a 10 gallon - at a 20 gallon you’re looking at the aT8 UV bulb fixture stretching the majority of the length of the tank - which again, give him/her no where to get out of the UV when they want to.
Dubia’s are excellent! If you can get the little itty bitty one for your baby dragon, that’s wonderful. Good job. A baby should be eating - a lot- to say the least - each day - so keep that in mind. Eat and poop - eat and poop - repeat ... that’s how it goes when they are littl babes. Got lots of growing to do.
So it sounds like he/she is comfortable with baths? That’s great ... I’m wondering how old the dragon is - usually we can make a guesstimate based on the length/size - can you measure from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail? It’s a neat way to get a idea of age. Never know exactly - but it’s a good starting point.
Does your dragon have a drink when it’s in the
bath? There is some debate on whether or not BD’s truly absorb water thru their vent or not. I personally stay on the safe side and make sure my girl gets oral fluids/
hydration as well as soaks.... generally she will take some nice long gulps in the
bath - I don’t keep a water dish in her viv.
Your light cycles seems good - 12/12 or 10/14 ... round about - as long as the lights off include all/any lights ... dragons need their nice, dark, cooled down beauty sleep for sure.
Look forward to hearing from you. Did you mention what the name is? I’m blanking out. Also, if you can take a photo of the underside of the dragons tail around the vent, we might be able to sex the dragon - if you wan to upload a photo. I’d love to see this little dude/dudette. Hopefully you can get that 40 gallon going.
-E