Ralph!

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CMcKay

Member
So my girlfriend and I recently brought Ralph home. By recently I mean 2 months ago. He’s a little under 8 inches. I’m beginning to get frustrated. I have spent nearly 850 dollars on things that people told me I HAD to have, just to find out I don’t need it. So if it’s okay with you guys, I’ll lay out my set up and you guys critique. Tell me what I need and don’t need and what I still need to purchase please.

-40 Gallon Breeder (36x18x18)
-24” UVB light (I don’t remember anything besides that)
——the UVB light is currently sitting on top of the screen, can someone post a link where I can order a small reflective fixture to mount inside the tank?
- A 75W basking lamp (blue tint)
——- I’m hoping the blue tint won’t be an issue my girlfriend bought it as we originally only had a CHE
- A 100W CHE
- A thermometer probe that keeps the temp around 70 degrees on the cold side.

I have various other things that I won’t list as I’ve already confirmed I don’t need them (including 2 other tanks ???)

Thank you for all the help. I don’t know how to post a picture here Or I would!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Oh my I hope all this advice did not come from this forum---- as far as the blue tinted light please do not use it --- colored bulbs are harmful to the eyes and can cause long term eye damage --- you need a bright white basking bulb that will keep temps around 105-110 for a baby and 95-110 for a juvie / adult --- your tank is a 40 gallon I would start w/ a 100 watt and go from there - you can try using a regular HH bulb NO LED a Incandescent bulb - and see if you can get correct temps w/ that some of us can and some of us cant depends on room temp environment etc...--- small reflective fixture ??? You have a 24" fixture are you asking for a reflector to go inside the fixture -- if so you can order one from here
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-t8-24-lamp-reflector/#
use this link to post pics
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG on top of message box then click on the pic ---
I can give you more info on feeding / diet etc for your baby --
Karrie
 

DorgEndo

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Devlyn
For the most part those all sound like minimum things you need for the health of the dragon. I admit that cost total seems higher than what I would find in my area of the US. What currency are you using, US dollars or another? The set up for a dragon is most of the cost and up front the cost is high. Long term dragon costs come down to [1] food (higher costs the first year of life), then [2] replacing the UVB bulb every 6 to 12 months (depending on manufacturer), [3] replace the heat bulb only as needed, and finally [4] veterinary visits as needed. KarrieRae is right about having a 'white light' or 'full-spectrum' heat lamp. Return and exchange the blue tint for white light. You need the probes to check temperature for both hot and cool sides. CHE is optional, some people need CHE at night if your house temperature drops low, below 65°F you should have it, otherwise normal house temps around 70°F at night is good for sleeping.

I highly recommend one vet visit to a fecal exam, unfortunately dragons can have parasite from the store they were bought from. Establishing care with a veterinarian is part of pet care.
 

Aaradimian

Juvie Member
Sorry to hear you've had the run-around. There's a lot of advice out there, so I'll just tell you what I've done (successfully).

So, the very basics beardies have to have are a basking lamp and a UV one, a non-sand substrate, and somewhere to hide. The basking lamp can be a common (non-LED, non-colored) floodlight. I use a 75W bulb attached to a dimmer cord so I can control the spot temp, which should be ~105* F for adults and maybe 110* F for young ones. The UV bulb must be of a type meant for beardies and tube type (not coil). Recommendations on this forum are usually to use a Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 tube, or Arcadia "Desert" 12% or 14% ones. They have to be mounted so that they are not obstructed by screens, glass, etc. You can use a T8 bulb, but they are weaker, so you need to ensure that it's close enough to provide adequate UV. Either should have a reflector behind the tube.

For a hide, I am using a small, upside-down wicker basket covered with a hand towel. For substrate, I'm using a cut-up indoor/outdoor rug over a pair of ceramic floor tiles (1 viv) and over plywood (our 2nd one). You can go as cheap as newspaper on the bottom of a standard aquarium.

If you need to increase temps, you can use the CHEs or heating pads made for vivariums. I personally would not run either without a thermostat to ensure that things don't get too hot, and I would make sure there's a good temp gradient down to room temperature (no lower than about 65* F) on the cool side. It may take a little doing to get it stabilized, but unless there are exceptional circumstances, the above should meet baseline needs.
 

CMcKay

Member
Original Poster
Thank you all for your responses! I’m going to pet smart and Walmart right now to hopefully get everything straight. I will post a picture of my setup later but for now here’s a picture of Ralph!
107090-7906795898.jpg
 

CMcKay

Member
Original Poster
OKAY so this is the new basking bulb I bought:
107090-2502928446.jpg
it is hooked up to this thermostat to control the temp. I think 100w will be enough but time will tell.
107090-4292990696.jpg
the temp says 84 because it’s still heating up. The following is a full view of the set up for right now
107090-269428301.jpg
the UVB light is still on top of the screen and it is a T8 and from what I’ve read, it works but not well. If someone could send me amazon links of EXACTLY what I need to mount a fixture inside of the tank as well as the fixture itself and the best bulb for him I would be forever greatfull. Also I’m pretty sure the UVB light should span the majority of the tank? The dome at the far left of the picture is the CHE. It is plugged in to the time switch but the dome itself is turned off until I see what the temperature is with everything turned off. It gets kinda chill in my bedroom but right now the thermometer is holding steady at 74 but again everything else is turned on. I’m going to wake up around 3am and check the temp. If it’s below 65 I will continue to use the CHE but otherwise I’ll just remove it from the set up. Thoughts?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
No you dont want the UVB to span the tank he needs to be able to get out of those rays -- you dont want him hiding from the UVB ---- you need to get the T 8 inside the tank 8-10 inches from basking decor-- he needs to be able to sit directly under that UVB w / no cover over the bulb --- you can use shoe laces boot laces long plastic zip ties 3M velcro fasteners picture hanging wire fishing line etc -- right now hes getting no UVB or very little---
Karrie
 

Aaradimian

Juvie Member
Here's a fixture and bulb combination that will work considering KR's comments about not spanning the whole tank. I have this setup for one of mine & it's a 100 gal tank. As for securing it to the top of the viv, if you have the lid that came with the aquarium, you can simply poke holes through the screen and suspend it with wire or zip ties. I built an aluminum frame to mount all my lights & such on, but I helped set up my nephew's UV using 2 washers and a length of picture wire, and it worked just fine. HTH!

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptisun-T5-Ho-Terrarium/dp/B00M9ONY1W/ref=pd_sbs_199_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00M9ONY1W&pd_rd_r=45090d9d-29c8-4397-9074-3639f66028ce&pd_rd_w=s8AcI&pd_rd_wg=Jckf2&pf_rd_p=bdd201df-734f-454e-883c-73b0d8ccd4c3&pf_rd_r=JG5ZWXM2HY8HWYSJ8ZK1&psc=1&refRID=JG5ZWXM2HY8HWYSJ8ZK1

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26396-Reptisun-Fluorescent/dp/B00N1DY82E/ref=pd_bxgy_199_img_2/131-8310867-1934054?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00N1DY82E&pd_rd_r=9d7d97a0-fe5d-4c35-9a6d-97cc36f2c246&pd_rd_w=c6IBW&pd_rd_wg=vM8MZ&pf_rd_p=09627863-9889-4290-b90a-5e9f86682449&pf_rd_r=EQJAJ6R1A1A189G0R924&psc=1&refRID=EQJAJ6R1A1A189G0R924
 

BeardedDragonSteve

Juvie Member
I recommend the exo terra intense light basking bulb which makes it so you dont need a high wattage bulb. I have a 75 watt and it heats up the cage fast
 

CMcKay

Member
Original Poster
I have purchased the items that aarad suggested as well as some industrial strength Velcro. Thank you again everybody! And the CHE remained turned off last night and the tank never dropped below 70! I had some issues with the timer turning his lights on and off this afternoon so I will continue to do his light manually for the time being but it looks like everything will be perfect now!
 
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