Any tips on saving money on setups?

[Doodlebug]

I do realize Bearded Dragons are quite expensive, and I don't have that much money. I'm not a person saying "u hi I'm gettin a beard deagen tommorew I hav fiv bucs" I'm just looking for some tips to overall make the setup cost somewhat less. I already bought some decorations from goodwill for really cheap. I'll be using paper towel substrate, and am using old lids for dishes. That's a good twenty dollars saved there. Overtime I can "fancier" things.

I also already plan on getting my bearded dragon from an online breeder as well as the lamp and mercury vapor bulb because they are half price on the internet. Thing is the actual enclosure. I'm not sure if I should build one or buy one, and if I do buy, where?

 

[Taterbug]

For a good sized enclosure building it may be cheapest. 4x2x2 is a good minimum, but you'll want to plan carefully to keep your MVB at the correct distance. We build ours for about $150-200 - we used thick glass and top grade wood. You could save a bit by using acrylic (though it may scratch) and mid grade wood. Look up the crossfire plans for an idea. I'd make a hole in the top for the MVB so you can keep your vertical space.

Spending money on the tank is well worth it IMO - I've got more caging regrets for my critters than any other bit of equipment. If you buy one, I recommend a large PVC enclosure. They are lightweight and easy to clean, they also hold heat well. They can be expensive though.

If your area has reptile shows you may also be able to buy one there. You can usually find out ahead of time what breeders go and can probably look them up. It also gives you the chance to meet the dragon and breeder in person - plus saves on shipping (both cost and stress).

All of my decorations are from outside, my bowls and dishes are cheep metal cat bowls from Walmart. Breeding feeders like roaches cuts down on feeder costs. Non adhesive shelf liner might work out for you as well, it whiles/washes clean and lays down better than paper towel, a roll is 6-8$

 

[jgolden4958]

Don't cut costs when it comes to lighting. That's something extremely important. I understand not having the money. I'm there now too. But they need the correct UVB. There are only two that work and the cheaper one is reptisun 10.0. All the other ones are not right. And I think I was looking at those mercury vapor bulbs at our pet shop around here and no where on the package did it say UVB, from what I saw. If you don't get the right UVB, it can really hurt them in the long run resulting in vet bills. We rescued one that never had a UVB and she was lucky. It was still over 300 to make sure she was ok but her bones are completely hollow. I'm not trying to fight or anything. I just want you to know that their lighting is extremely important.
We are going to build enclosures when we get the money but petsmart sometimes has really good sales on tanks. Like $2 a gallon and stuff. You just have to find them. We're just waiting til we can get some cheap wood off Craigslist to build enclosures.
I hope that helps and I didn't come off too strong. I'm just taking care of one that didn't have good lighting (among other things) and I want yours to be healthy.

 

[Doodlebug]

Mercury vapor bulbs, do in fact provide UVB light. I have seen many keepers that use them.
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-mercury-vapor/11442-107801/zoo-med-zoo-med-powersun-uv-mercury-vapor-uvb-lamp.html?utm_source=googleproductads&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CLWRhOPlz8ACFa_m7AodbysAUw

At my local pet store they are about sixty dollars, on some websites (lllreptile, big apple herp etc.) they are only forty. Plus they are also a basking lamp so I wouldn't have to buy both and save money. They also are replaced only once a year, not six months like regular UVB bulbs.

I was thinking about buying a tank on craigslist but they seriously overprice the tanks on there. They expect me to pay $100 for a used forty gallon, I might as well buy one from the petstore!

Oh, and I totally forgot about feeders lol. I am breeding crickets eventually. (I would breed dubia istead but they are illegal where I live.

 

[jgolden4958]

I definitely wouldn't buy a tank from Craigslist. They are overpriced and you're going to have to clean them out really well. You can sometimes find deals but I think more often than not people want to get new prices on their used stuff.
Just do some more research on the bulbs. I've seen that some of them cause blindness. It was on this site actually. I'm just following what my vet said to do. Best of luck.

 

[Taterbug]

The two recommended bulbs are the easiest for most people to obtain, they are easy to use, and are a cheeper to buy. MVB bulbs can actually work really well, but just like the tubes there are good and bad ones. There are a couple MVB bulbs that are considered good. Megaray is one, Arcadia has one as well.

There are some very misleading products though. It's important to research before relying on such an important part of your setup.

 

[jarich]

Since you are just starting out, I wouldnt recommend using the MVBs. From the tests Ive run, there is really only one brand worth the money (taterbug, remind me to PM you about the Arcadia MVB) and that is the MegaRay. Its not cheap, though it will last you a long time. The one I have now is still going strong after a year and a half, and still producing very good levels of UVB and UVA. However, its not an easy thing, nor necessarily a good thing, to use just one light. Its tricky to get both the UV exposure and the heat right with one bulb, and you often end up sacrificing one for the other. They have the High Output T5 fixture on sale right now. The T5 bulbs also last at least a year, and the fixture comes with a free bulb. You can find them here:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+6028+25698&pcatid=25698

For the basking bulbs, you can just buy them online at any lighting store for cheap. Try to get the PAR38 outdoor halogen flood lamps. Again depending on your enclosure, you can play around with the wattage, but I think most people use a 75-100 watt. These name brand ones are $7, but you can find cheaper brands for less.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/93651/PAR-16751S.html

These bulbs are almost identical to what they sell as reptile basking lamps in pet stores. About the only difference is that the reptile lamps are indoor halogens with a much narrower beam angle (that means less durable so they often burn out much faster, and less appropriate for adult lizards as they dont create very big of a basking area). The light they create is the same, so no need to pay for just a fancy box.

As for your enclosure, building it will always be cheaper. Its just a matter of whether or not you are able to do so. The construction is not very difficult at all, as you are just building a big box basically. If you use plywood, itll take you two sheets to make a 4x2x2 enclosure. Plywood is dirt cheap, and you might even be able to find some that people dont want if you ask around. If you want it to look a little more finished, you can use melamine. Again it comes in 4'x8' sheets too, so a couple sheets will do. I think its a little more money of course, if I remember right its about $40 a sheet. Normally most hardware stores will cut it to your specs, so you dont even have to do that. Just remember with the melamine that you need to get some silicone to seal the edges. It will swell and breakdown if any moisture gets in the middle, so thats very important to finish.

 

[Wolfeden]

If you have a Petco nearby, call them and see when their next $1/Gallon fish tank sale is.
Then you can get a 40G breeder tank for $40.

 

[Doodlebug]

I forgot about the dollar per gallon sale! I hope they have one soon... that would be cheaper than building, if not than I would build.

Ok, thanks for the mvb info. Now that I think about they seem to be to new and not tested. The good brand flouresents seem safer. And I'll get a basking bulb at Home Depot.

 

[taylorsandra]

Thanks for the tip! Let me add something here. I believe getting into a regular savings habit is more important than how much you put away and you will surely be surprised how quickly a few money each month builds up. Therefore, if you save regularly, you'll quickly find that your savings add up and keep growing. Get into the habit and watch your money turn into more money!

-Sandra

 

[NatashaFatality]

$40 for a 40 gallon is cheap, but in the long run and if you have the space it can work out to being cheaper to do the wood route. My brother was able to make a wooden enclosure for me with only one sheet of plywood. It's just an inch or two short from being an exact 4x2 floor space. If your beardie gets to be on the large end you'll have to upgrade from the 40 gallon. With the wooden one you'll have an enclosure for life. Also, tile will end up being cheaper than throwing out paper towels. One tile is less than $2 and you don't have to throw them out. I know Lowe's will cut the tile to fit for free. I can't say the same for other hardware stores. The polyacrylic to seal the wood cost me $17 and the silicone was less than $5. You can do tracks with acrylic doors for cheap and later upgrade to glass if you want. Just a few ideas.