Any tips or feedback for the new setup?

[DovahDad]

Hey all, we've got a new dragon on the way (should arrive tomorrow morning!) and we are trying to make sure the enclosure is top notch for him. Here's our new little guy. He's a 7 month old red Italian leatherback from Rainbow Bearded Dragons:

We've definitely upped our game with the viv, but we want to make sure we're not missing anything or doing anything wrong. Here it is:

EDIT: Since the terrarium has been lived in, we got all new items (besides dishes, hammock, and toys) and disinfected everything thoroughly. Dishes, hammock and toys were soaked in water with loads of bleach and F10SC veterinary disinfectant for 2 hours and rinsed thoroughly. The rocks (new) were washed and then covered in 1:250 F10SC until dry. The wood (new) was sprayed thoroughly with diluted 1:250 F10SC and air dried. All terrarium surfaces were covered in 1:250 F10SC until it dried 3 times, and then wiped down with pure bleach and rinsed thoroughly.

The setup details are as follows:

• 40 gallon terrarium
• T5 Reptisun 10.0 in Reptisun mirrored hood on top of mesh lid
• 100 watt heat lamp positioned over the log on the left, on top of lid
• CHE positioned over the hammock in the back left, on top of lid
• Slate-textured porcelain tile substrate
• Hammock in back left under CHE
• 3 pieces of mopani wood
• Small artificial succulent plant (not pictured)
• 4 red slate rocks (3 under the log on the left, one basking slate in the back)
• Food dish by the basking slate (a worm feeder dish is on its way to keep the phoenix worms from escaping)
• Water dish on far right
• Colorful cat toy ping pong ball (not pictured)

For food, we plan to give him:

• A daily salad of 60% mustard greens, 20% collard greens cut thin, and 20% grated yellow squash with skin on
• Prickly pear chopped small
• Crickets
• Dubia roaches
• Phoenix worms
• NatureZone bites as a treat

We plan to try to keep the basking area around 105 and the cool side around 80 - 85 degrees F, as measured by our Zoo Med infrared thermometer. We'll give him warm baths probably every other day in water treated with Repti Safe and leave a shallow water dish in his cage, also treated.

We're very excited to get a new little guy to love, and we want to do our best to make sure he thrives. Thanks for reading, and we welcome any criticisms or suggestions.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....everything looks great, it looks like a 5 star beardie hotel. Tamara from Rainbow has a great reputation and some of the most robust, colorful and fast growing beardies out there. You're going to enjoy him, I'm sure but it may take a week or so to settle in so he'll probably be very active in his tank as a young sub adult male. But good job on the beardie pad !

 

[DovahDad]

Thanks! The "5 star beardie hotel" made me chuckle. :lol: That's what we're going for - or a mansion, since he's living there longterm. As he grows we're considering upgrading to 50 gallon or more.

And yes, I've heard nothing but good things about Tamara and her dragons. We're very excited to welcome a happy, healthy dragon to our home.

If anyone notices anything that could be better about the setup, based on their experience, please let me know!

 

[CooperDragon]

I think he's going to be very happy in that setup. As always, you'll find yourself tweaking things as you go along. You're off to a great start though.

 

[DovahDad]

Thanks, Coop. I think you're right. I can't think of anything I'd do differently.

 

[AHBD]

I did think of one small detail to consider. Some beardies will try to eat any fake plants, viewing them as a potential snack. So just be aware that that can happen and see how he reacts to it, or maybe consider omitting it from the set up.

 

[DovahDad]

Good point, AHBD - I'll see how he treats it. It's this one, which looks like it'd be hard to eat:

http://www.petco.com/product/115750/Petco-Light-Green-Desert-Bush.aspx?CoreCat=LN_ReptileSupplies_Decor

However, I now see a review saying it lets off a rubber smell when heated under the lamps. I'll see if I can put it on the cool side without a smell, and if not, won't use it.