Bearded Dragon Supply List

[CoolioTiffany]

Alright so as some of you may know I'm going to pick up a male or female adult Beardie at the reptile expo this Saturday. Now, here are the items I will get at the show, hopefully everything I need will be there:

-Branch/log (the one I have is too large to boil/dry out)
-2 digital thermometers (one for basking spot & one for cool side)
-water dish
-UVB lighting (stretches to fit across my entire 40g enclosure)
-Heat lamp (the dome heat lamp, not sure what watt basking bulb to get)
-Hide

I think there is something I'm missing, not sure what. For the greens I'm going going to put a plastic plate with the greens on it in the enclosure when I feed the Beardie greens. I also have a dish that I could put pellets in.

Here are my questions:

Am I missing anything?
Would a 75 watt bulb be ok to use, meaning, would it produce enough heat?
Do I need to use a basking bulb or would any bulb work as long as the basking temps reach the right temp?

 

[gwookkim]

i think a 75 watt heat bulb is too weak for a 40 gallon tank. i think you might wanna look into a 100 watt or a 150 watt. depending on how cold the environment is around the tank. try to find a reptisun 10.0 tube uvb light. and feed ur beardie live food. ive heard pellets arent that great for them.
any light will do as long as they are halogen? i think is the term for it. ive heard of people using lights from hardware stores. i have no idea if that is an actual good idea or not. i just like to use the "official" stuff cuz im a stickler for that kind of stuff.
and since you have a 40 gallon enclosure, im guessing you're getting a pretty decent sized beardie? cuz a juvenile would get stressed out by your big tank, and it can stun their growth.
oh, and a small tip so you can save a bit of money, just get one digital thermometer with a probe and just measure the temp on each side of the tank by moving the probe. that way you dont have to get two. i have just one, and two tanks, and i measure the temps twice a day on each side of both tanks. its not bad. otherwise i would have gotten three more thermometers.
hope that helped you a bit.

 

[CoolioTiffany]

i think a 75 watt heat bulb is too weak for a 40 gallon tank. i think you might wanna look into a 100 watt or a 150 watt. depending on how cold the environment is around the tank. try to find a reptisun 10.0 tube uvb light. and feed ur beardie live food. ive heard pellets arent that great for them.
any light will do as long as they are halogen? i think is the term for it. ive heard of people using lights from hardware stores. i have no idea if that is an actual good idea or not. i just like to use the "official" stuff cuz im a stickler for that kind of stuff.
and since you have a 40 gallon enclosure, im guessing you're getting a pretty decent sized beardie? cuz a juvenile would get stressed out by your big tank, and it can stun their growth.
oh, and a small tip so you can save a bit of money, just get one digital thermometer with a probe and just measure the temp on each side of the tank by moving the probe. that way you dont have to get two. i have just one, and two tanks, and i measure the temps twice a day on each side of both tanks. its not bad. otherwise i would have gotten three more thermometers.
hope that helped you a bit.

If I can find an MVB bulb at the show, I might get that if I do find it, but if I don't I'm just going to get the 100 watt bulb along with the reptisun 10.0.

I will be feeding the Beardie live food (crickets) and will be feeding it greens. I've just seen hatchlings eat pellets so I'm guessing that has nutrients and everything for them which made me think it would be good for the adults.

Yes I will be getting an adult Beardie, I find it easier to care for than a baby. With babies you have to feed them 2-3x a day and feed them A LOT of crickets, so I'm not really up for that. Plus the little size of the Beardie isn't too much of my liking. So, I'm going to purchase an adult.

Thanks for answering to my post!

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

you really should have your tank set up before you get your new pooper.

 

[MrsHutch]

I have to agree with Tom. I made the mistake of getting all my equipment and my new beardie on the same day at a reptile expo in September and it was the BIGGEST mistake I made. It took me quite a while after I got home to get it all set up which only added to the stress levels of the beardie (about 3 months old) and I ended up having to get my bedside lamp to shine on him to try and keep him warm whilst i was getting his home ready. Then after I put him in, I had real probs getting my temps right and early cooked the poor baby in the first couple of days. He was really poorly and I thought for a wee while that I maight even have lost him I had read advice telling me to get my set up running for at least a few days before you get your beardie and , boy, I wish I had listened :shock: Ozzie's fine now, but getting your set-up running spot on will take a good few days as lights have burn in times and you need to measure temps at all times of the day to allow for fluctuations in room and outside temps so that once you get you new pride and joy, you know that his reloction stress will be kept at a minimum cos you won'tneed to keep taking him out, changing basking spot levels or changing bulbs.

 

[beardie parents]

I tend to agree. We had Rosie in a plastic tub with a light on and the temps seemed fine but she threw up a day or so after we got her in her tank and she didn't want to eat right away. Also, I suggest (assuming you're in the US) going to Walmart and getting the accurite digital thermometer with probe, it's about $12 and gives you 2 temps and a humidity reading. It probably will be cheaper than buying 2 different digital thermometers with probes as they can be about $6 or $7 each.

 

[tank4102]

Ok you are missing about 3 things

1-Reptile carpet
1-herpevite (1 time a week, WARNINGO NOT MIX THE HERPEVITE AND THE REPCAL) http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/105550/rep-cal-herptivite-multivitamin.html

1-Rep-cal http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/105551/rep-cal-ultrafine-powder-calcium-with-vitamin-d3.html (powder the feeders 1 time everyday or whenever you feed her/him)

 

[Potts]

Something little but ive seen a lot of digital thermothingys with two probes which is what I got and its great so ide say get one of them!

 

[tungchung]

Don't forget your supplements for the beardie and fixtures for the lighting.

This checklist with a setup diagram may help you, but as others says, you should look to setting up the viv first before purchasing a dragon.

http://www.twdragons.com/caresheets/checklist/index.asp

Regards Tung