Beginner looking for advice on enclosure

[travisgould]

Whats up guys? My name is Travis, and me and my girlfriend recently became the owner of a baby bearded dragon, and we wanted to get some advice about his/her enclosure (he/she is too young to be sexed... )as well as some general enclosure questions answered. So your help is very appreciated

Ok first off, embarrassingly enough, we fell victim to the "Beginners Kit". Embarrassing, but important to start with that so you guys know where we are coming from lol. We bought all of our stuff at Petco, and the employee who "advised" us about what to purchase and all the howto definitely led us astray. The kit did not warm the tank sufficiently (basking spot only reached about 85, "night light" left the tank so cold come morning that the poor little guy was clearly stressed and cold, about 60 degrees), and the tank itself was, on second thought, laughingly small (about 12 by 10 or so? 10L size). The lighting sucked, the fixtures sucked, the substrate sucked, and the value sucked. All around, it was a very eye opening experience. We quickly did all the necessary research and purchased all of the stuff ourselves, piecemeal.

So, I figured I would list the pieces of my enclosure and make sure I am on the right track, get some advice and maybe ask a few questions.

ENCLOSURE DETAILS:

Tank:
20L size, 30''x12''x12'' I know, not a 40g breeder but it was a great deal and we are fine upgrading later (he is very small atm, about 7 1/2 inches, which I think puts him at about 2 months old?

Lighting:
Exo-Terra 100W Intense Basking Spot (bulb) Basker, obviously
Zoo-Med 100W Ceramic Infrared Heat Emitter bulb
Reptisun 10.0 13W Desert UVB Bulb (not the tube)

I ordered a 24 inch Reptisun UVB tube to replace the current one because I feel it doesnt cover enough area. I also bought a fixture and plan on using command hooks to place it inside the enclosure. Am I right that a 5.5 inch dome doesnt cover enough area?

Lighting Fixtures:
Fluker's Mini Sun Dome (used for UVB bulb)
Fluker's Deluxe Clamp Lamp 8.5'' 150W rated (Used for the CHE)
Fluker's Clamp Lamp 8.5'' with Dimmer, 150W rated (used for the basking spot)

Other:
Digital thermometer with probe
Vinyl tiling from Home Depot for substrate. Basically linoleum but sturdier and looks nicer
Wooden log basking spot/hide
Fake Aloe plant
Water dish (which is now a salad dish because I saw on here that a water dish is unnecessary)
Spray bottle
Purified Water for said spray bottle
Rep-Cal Multivitamin
Rep-Cal Calcium with D3

I have ordered an infrared thermometer gun, and the new UVB bulb and fixture.
I am also wanting to buy a new fixture with a dimmer switch for the CHE for better control over the temperature, and looking into buying a timer for the lights.

QUESTIONS: Do you need to leave the UVB light on at night? Or should it follow the day cycle?

So...after all the headache of the oh-so-not-wonderful kit, I feel like we are on the right track. However, I want to make sure, and get some advice from some of the veterans here. What do you guys think?

Thank you for the time and consideration guys

 

[AHBD]

You did your homework and everything sounds good. No uvb needed at night. If I missed anything someone else will chime in.

 

[CooperDragon]

No need to be embarrassed. Many of us have had that eye opening experience, myself included. The important thing is you're making it right and giving your new buddy your best =).

The 20g long is OK but he'll outgrow it quickly. I use my old 20g long for my roach bin now. I'd start planning on building (or buying/having built) a full sized enclosure soon. He may not need it for a few months yet but he can move in early without issue. Something like this with a minimum 4'x2'x2' is a good size for an adult. Taller if you can. https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html

It sounds like you've made a lot of great improvements so far. You may want to pick up a second digital thermometer for the cool side so you can monitor both sides in real time but the temp gun can handle that as well. It's good that you're replacing the UVB as the 13w isn't nearly strong enough. A T8 tube with reflector should be fine for that size of a tank but make sure at least part of the basking area is about 6'' below it for best output. You'll want to invest in a T5 tube in a larger tank. Well worth it and they have an optimal range of about 12-14''. You don't need the tube to be much longer than your dragon and it's good to provide some areas with little or no UVB just as you provide some cooler areas so the 22'' T5 works well in most setups.

I'd definitely get a timer for the lights so you can set a schedule easily. Down the road you may even want to get a programmable dimming thermostat to control the light output but that's a luxury item. You don't need any lighting at night. If the temps stay above about 65 in the tank overnight you can just let it be. If they get lower than that, perhaps seasonally, you can use the ceramic heat emitter to bump the temps a bit. You just need a little though. I like to keep my tank in the low 70s overnight and use a heat emitter hooked to a thermostat in the winter.

Keep up the good work and improvements! Please let us know if you have any further questions.