Downsizing tank?

[mrspoodie]

Hi there. This is probably a really dumb question. But here goes.

We inherited our beardie from some friends. He's been in a bad tank his whole life: 2 feet tall, 4 feet wide, but only a foot deep. Poor guy. He's tiny for his age. I've been searching Craigslist for months looking for an Exo Terra with doors that open in front, but of course they're impossible to find and I don't have the money for a new one.

So .. just found out my local Petco is having a sale on aquariums, $1/gallon. I would love to get him something with more floor space. Even just a 40 gallon breeder. Something not so tall so its easier for us to reach in and take him out. He is a good boy and doesn't mind being lifted out but its a pain to stand on a chair and reach way down every time we need to feed him, clean the tank, or take him out!

I guess my question is, if we change his tank size, will this be a good idea? He's three .. could he grow bigger if he had more space? Or since he's been in the same tank his whole life does it even matter anymore? We let him run around the house every day so he gets exercise but I really wish he had more wiggle room in his viv.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

[kbro]

How big is he? If you do the math, the 40g breeder has more floor space (assuming it is 36" long by 18 wide, which I think it is). I was thinking about this myself since my guy is in a 55 for now, and that's 4ft by 12 as well. It does make it harder to run around (turn around) with the smaller width. I don't think he would grow anymore though if that is all your after but I'm sure he would be more comfortable turning around in a wider tank. Also they are shorter, plus it would only be 40 bucks, you can't beat that, even if you eventually get a bigger one I'm sure you could resell it for 40 bucks at no loss to you then!

 

[kbro]

Afterthought.... keep in mind you will need a screen cover ($25 at petco, maybe order online and wait to move him until you get it, or make something). You will also probably need a new basking bulb (depending on where it is in the tank you already have, if it's lowered into the tank, maybe not), no matter what you have to go through figuring out temps again (that's always fun lol).
But honestly he will be fine in there, just keep looking everyday on craigslist (they will go fast). A couple years ago I found a 6ft long by 2ft wide by 3.5 tall wood that I customized for my first guy. Cleaned and re-sealed everything really good, put in a background and shelf liner on the back wall, shelf liner on the floor, and put in a shelf. It didn't have a screen top and I'm paranoid about heat lights in my tank so I cut a hole to fit my old 20 gallon screen top, placed in L brackets and dropped it in there. The tank was only $80 (they wanted $100 but it didn't hurt to ask lol), the rest really cheap stuff or I already had it. You just have to keep looking, don't give up.
Edit again lol;
Make sure if you buy a used one to clean very very well, you never know. The one I got had a snake that died of old age, but I didn't know for sure so I cleaned very good, rinsed well let it sit for a while, then sealed it all inside with 3 coats (even though it was already sealed) just to be safe. Then let it air out for a week or 2 until I couldn't smell anything.

 

[CooperDragon]

The 40g wide tanks are fine for a bit. They don't provide a ton of room for a grown dragon to move around so I'd suggest giving your dragon plenty of outside the tank time to run around. I used one of those for a "travel tank" and set it up on the road when we brought Cooper along for the ride. You will likely be able to resell it down the road so I'd think of it as a stop gap until you can save up some cash to buy or build a bigger (esp taller) permanent home.

 

[mrspoodie]

How big is he? If you do the math, the 40g breeder has more floor space (assuming it is 36" long by 18 wide, which I think it is). I was thinking about this myself since my guy is in a 55 for now, and that's 4ft by 12 as well. It does make it harder to run around (turn around) with the smaller width. I don't think he would grow anymore though if that is all your after but I'm sure he would be more comfortable turning around in a wider tank. Also they are shorter, plus it would only be 40 bucks, you can't beat that, even if you eventually get a bigger one I'm sure you could resell it for 40 bucks at no loss to you then!

Beans is 16" long and weighs 325 grams. He's a petite little guy but super healthy. He's seemed OK with his tank so far; when we got him I redid the whole thing and bought some pavers and logs and built up a good basking spot since he basically had nothing other than a half log hide - the people we got him from had never seen him bask once! So sad! The 24" height seemed so tall to me so I tried to better utilize the vertical space for Beans. He's always been a pretty lazy guy, but ever since waking up from brumating a couple weeks ago he's been a complete maniac, running around and glass dancing and climbing and jumping off everything possible in his viv, so that's what got me thinking maybe he really did need more space. I let him out to run around the house as much as I can, but my hubby is not really an indoor animal person *ahem* and doesn't love the idea of a lizard cruising around the house, not to mention my two wild boys who are constantly running around! Anyway. I think I'll go ahead and get a new 40g for him, if only for my peace of mind.

 

[CooperDragon]

How can you not love a dragon cruising around the house licking everything in sight with his tail curled up in the air out of happiness? It's the best!

 

[kbro]

The height of it is fine, it's just that you have to reach from the top that's the problem with that. I'm struggling as well and mine is only 18 high, but it's on top of my other tank. The only bad thing about the 40g I could think of is if he likes to climb around he won't have a much height to do it in. But you said you did that for him so he might not be that used to it yet. Him being 16 inches it's not too bad, but the bigger the better for floor space, a 40g breeder is a suggested minimum (or was now I'm seeing more 4 ft by 2 ft wide and 2 ft high being suggested which is better), I feel it's small. My old beardie Loki was just under 24 inches so that would not have worked for him but your guy is small. My poor Bam Bam is stuck in a 55 gallon for now poor guy, I'm looking for a big one for him too. Maybe check in your area for a reptile show coming up, I've heard sometimes they have good deals and custom enclosures people build to sell there (I have never gone to one yet, but plan to the end of April). Or I looked for custom built enclosures (or terrarium, cages, etc. Sometimes you have to look different ways) in minnesota and found some that are close enough that I'm considering as well for decent prices and I could pick up and save on shipping. Plus with brand new you don't have to worry about why the animal died or anything.

 

[kbro]

I was at petco (almost came home with another beardie though, I might still, know anybody in the twin cities, mn check out my post viewtopic.php?f=1&t=206938). Sorry, anyways I checked out the 40g breeder that's part of the $1 gallon deal, it looks bigger than I remembered, it's not too bad especially if your guy is only 16 inches, much more room to turn around. I'm still thinking about just getting it for now for bam bam, he really has trouble in his tank.