Getting first beardie soon. Need advice!

[dancymisha]

Hi everyone.

I'm very excited to get my first bearded dragon soon. I've done soooooo much research and visited so many pet stores and exotic pet places that I think I'm overloaded with information.

Would someone mind answering some questions for me? I've read some of this forum too but it would make me feel loads better if a knowledgeable person answered my questions directly. All of my pets are like family and I want the best for them.

1) I'm looking at getting the Exo Terra reptile terrarium 36x18x18". For this tank I wanted to get the zoo med powersun uv bulb. I like the idea of only having one bulb - and I've read that this takes care of the beardie's UVA, UVB, and heat needs. What wattage is best for this size tank?

2) A few pet store people have said if I only get this bulb that I wouldn't need any other light unless I find it gets too cold at night. I'd just turn it on for the necessary amount of time during the day, and turn it off at night, and continuously check the temp. Given where we live I don't think it will get too cold at night. Is what the pet store people told me true? (Also, I hope to figure out how to work a timer!)

3) For this bulb I want to get the zoo med deep dome lamp fixture. I read reviews and some people said it got too hot, some had melted wires, some even saw smoke! How safe have you found this fixture with the aforementioned bulb? It kind of scares me to leave a heat lamp on all day. I also want to get a lamp stand.

4) Do beardies need soaking bowls, or should I just mist him or her (or the "salad" I will give) once a day with water? If I don't need a soaking bowl should I get a separate bowl for water?

5) I want to get an all in one thermometer/hygrometer. Where is the best place to put this in the tank? Do I need 2, one on each side?

6) I plan to buy dusted crickets from a petstore for now, until I figure out if I want to keep crickets. Since I work during the day I will only do this twice a day, in the morning and at night. I'm hoping the petstore can separate the crickets for me in bags, not sure how to work that out yet. I will of course offer fresh greens at night, along with bearded dragon pellets. Though I've read that many don't care for the pellets. If anyone thinks my initial feeding plan is horrible please let me know.

7) How do I know when to cut down on the crickets? On many sites they say adult beardies should only eat insects once a day. How big is an adult? Or will I notice he/she gradually cutting down on the amount of live prey and then I'll know to cut back on them? And do adults really need crickets every day?

8) Vitamins - is the calcium (with vitamin D) dusting of the crickets enough, if I offer a variety of produce? Or should I get the separate multivitamin - if I do that, how do I give them this separate multivitamin, and how much and how often?

Sorry if any of these are silly questions. I just don't want anything to go wrong!

 

[Terry15]

Black Friday, pet smart Exoterra 36x18x18 on sale, 50% off

 

[CooperDragon]

Thank you for doing research ahead of time. It will make things much better for your new buddy and much easier on you! I'll do my best to help out.

1) I have that tank. I use a regular basking light (150w) along with a T5 UVB tube and it works well. You could go with a mercury vapor bulb as well but I suggest getting one a little higher end than the PowerSun if you go that route. A MegaRay or an Arcadia would be a good choice. I'd go with the 100w bulb and put it on an adjustable lamp stand so you can control the height. You'll want the lamp to be about 15-20'' above the basking spot. You may need a second regular basking light or heat projection light to get the temperatures in the basking area to 100-110 depending on what your readings are. I suggest using an IR temp gun to get accurate measurements because proper temperatures are crucial.

Good MVBs: http://www.reptileuv.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=181 in a dome lamp or this kit http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/mercury-vapor-kit-100-watt-with-230-volt-bulb-works-in-us-canada/

If you decide to go with a tube UVB light instead of an MVB, I'd use one of these (I use the Arcadia in my setup) This fixture http://www.amazon.com/Sunblaster-904296-NanoTech-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B00AKKUBDQ
With this bulb http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun-10-0-Lamp/dp/B00AQU8HAO/

Or this combo set http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

2) If you are getting proper temperatures with just the MVB, then that's all you need. You may find that you need an additional heat source to get proper temperatures with the MVB at an appropriate distance (safe levels of UVB) so that depends on heat measurements. You can hook the light(s) to a regular outlet timer and it will work well. If the temps inside the tank stay above about 65 overnight, you don't need any additional heat in the tank. If it gets colder, I suggest using a ceramic heat emitter or heat projection lamp as needed.

3) The deep dome is good if you want to hide the bottom of the bulb. It's not really necessary if you're suspending the bulb above the tank using a lamp stand which I recommend. You should always use a fixture with a ceramic base and one that is rated for the wattage of bulb you're using. Lighting is very important so it pays off to go high end here.

4) I'd put a shallow water dish in the enclosure along with a salad dish. They get most of their hydration from food, but sometimes they'll want to take a drink. You can drop water on their noses to provide extra hydration (they'll lick it if they want it). You can also provide baths in shallow (up to their elbows or so) warm water. I use a little tupperware for a small dragon or a turkey roasting pan for a large dragon because they're portable, easy to clean, and about the right size. I don't mist them. I provide daily baths but you can bathe them less frequently. Once or twice a week is plenty.

5) Crickets from the pet store will get very expensive. Petco here charges about 12-14c per cricket vs about 1-2c per cricket online. When they start going through 1,000 per month it makes a difference. Either way you'll want to put together a bin to house crickets and gutload them with veg scraps. You can use a 20g tank with mesh top or a big rubbermaid bin with a big mesh covered hole in the top and cardboard tubes for them to live in. If you find crickets difficult to deal with (smelly, noisy, not very hardy etc) as I do, you could start a dubia roach colony. I've found them MUCH easier to take care of and once they start a colony you won't need to order many bugs, they are self sustaining after a few months.

I suggest feeding a young dragon two bug meals per day. Calcium dusted bugs all they want in about a 10 minute window. I also offer a fresh salad daily in the morning but the young dragons often ignore salad in favor of bugs. They need the protein to sustain large growth spurts. If they are familiar with salads as a food source though, it's easier to transition them to mainly veg diet at 12-18 months. I use this site as a reference for what to put in salads (2-3 items depending on what's fresh at the store that week) http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I don't use pellets or processed food. They don't provide hydration and have questionable ingredients. Live bugs that are well hydrated and fed on fresh veges and nice fresh salads are the best bet.

7) Between 12-18 months (ish) their growth starts to slow down. As this happens, you can slowly transition them to 1 bug meal per day, then down to a bug meal every other day, then every third day or so (salads daily) until their overall diet is about 80% veges and 20% bugs. It's a slow transition and depends on their growth rate and individual preferences. Until then, the little guys need a couple of bug meals per day.

If you use a T5 tube or a MVB for your lighting, I'd use calcium without D3 because they'll get enough UVB to synthesize their own D3. I'd keep a multivitamin on hand as well and use that in place of the calcium maybe once or twice per week. I use Repashy brand supplements and like it but there are lots of decent options available.

Please let me know if this helps and if you have any further questions.

 

[dancymisha]

Thanks for your reply. All of the lighting choices are so overwhelming. I will look into what you suggested and may change my choice. I'm sure I'll have mor questions. Again, thank you.

I've read tons on good cleaning techniques. How do you clean your tank CooperDragon?

And I saw that sale Terry15. Awesome price!

 

[CooperDragon]

The lighting is definitely overwhelming, but it's critical. A lot of us have done quite a bit of research and will be glad to help you find a good choice (there are several good ways to do it depending on tank size and budget). We can help you with setup and distances etc.

What kind of substrate are you planning to use? When I clean the wood basking branches or the tile substrate I usually rinse them and put them in the oven on low (250 or so) for 30-45 minutes to sanitize it. I also have a small 1000w steam cleaner that I use to sanitize the tank. I use a spray bottle of half vinegar half water for spot cleaning. It's not great at sanitizing but works well for general cleaning. I also suggest using F10SC disinfectant for cleaning tanks and furniture.

 

[dancymisha]

I was going to use reptile carpet or newspaper.

 

[CooperDragon]

Those are good options. If you go with reptile carpet, I'd get some extra sets because you need to wash it pretty often and it gets tattered after a bit. Easy to just swap in a fresh set while you're washing the old. Non adhesive shelf liner works well too.

 

[BeardieLover456]

You said you wanted to just use one bulb, right? Bad idea. Your dragon needs a cool side as well as a hot side. I may be young, but I've done my research. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COOL SIDE OR YOUR DRAGON CAN AND WILL GET SICK!!!!!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there.....lots of great advice from Cooper, he is patient and has enough energy to type out answers to all your Q's. Just wanted to add that I've used the Powersun bulbs and had good results. The brands Cooper mentioned are actually so strong that you need to adjust their height, the Powersun 100 should be able to sit directly on the screen and provide decent uvb. So, there are choices but see what works best for you.

And beardielover 456, we definitely need a cool side for our dragons. With a large tank a high wattage MVB can sit slightly to one side , and even if it's in the middle of the tank there are still areas at the ends of the tank that are cool enough.

 

[CooperDragon]

he is patient and has enough energy to type out answers to all your Q's.

Just have nothing better to do so may as well help out some dragons ;-)

The PowerSun bulbs are OK from what I've read but I haven't tested them myself. They are widely available and produce a nice even, relatively wide beam of UVB as long as their manufacturing quality is consistent. The 100w has an optimal range of about 8-12'' above the basking spot and about 6-8'' to either side so their beam is just wide enough for a medium sized dragon. The 160w is optimal at about 10-15'' above the basking area with a beam width of about 8'' to the side at proper height so it's more appropriate for slightly larger tanks and larger dragons. At those distances, you'll usually need a second basking light or ceramic heat emitter over the basking area to provide adequate temps but that will vary depending on your setup and will need to be tweaked based on the readings you get.