Going to get a Beardie family memeber need deco help!

[atwilson871]

Hello! My family and I have wanted to get a Bearded Dragon for a long time and now we can finally afford to get everything we need to keep the little fella happy, spoiled and healthy. Only problem is we have no idea how to decorate the tank. I would really love some insight from you avid Dragon keepers on set up ideas. And how to either make it or where to buy it. Affordability is not a major problem cuz if it helps make our future beardie happy, I'll make it work!

 

[beckysbeardies]

As sand can be used for beardies, it's a big no for babies. If they eat the sand, they can get impact ion, which can be fatal. I would suggest paper towel, reptile carpet, or a reptile sand mat. I have two adult dragons and my enclosures have half sand and half fake grass. The grass is wonderful, but it's difficult to clean when they poop on it. It often needs to be scrubbed. If you don't mind cleaning after your dragon and want good looks, I would suggest the fake grass. You can get it from your local hardware.

You want to remember the environment of non-captive bearded dragons. Keep in mind that they are from Australia and enjoy a desert theme. You can buy a 2D background from some pet shops that have a desert, you could even look online. There are also 3D Rock backgrounds you can buy, which are more commonly found than a desert background.

You will need a basking spot for your beardie. Pet stores supply many fake rocks which are safe for dragons. The rock will need to be close to the heat lamp, but not too close where your dragon can jump and touch it. Ouch. You can also look around outside for one, but be sure to boil it in water for at least 15 minutes, or bake it in the oven for 15 minutes on 200 degrees Celsius (300 Fahrenheit). This is to ensure your bearded dragon doesn't get any unwanted parasites or other things that can be found in the rock. The same goes for sticks, however I recommend not baking the sticks as they can catch on fire. Boiling them for the same time as a rock will work.

Your dragon will need a hide. The hide must be large enough for him to get into. It is very hard to find a suitable hide object outside, so it would be best to get one from a pet store. You can also get a cardboard box and cut a hole in it, but don't put it too close to the heat light.

Your new dragon would love some ornaments like plants. Plants from outside can be collected and used, but there is a very broad range of plants that are poisonous to bearded dragons, and you don't want to mistakenly use one that is poisonous. Therefore, I highly recommend just buying some from the pet store.

You will need a food and water bowl, they can be purchased from the pet store. You will also need to purchase two thermometer to confirm that the temperature that your thermostat is creating is correct. You will need one thermometer for each side, one for the warm side and one for the cool side. I assume you already know that you need a UVB light, a heat light, and a thermostat. If you're looking for some more ornaments, you can use ones made for fish tanks. I also would recommend getting a reptile hammock, beardies love those.

Okay, I think that's all! If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask! Have fun with your new beardie!

 

[Taterbug]

There is lots of ways to decorate! Thisthread has lots of examples (I wouldn't say they are all good but some are fantastic). Personally I would (and have) invest in the enclosure and lighting as top priority.

I am a huge fan of large enclosures. The more space you have the more options you can give your dragon for temperature and light, as well as more room your dragon will have to exercise and for you to decorate. Dragons are semi-arboreal lizards, meaning they spend a fair amount of time in trees so climbing features like branches are great to have. Pepper has always used his climbing decorations more than anything else, and its a good workout for him too. When you have vertical and horizontal space you can be more creative with your basking setup too. A smaller tank ends up having less room for that sort of thing when the dragon grows up, just something to keep in mind. You can upgrade tanks along the way, or start with a larger on off the bat - if its too big and your little one is overwhelmed its a simple matter to partition it smaller until they are ready for the space.

I get most of my stuff from outside, rocks, branches etc and go for a natural look like the edge of a forest. Its important to collect form a clean area (no pollution, no lawn chemicals, not from the side of the road or a body of water etc) I haven't sterilized things in a long time (too big) but boiling and baking both work fine, @ 200F you should not have a problem with sticks catching fire (make sure they aren't close to the heating elements though). The worst I've had happen with sticks I've not baked is bugs coming out of them - another reason it's good to heat them through. Cork bark is a great material - its really grippy and easy for them to climb, but very light weight.

As far as the actual decorating goes, you want to give you dragon choices on where to be, what to do and how warm to be. Remember that your dragon will only be able to do what you give it the ability to do. If it only has one perch it is sort of like only having one chair in your whole house. Visual barriers (obstructions from view such as plants, branches and such) can help them feel a bit hidden and more secure which can be good for little ones who would otherwise feel like they are about to get eaten at any moment but shouldn't spend all day in their hide. Different levels vertically will give them different vantage points of the room and different options as far as being closer or further from the lights.

This sitehas some how to guides for making your own rock formations, I've made a couple but found mine were not too durable and ended up just using real rocks. Landscaping companies or garden centers may have some nice rocks available.

If you are new to reptiles a solid floor may be good to learn on. You will have less to worry about if you are the worrying type. (If you want something more natural I would suggest a bio-active substrate, but it is a bit of work in it's own right.) My preference when it comes to solid is for non-adhesive shelf liner, or slate tiles. Both are easy to clean and attractive. The shelf liner is nice because you can wipe it clean without having to remove a bunch of stuff. With tile sometimes the wastes seep between the cracks. Carpets and stuff should be cleaned regularly or they have the potential to harbor bacteria and just seem kind of gross to me. Its a good idea to get two or three if you go the carpet route so you can replace it while washing the soiled one.

 

[illuminis]

After a lot of searching I found a link for safe plants if you choose to use live plants.

http://www.lllreptile.com/articles/2-list-of-nontoxic-plants-for-your-terrarium