Hello! Intro and questions

[Crysizzle]

Hello!

Well, I am not an official beardie owner yet. I do intend on it within the next week however, and so right now all my focus is aimed at the habitat.

I plan on getting a baby-juvi beardie. I actually work at a petstore and have bonded quite well with the beardies there. All but one has been sold and so I need to get him ASAP.

I do have a habitat-related question: For temporary (a few months) housing, is a Rubbermaid tub plausible? Would there be any downsides to this sort of house other than lack of natural or aesthetic appeal? I am planning on building a much larger (6 ft or so) enclosure but that won't be for quite a while. I figure if I put a baby beardie in something that huge right away, he wouldn't be able to catch all his food anyway.

Other than that, I think I am good to go on beardie info.

I plan on using reptile carpet, no sand. I will have a Flourescent UV light and a UVA/UVB basking light. I have plenty of rocks that I think would make a marvelous basking spot and a few pieces of corkbark left over from when I kept turtles years ago. I will buy a Cricket Keeper and vary his diet between those, mealworms and veggies. Of course I will get thermometers and a hygrometer.

But is there anything else I should know not mentioned?

And, just in case the last beardie gets sold, do you all know of any reptuable Beardie breeders/sellers in the US?

-Crystal

 

[fresnowitte]

:wave: Welcome Crystal!

I must commend you on trying to gather information before getting one.
As far as the rubbermaid container, there are breeders that house babies that way. It should be ok! And yes your reasoning for not starting out with a big enclosure while it is a baby is correct. Glad to hear that you choose not to use partical substrate. And rock piles work real well for keeping nails filed down. I boiled mine before putting them in the enclosures. Don't forget to clean the wood real good that you plan on useing. Bakeing works real good for that.

Anyhow welcome to the site. And when you do get your baby please don't forget to post some pic's. :mrgreen:

Barbara

 

[Crysizzle]

Barbara,

Thanks for your quick response!

Concerning the substrate - I've read the it's mainly juvies that should be kept away from sand. Is this true, or is reptile carpet something that should be used forever?

Thanks! :mrgreen:

 

[fresnowitte]

Barbara,

Concerning the substrate - I've read the it's mainly juvies that should be kept away from sand. Is this true, or is reptile carpet something that should be used forever?

Thanks! :mrgreen:

Some people choose to use play sand for their adult beardies. Myself I use linoleum and quarry tile with rock piles. Except with Zak-n-Wheezie they also have some repti-carpet in their viv as well as the lino and tile. They are handicapped so their viv has been a challenge to say the least.
I find that not partical substrates are much easier to clean and keep clean. Lowering the chances of parasites.
Besides beardies will tongue just about anything. So JMO but sand makes it like a "litter box".
Also why take the risk of impaction.

And furthermore in the wild they live on hard surfaces for the most part. Here's a link that shows what their natural enviroment is like. Not really sandy more of a hard harsh enviroment.

http://www.freewebs.com/kirbydragons/naturalsoils.htm

On sand they can't develope their leg muscles very well. Again JMO!
We all have our different beleifs and preferences. As you will soon find out. :mrgreen:

Barbara

 

[norbertbd]

My baby beardie was in a flipper top type rubbermaid container for about 5 days until his permanent home was ready. It worked fine for the short term, but also had a little trouble with the temp control, probably because I didn't have a screen top on to help hold in the heat.

I would suggest a clear plastic container versus the opaque flipper I used. Norbert was always looking up out the top because all he saw was shadows thru the sides.

 

[Crysizzle]

That's true! I didn't even think about how he'd feel in a dark box.

This is what I was planning on using...

(not sand, brown packing paper as a substrate temporarily)

I wonder if it will be okay for now. I mean, I won't be getting him for a few days ad picking up a new tub would be the simplest of all things needed. I am just concered I won't find one clearer than the one I already have. Do they make completely clear tubs?!

It may even be better to get a solid plasic rather than the dooms-day shadow box.

 

[norbertbd]

That box looks good to me. Mine was kind of an opaque white, you couldn't see through anything but shadows. I think mine was about the same size. I ended up using a 150 watt household bulb to get the correct basking temp and had to slightly lower the dome into the container. But the bulb was high enough he couldn't touch it if he reared onto his legs. He liked to try to scale the walls. Now he likes standing with his elbows on the window looking out, it's kind of funny.

Make sure you measure the surface temp at the basking site, not the air temp around it.

I got my beardie from a breeder south of Chicago, Illinois. Not sure how far she ships. Someplace on here I think I saw a link to reptile vets and another to breeders. Try a google for a reptile show at your county fairgrounds. They have them monthly in Illinois at different fair grounds. They may by you as well.

 

[norbertbd]

Oh yeah... you're ahead of me on something. How did you post your pictures on here?

Thanks

 

[Crysizzle]

I am trying to think up ways to contain the heat.

I could buy a simple sheet of mesh to keep over it. i could cut a hole in it if need be to lower the lights.

I do plan on getting 1. digital thermometer with a probe that can be set ON the basking spot and 2. an adhesive thermometer to go on the opposite side of the tub.

The digital one will definitely help me judge the basking temp.

Should I start off with around..100W then? I think I may, if I am going to use the tub. Mmmm.

It's the damn flourescent I am having problems with. I guess a flourescent fixture from WalMart will hold any bulb?

Oh - I use http://www.tinypic.com to host my photos. Just go there, hit "browse," upload your photo, and the last box with just a plain link with no brackets around around it and come back here. When you have your message box up, look at the top underneath your subject line and you'll see buttons like B and i and u. Find the Img button, and paste the code between the brackets :mrgreen:

 

[norbertbd]

From what I gather there are 2 different types of connectors for flourescant bulbs. I bought the Repti-Sun 10.0 and it's connectors (T-12, I think) fit the fixture I purchased and wired from Home Depot for about $12. I think the other connector might be a T-8, which might fit different bulbs. Based upon the expense of the UV bulbs I would verify what connector the bulb you're going to get has first. The box for the fixture would probably say what type of connector.

For the heat/lights, just have several different wattages handy so you can swap them if you're having a problem. That's the beauty of the household lights....not nearly as expensive as the stuff from the pet stores, and you probably have a light in the house they could be used in anyway.

 

[Crysizzle]

Very helpful - thank you!

Do rocks get too hot for these guys? I have mexican beach pebbles, which are these:

You think these will be alright for a basking spot?

 

[norbertbd]

I'm using patio pavers. I think the rocks will hold the heat well. It's a matter of making sure the surface doesn't get too hot.

I wonder whether their little feet could slip and get stuck between those if they move? I hear they like to dig, so I don't know if they would try in that our not. Maybe someone else has experience with this.