Hey Everyone

[scistar11]

I've enjoyed visiting this site for some time now and have been taking notes too. I'm going to be getting my first bearded dragon this weekend and I want to make sure my set up is ready to go. I would like some advice or tips on how I can make the cooler side a little brighter without adding too much heat. I have a 40 gallon tank and am using a 100 watt GE Household Bulb for heat on the basking side. I also have the 24" Reptisun 10.0 for UVB which I know to change every 6 months.

I have two Zoo Med Digital Thermostats to monitor the temp on each side. I've tested the heating for a few days now and the right side gradually goes up to 108.5 and stays there. The cool side gradually goes up to 85 and stays there. Is this too hot? I've thought about going down to a 75 watt bulb but would appreciate some advice first.

Here's a list of what I've got and below are pictures of my setup:
- 40 gallon tank (to start with...I'd like to buy a bigger custom made one later down the road)
- Reptisun 10.0 UVB
- 100 watt GE household bulb
- 6x6 slate tiles for substrate floor
- basking spot
- food and water dish
- decor for climbing and exploring
- Zoo Med digital timers
- Zoo Med 5 inch deep dome lamp
- Zoo Med Wipe Out Cleaning Spray
- 100 watt Zoo Med CHE bulb (for winter time if it gets too cold)
- digital timer to run lighting on a schedule

This is what it looks like with all lights out except the lamp fixtures on the screen cover. I'm wanting it to be a little brighter on the cool side.

Cool Side

Basking Side

Slate Tile Bottom

For feeding:
- crickets
- mustard and collard greens
- calcium powder for dusting crickets
- multi-vitamin
- water

I've read that many of you advise against giving meal worms because they are hard to digest and can cause impaction. I'll stay away from those. Aside from crickets, what other live insects/worms can I feed my dragon? Should I wait until they are a certain age or size?

Additional Questions:
1. Do I feed crickets 2 or 3 times a day?
2. How many times a day do I feed veggies/fruits. Should I provide cool or warm water to drink?
3. How often do I dust crickets with the calcium. How often do I provide a multi-vitamin?
4. What other types of veggies and fruits can I feed? Is there a fruit or veggie that I should avoid?
5. How often should I bathe my dragon and how warm should the water be?

I think that's about it for now. I know I have a lot of questions here and I appreciate you taking the time to read this. We'll be going to Repticon this weekend and are excited about getting a bearded dragon. We're also looking forward to seeing all of the other reptiles too. I plan on taking pictures and sharing them here after we're settled in.

Thanks for reading!

Lisa

 

[NFM07]

Wow! Im new here and learning before I get a beardie, from what I have read it looks like your on the right track. I think, please someone tell me if Im wrong, silkworms are the best worms for feeding. I also saw something about phoenix worms but I have not been able to find anything yet saying if they are better then silkworms. I love the set up that you have, just one thing though. Will the hammock hold the weight of a full grown beardie? The suction cups that I have come across with other reptile stuff tends to give out under weight. Maybe someone else can answer that question. Im glad you are willing to take the time to learn before buying. Means your animal will have a happier life.

Nicole

 

[Claudiusx]

Welcome to the site!!

I will try my best to answer all your question hah.

First off, your measuring with digtal thermometers which is good, but, are they digital thermometers with a probe? If so you need to take the measurments from three locations (doesn't mean you need 3 thermometers)1. the cool end. Should be around 75-80 degrees. 2. the hot end. Should be around the 90-95 degree mark. 3. You need to take the temp reading from the actual basking spot, the spot where your dragon would lay to bask. This should be 105ish. Of course give or take a few degrees on all three spots.

It sounds like your bulb is making things much too hot. Unless I am mistaken and you meant the basking spot is 108, not the hot side.

Other insects you can feed: Phoenix worms, Reptiworms, Dubia roaches, Butterworms, Hornworms, uh, there are probably more I'm forgetting lol. Once your dragon reaches 16 inches, it can safely eat superworms.

1. 2 is fine. If you have the time to do it, 3 times wouldn't hurt. You just need to make sure that they have lights on for at least 2 hours after there last meal to digest.

2. You should always have a salad in the tank. Babies will hardly touch their salad, some don't. But it should always be offered. You might wanna start off with small protions of salad so you aren't wasting things by making a big salad that won't be ate.
I don't offer my beardies water in a bowl because I bathe them and they get water from their greens but if you want a water bowl just put in room temp water.

3. For babies, 5 times a week with the calcium, multi vitamin, 3-4

4. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

5. I bath my dragons probably only once a week but I really have no clue if there is actually an optimal amount of times to do it per week. I would say 2 times a week is good enough.

Have fun at Repticon.

-Brandon

 

[scistar11]

Will the hammock hold the weight of a full grown beardie? The suction cups that I have come across with other reptile stuff tends to give out under weight.

Thank you Nicole. Like you, I too agree that it's best to educate yourself first. As for the hammock issue, I haven't found another solution for that yet. I'm sure this particular hammock will not support a bigger beardie. I've read mixed product reviews on it. It will probably do for now, but I will be looking for something more reliable down the road. I've thought about using 3M command hooks or industrial strength velcro instead of suction cups. The fabric store has tons of material to choose from to make a new hammock with. So I may give that a shot.

 

[scistar11]

Welcome to the site!!

Thank you! I'm excited to be here.

First off, your measuring with digtal thermometers which is good, but, are they digital thermometers with a probe?

Yes. I do have the ones with probes. I have the thermometers (one on each side) mounted in the back of the tank with the probes dangling beneath them. The cool side reads 85 degrees. The basking side reads 108.5 degrees and that is with the probe resting directly on the basking spot. I haven't taken temps in any other part of the tank but will try that today too. If this is too much heat, I'll probably try the 75 watt and see if that makes a better difference.

Do you have suggestions on what I can do to increase the amount of light on the cool side without increasing the heat. I'm sure I'll have to play around with the different wattages to see what works, but I'm curious what has worked out well for others using a 40 gallon tank.

Thank you for the link and for answering my questions. I appreciate it.

 

[NFM07]

Thank you Nicole. Like you, I too agree that it's best to educate yourself first. As for the hammock issue, I haven't found another solution for that yet. I'm sure this particular hammock will not support a bigger beardie. I've read mixed product reviews on it. It will probably do for now, but I will be looking for something more reliable down the road. I've thought about using 3M command hooks or industrial strength velcro instead of suction cups. The fabric store has tons of material to choose from to make a new hammock with. So I may give that a shot.

I love the 3M command strips. I have used them to hang all my photos. I think they would be safe since they seem to be flush and hold a fair amount of weight. What kind of material's were you looking at? Im sure that some would cause their nails to get caught.

 

[scistar11]

I love the 3M command strips. I have used them to hang all my photos. I think they would be safe since they seem to be flush and hold a fair amount of weight. What kind of material's were you looking at? Im sure that some would cause their nails to get caught.

I actually went to Walmart tonight to get a few things and I've made some changes too. I bought an under cabinet fixture to hold the UVB tube. It's now mounted inside the tank along the top back wall. I read the "Lighting Help for Newbies" thread in the Enclosures section. It gave some helpful tips that I was looking for.

The fixture I got tonight was around 10 dollars. That's much better compared to the previous fixture that I had which was around 35 dollars. Having it mounted inside makes things brighter. I also think more of the UVB will reach my beardie since there is no mesh screen separating the two. The other things I got were some 3M mounting tape and a few light bulbs in various wattages to work on getting a good temperature on each side. I'm using a GE 75 watt on the warm side and a GE 40 watt on the cool side. So far I've had it running for about an hour. The warm side is up to 102.6 degrees (at the basking spot) and the cool side is 84.5 degrees. I'm hoping this is good.

Here's what it looks like now with the light mounted inside. Hope some of this helps you too.