How about a Beardie Checklist?

[Ashleydmj]

HELLO EVERYONE!
I am about to be a first time Beardie owner!
I was hoping someone could provide me with a checklist of what I'll need to ensure my Beardie is happy and healthy!
If you could provide the brand names of your favorite supplies as well as the places to purchase.(The cheaper the better)
My set up is a 40 gallon glass reptile tank. I am aware glass isn't the very best, but it is the best I can do right now!
Even if you have a link to a great care sheet!
I have done A LOT of research on these little guys...
But I'd really like some informative personal opinions!
Thanks so much

 

[Onlymediocre]

Tank- A 20 gal will work for a baby; no less than a 40 gal breeder for an adult (so the 40 gal u have is plenty big enough, I believe they are 36"x18"x16"?) It may be too big and overwhelm a baby dragon, so get use a divider to block him/her off into a smaller space.

Heat Basking Bulb/Fixture- you can use a reg household bulb (not the energy efficient ones, an old fashion style bulb) instead of paying $20 for a "basking" bulb at a pet store

UVB Light/Fixture-REPTISUN 10.0 or ARCADIA 12% TUBE bulbs only..NO COILS! Also big dif between reptiSUN and reptiGLO- Get ReptiSUN *cheap off the internet, either petmountain.com or eBay (i buy from eBay, cheaper for me once I added shipping)

*(note- you can get a Powersun MVB Bulb that gives off both heat and uvb..I dont know much about these but from what I understand they are ok)*

Substrate- use tile, reptile carpet, non adhesive shelf liner, newspapers, or paper towels -NO SAND, WOOD CHIPS, ETC (Nothing loose)

Thermometer- get a digital probe or a temp gun, u can get one at walmart for indoor/outdoor (hotside/coldside) and the humidity for $12

Humidity Gauge- this is if you get a thermometer that doesnt have one included

Basking Spot-anything rlly, could be a nice rock from outside that you clean up and bake to kill anything that may be in/on it.

Hide- anything you beardie can get into just to relax and get away (you can use a small cardboard box if u want)

Veggie bowl- a small dish your beardie can get into to eat their salad (maybe you have a shallow bowl in ur cabinet alrdy that will work)

Live feeders- Correct sized crickets, Reptiworms (BSFL), Caliworms(BSFL), Pheonix worms(BSFL), Roaches, etc.. You can breed your own crickets or roaches (i breed roaches) the feeding cost will be your highest bill after these start up cost. The BSFL and roaches u can actually feed in a bowl and avoid escapees and having to catch the ones that dont get eaten.

Calcium Supplement- w/d3 with uvb bulb; w/o d3 with mvb bulb (from what I understand)

Multivitamin Supplement

Rubbermaid type storage tub- not a "necessity" but def hlps alot. U can put ur beardie in there to feed (if u dont want to feed the live feeders in the tank for whatever varius reason (crix are known to hide) U can put him in there while u clean his tank. Give him his baths in there... Its just good to keep one one hand

Okay I cant think of anything else at the moment, well besides a cute little beardie I wish I woulda known what I needed b4 I got one, the pet store will sell u all the wrong stuff, so its good to have a list and just ignore them when they try to talk you into something else.
Hopefully I didnt forget anything. If u have any other questions feel free to ask

 

[kawa798]

Warning, if you feed crickets in the Dragons regular housing and not in a feeder tank, you must be sure to clear out all remaining crickets before lights out. This means taking out all the furniture and such to insure all the crickets are all out and not hiding. One cricket can really mess up a baby dragon when it's trying to sleep. Basically the dragon is helpless at night and the cricket will start chewing on the dragon. A quick visual will not do because those little crickets can hide anywhere.

 

[sweetpea1981]

so true!!!