I need advice for my setup

[iradog85]

I'm going to describe what I have, what I plan to add or change, and if anyone has suggestions I would appreciate specifics.

I have a 75watt red bulb for heat at the moment, but I bought a 100watt ceramic heat emitter bulb (bell-shaped) and I'm going to put that in instead. I have a Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB coil bulb but I now know those are bad so I was gonna get a Repti-Sun 10.0 Or should I go with a MVB? Can I get these at PetSmart or do I need to go to a pet shop? I'm also a little fuzzy on the placement of each bulb, but I think the general idea is to have the UVB on one side and the heat next to it but closer to the middle of the tank. Or I guess if you have a tube bulb it's gonna stretch the length of the whole tank and the extra heat will be on one side only. I have playsand in there (the kind that won't cause impaction) and a branch for him to climb on and bask on.

I bought a spray with vitamins in it and the directions say to spray him from head to tail, so I've been doing that once a day. Does that replace spraying him with water? Should I avoid the spray vitamins altogether? Should I spray warm water directly in the tank or over the bathtub or outside? When spraying him should he be facing towards me or away from me?

When giving him a bath I've been setting him on a washcloth that has soaked up the warm water and it sits above the water level. I'm afraid of a fiber getting caught in his toe and it leading to constriction and eventually the toe falling off. Washcloths are okay?

I know a lot of these questions aren't enclosure-related but I didn't want to make a ton of separate posts. It's easier for me this way. Any suggestions are appreciated. PM me if you like.

Brand spankin' new beardie owner, and he's only a month old (from nose to butt he's the length of my middle finger). I want to make sure everything is set up so he can thrive and be happy! :love5: I'm worried I'm doing too many things wrong. I still have SO MANY more questions, but they're all written down at home. :dontknow: :help: :help: :help:

 

[MissT]

Hey and welcome!!!!

Just a couple of things I wanted to point out.

I have a 75watt red bulb for heat at the moment, but I bought a 100watt ceramic heat emitter bulb (bell-shaped) and I'm going to put that in instead.

You will need a bright white bulb for basking (heat) - a regular household bulb can be used. I would use the che if additional heating is needed but would tend to attach it to a thermostat to prevent overheating in the viv.

I have a Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB coil bulb but I now know those are bad so I was gonna get a Repti-Sun 10.0 Or should I go with a MVB?

I would advise you to switch off the repti-glo coil as they may cause more harm than no uv at all! Get either the reptiSUN 10.00 flourescent tube or even the reptiSUN 5.0 flourescent tube. The MVB is an even better idea but I am not sure if that will be available at the pet store.

I bought a spray with vitamins in it and the directions say to spray him from head to tail, so I've been doing that once a day.

Is this the type of spray that you might use during shedding? Im not too sure about this one so I will let someone else figure it out but are you dusting his food with vitamins and calcium?

I think the general idea is to have the UVB on one side and the heat next to it but closer to the middle of the tank. Or I guess if you have a tube bulb it's gonna stretch the length of the whole tank and the extra heat will be on one side only

My UVB bulbs stretch the entire length of the tank and I have a heat bulb placed on the hot side, pointing to a basking area. The other side of teh viv is the cool side and the uvb bulbs do not really give off any heat.

Washcloths are okay?

I used washcloths on the bottom of my beardies baths for a while - but they are both enthusiastic swimmers so there is no purpose for them in their baths but I would say it is fine to continue using it.

Hope this helps!!

T

 

[iradog85]

Hey and welcome!!!!

Just a couple of things I wanted to point out.

I have a 75watt red bulb for heat at the moment, but I bought a 100watt ceramic heat emitter bulb (bell-shaped) and I'm going to put that in instead.

You will need a bright white bulb for basking (heat) - a regular household bulb can be used. I would use the che if additional heating is needed but would tend to attach it to a thermostat to prevent overheating in the viv.

I have a Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB coil bulb but I now know those are bad so I was gonna get a Repti-Sun 10.0 Or should I go with a MVB?

I would advise you to switch off the repti-glo coil as they may cause more harm than no uv at all! Get either the reptiSUN 10.00 flourescent tube or even the reptiSUN 5.0 flourescent tube. The MVB is an even better idea but I am not sure if that will be available at the pet store.

I bought a spray with vitamins in it and the directions say to spray him from head to tail, so I've been doing that once a day.

Is this the type of spray that you might use during shedding? Im not too sure about this one so I will let someone else figure it out but are you dusting his food with vitamins and calcium?

I think the general idea is to have the UVB on one side and the heat next to it but closer to the middle of the tank. Or I guess if you have a tube bulb it's gonna stretch the length of the whole tank and the extra heat will be on one side only

My UVB bulbs stretch the entire length of the tank and I have a heat bulb placed on the hot side, pointing to a basking area. The other side of teh viv is the cool side and the uvb bulbs do not really give off any heat.

Washcloths are okay?

I used washcloths on the bottom of my beardies baths for a while - but they are both enthusiastic swimmers so there is no purpose for them in their baths but I would say it is fine to continue using it.

Hope this helps!!

T

Ohhh so I need to have a UVB (Repti-sun 10.0) at cool end, or along middle, a 60w household bulb pointed at basking spot, and a CHE w/thermostat only if necessary? And keep only the CHE on at night? Does that mean i need a timer for both the basking light and the UVB?

Btw thank u sooooooooo much for answering my other questions. I am dusting crickets w/ calcium each day and i add phosphorus every third day.

P.S. typing with one hand right now. sorry.

 

[MissT]

Ohhh so I need to have a UVB (Repti-sun 10.0) at cool end, or along middle, a 60w household bulb pointed at basking spot, and a CHE w/thermostat only if necessary? And keep only the CHE on at night? Does that mean i need a timer for both the basking light and the UVB?

Sorry It was very late when I was typing this last night so I didnt really clarify myself very well. Ok the reptiSun tube - its great if it stretches the full length but if not you want to place it alongside the basking bulb.

You may need a 60w or you may need higher - you want to use a digital thermometor with a probe on a wire - I believe walmart do a digital probe thermometor - the brand is accurite if I remember correctly. You will just need to experiment with a variety of bulbs for a while to see which is most appropriate to create the correct temp gradient.

You may not need the CHE at all - 100w seems awfully high - as these bulbs only put out heat, no light, all of that wattage goes to creating heat therefore there will be a massive output of heat from a 100w - I would be tempted to return it if at all possible in exchange for a much lower wattage - you may not even need it - the night time temps can drop to the low 60's before any additional heating is needed.

You do not need any lights on at night - you could use a timer or if you know you will remember to stick to the same times every day then you can just manually switch on and off - I have one of my beardies set-ups on timer but I do the other beardies manually when I see that one come on - there is always someone around to do it in our house!!!


Hope this helps a little more

T

 

[auntylolo]

MissT gave you great advice, but I'd just like to point a couple of things out. Playsand is the safest type of sand, but it can cause impaction especially in baby dragons. The safest substrate is something solid ie. it can't be ingested.
Also, you shuld not be supplementing with phosphorus. The calcium you have should be free from phosphorus and be given 5 days a week on one feed per day. You also need to give a vitamin supplement for 2 days a week, again one feed per day

 

[MissT]

Also, you shuld not be supplementing with phosphorus. The calcium you have should be free from phosphorus and be given 5 days a week on one feed per day. You also need to give a vitamin supplement for 2 days a week, again one feed per day

I knew there was something I forgot when I was posting that reply this morning!!!! Sorry for missing that out!! I believe rep-cal with d3 is the recommended calcium supplement in the US and for vitamins its the rep-cal herptivite (blue label from what I can remember)!

In terms of solid substrate paper towels are great for babies - I used these until my little guy was around 12 weeks old then progressed to squares of shelf liner before putting him on tile permanently when he moved into his 'big house' - as well as reducing the risk of impaction, it also makes clean up MUCH easier!!!

 

[iradog85]

Also, you shuld not be supplementing with phosphorus. The calcium you have should be free from phosphorus and be given 5 days a week on one feed per day. You also need to give a vitamin supplement for 2 days a week, again one feed per day

I knew there was something I forgot when I was posting that reply this morning!!!! Sorry for missing that out!! I believe rep-cal with d3 is the recommended calcium supplement in the US and for vitamins its the rep-cal herptivite (blue label from what I can remember)!

In terms of solid substrate paper towels are great for babies - I used these until my little guy was around 12 weeks old then progressed to squares of shelf liner before putting him on tile permanently when he moved into his 'big house' - as well as reducing the risk of impaction, it also makes clean up MUCH easier!!!

I'm confused again with the supplement stuff. Should I be dusting with calcium every day or not? Do I only dust one out of 2 or 3 feedings per day? I have the Rep-cal calcium (pink label) and Rep-Cal Herptvite which is phosphorous (blue label). I don't understand the ratio. And am I missing a vitamin supplement? Please explain.

Could I tape the paper towels down to the sides so the crickets can't hide under the paper towels? I tried feeding him in a separate container but he wasn't comfortable so I'm just going to put the crickets in his tank. Also, he freaks out when it's bath time. I try to make him comfortable by putting a washcloth he can stand on but he always runs to the side of the container and tries to climb up the side. What am I doing wrong?

Any recommendations on which thermostat to buy?

 

[auntylolo]

Just quickly cos my tea is ready! One feeding a day is right, 5 days a week for the pink container, and 2 days a week one feeding for the blue container (which is vitamins and not phosphorus :wink

 

[iradog85]

Just quickly cos my tea is ready! One feeding a day is right, 5 days a week for the pink container, and 2 days a week one feeding for the blue container (which is vitamins and not phosphorus :wink

OK I think I've got it now. Thank you so much for your help and advice. Something else has come up in the past couple of days with all of these fires (I live in Southern California). The humidity in his tank has been extremely low (under 20%). Besides spraying the inside of the tank, what could I do to get the humidity up just a little?

 

[tbelanger]

From my understanding humidity is bad, they are desert animals. So you shouldn't spray the cage to increase humidity. If you are concerned about him being hydrated you can give him more frequent baths, drip water on his nose and let him lap it up more frequently, or feed him veggies with higher water content (not as a staple though as they traditionally have low nutritional value) such as cucumbers.

That is my take on it, although I'd wait and see what someone else says in case I'm wrong.

Good luck!

 

[auntylolo]

Humidity should be around 30-40%, under 20% can cause problems with their ear membranes drying out. i wouldn't spray because that will give you spikes in humidity, you could just put in a small dish of water and that will raise the humidity overall and keep pretty constant.

 

[tbelanger]

Humidity should be around 30-40%, under 20% can cause problems with their ear membranes drying out. i wouldn't spray because that will give you spikes in humidity, you could just put in a small dish of water and that will raise the humidity overall and keep pretty constant.

Ahh, that makes sense. Good to know!

 

[iradog85]

Humidity should be around 30-40%, under 20% can cause problems with their ear membranes drying out. i wouldn't spray because that will give you spikes in humidity, you could just put in a small dish of water and that will raise the humidity overall and keep pretty constant.

I have a water dish in there but the hygrometer still reads under 20%. It's one of those dial kind so maybe it's not accurate?

I've been bathing him at least once EVERY SINGLE day. I'm quite the worrier when it comes to taking care of living things until I feel confident I'm doing the animal (or plant) justice. When I see that his skin is getting that "foldy" look, I put him in warm water for a few minutes.

How do you guys clean out your cricket keepers? I was just waiting until all the live crickets are gone, and then wiping the inside with a wet paper towel.

P.S. I actually witnessed him catching crickets today for the first time! I know to all you experienced owners it's an every day occurence but I was excited to see it.

 

[dragon2nick1]

i just power spray the cricket keeper with my hose :mrgreen: