I'm new here, and I have a question.

[Anne]

Hello everyone!

I apologize in advance if I've posted this in the wrong forum. I'm new here, my name is Anne, and I'm a 34-year old mother of two children, ages 5 and 8. After much research and consideration, we've decided to get a Beardie as a companion and family member. We're very excited about it (my 8-year-old son, especially) and are planning on getting it this weekend. I've been perusing this forum and have read several care sheets and books on Beardie care and have a question about lighting/heating.

As far as heating the enclosure goes, I've come across incongruent information in my reading and am trying to figure out how the whole lighting/heating thing works. I understand that I must have a UVB light for my Beardie and that seems straightforward enough. My question is specifically about heating. Does a Beardie need a 'basking' light as a heat source? Or will an under-tank heating mat be sufficient? If I use an under-tank heat mat, how do I control the temperature gradient? Also, how does a Beardie 'bask' if I use the heat mat? Do I need to use both? I've read that I can use one or the other (or a ceramic heat emitter) or combinations of things, but I don't understand how 'basking' works without an overhead light. I hope I'm not being redundant with my questions, and I apologize if I am. I'm a very thorough person and am approaching this with a great amount of care so as to provide the best life possible for out future friend. Any help is greatly appreciated. I expect to have many more questions as this process unfolds.

Cheers!

 

[puppytoes72]

i can elloborate more tommorow(im off to bed right now)but your beardie should always get heat from ABOVE.beardies need bright white light to thrive.a regular household bulb will work just fine as a basking light reptisun 10.0 is the best uvb tube you can get.these two things are essential.nighttime heating is not neccessary unless the temp falls below 65f.if needed a ceramic heat emitter can be used at night.its wonderful that you are doing research first ill check back tommorow to make sure you are all set and have all your questions answered.there are alot of helpful and experienced ppl here.did you read this caresheet? http://www.kakadudragons.com/caresheet/caresheet.php

 

[golcarlilly123]

Hi there and welcome to BD forum You do need to provide a basking light, beardies sense heat on the top of their heads so they need the heat to be from above not below, we use an under floor (not just under substrate in case of overheating) heat mat when it is really cold (we are in north of england!)and we have a night glow bulb at night but you can use ceramic ones also. You regulate the temps by having a probe thermometer in each end of the tank, you will need thermostats on your basking bulb and your night glow bulb so they cut out when it gets to the correct temp

Hope that helps Good luck with your beardie, look forward to seeing a pic of him/her!

 

[Anne]

Hi again and thanks for your replies/advice.


It's funny, but my gut was telling me to go with the overhead basking light and what you both mentioned about Beardies sensing heat from above makes sense as to why, and now I recall reading about that...it's the same reason why heated rocks aren't recommended. Anyhow, I appreciate the advice very much. We're going out later today to get all the stuff for the Beardie's house so it will be all ready when we bring him/her home tomorrow. I'll be sure to post updates (with pictures)!

Thanks again.

 

[momofonebeardie]

We use Mercury Vapor Bulbs (MVB) as our source of UVB. They are the best one the market. We started out using a Repti-Glo 5.0 then went to a 8.0. Once we changed to the MVB both bearides ( in seperate tanks) thrived beyond anything I could have imagined.

Just make sure not to use an under tank heat mat, they can not feel their bellies very well and will lay on them until it causes severe burns.

You will more than likely need a heat source. The temps for a baby need to be upwards of 110-115 degrees. You are not going to be able to obtain that with just a UVB.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to PM me.

Best of luck

Just a side note- No matter what the petstore tells you, sand is not to be used for a baby. The colored sand they sell should never be used. They can lick it and it causes impaction issues. I am not sure what you were planning on using. I just know how the petstore we got Fluffy from pushed that sand stuff. ALso the walnut shell is even worse. That can cut their stomachs and cause impaction problems.

Sorry if I overstepped my bounds. Just trying to help.

 

[Anne]

^^ Actually, we're going to use reptile carpet as our substrate, but I appreciate the words of caution and you haven't overstepped your bounds at all! I'd also read about sand and impaction and even though some things I've read say sand is fine, the idea of that scares me and so we're avoiding it altogether and going with the reptile carpet...at least while it's a baby.


Thanks for your help and I'll be sure to give a holler if I have more questions, which I no doubt will.

 

[momofonebeardie]

I remember when we got our first beardie, I was on here all the time. If she moved in a way I thought she should not have I was on here asking about it.

I think it is like having your first child, you worry about everything and you just know that you are doing everything wrong.

I have not looked through to see all of your other posts ( if there is any) but I also thought I would add that you need to get two different suppliments to dust your crickets with ( if you use crickets).

 

[Anne]

^^ Right, I need calcium and multivitamin supplements for the crickets, right?


I know what you mean about this being like having a baby. I've been reading books and internet articles and care sheets for weeks now and I'm so worried that my lighting/heating will be wrong and my Beardie won't eat its vegetables and countless other things. Plus, it seems like a lot of people have a lot of opinions as to what the best setup is and all that. Basically, this will be our initial setup:

Beardie (3.5 months old)
Tank (glass, 40-gallon)
UVB Repti-sun 10.0
Basking light w/hood (75 watt? Will that be enough, or too much?)
Reptile carpet
Grapevine branch
Rock or platform for basking
Food dish

Also: vitamins, thermostats, thermometers etc. I have a long list of what I need to buy written down and I'm taking it with me later when I get all the stuff for its house. We're getting the dragon itself tomorrow.

We may add other things in the future or take away what's not working or being used by the Beardie, but initially our setup will be the aforementioned. Now, I've read differing opinions as to whether or not to use a water dish. Some people say it's fine for a 3-4 month old or older dragon, and some people (like on the Kakadu care sheet linked on this site) say that misting it a couple of times daily will provide the water it needs. What do you think and what's the general consensus? Also, will a 3-4 month old have trouble catching the crickets in a 40-gallon tank? Or should we plan on feeding it in a seperate enclosure until it gets bigger?

All these variables are frustrating for me because, like you said, it's like having a new baby and I want everything to go as well as possible. And I'm sure I'll be doing the same...coming here and asking tons of questions about it's behavior and eating and sleeping and everything else. I really appreciate all the advice I'm getting...makes this a lot less nerve-wracking!

 

[Morkai]

You will just have to experiement with basking light wattages. So many factors in your house will make a difference. Ambient room temps, ceiling fans, ac vents, proximity to window and floor or outside walls etc.

I do heartily recommend you add a lamp dimmer switch to your list. Most hardware stores carry them. Just ask for one that doesn't require any wiring and they'll hook you up. When you find your 75 is not enough and a 100 is just a tad too high you can just dim it down a notch and have perfect temps. (or whatever wattages you discover work for you) When the house warms up in the summer it'll save you mucking around with having to find another wattage that works again.

If you can get him to eat in a seperate container I would do that - when you get fed up yanking out tank decor while hunting down stray crickets in his tank for the umpteenth time you'll wish you had..

As for the dish, you can try it, Dwagon never took to his unless I stood there and splashed the top of it which defeated the object of giving him one. So now I just offer him water from a dropper every night when I give him his bugs.

 

[MNEXUS]

here`s a link for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

i like to purchase my supplies from http://www.exoticpetevolution.com

you can save quite a bit of money especially if you are buying lighting and suppliments. I buy the 100 watt mvb compact bulbs and they are only around 30$ before shipping. Dan also own reptiles and is knowledgable,and accesable and has AWEOME customer service, i like reptivite pink label for calcium and herptivite for the vitamins

hope this helps!

 

[Anne]

Thanks everyone, for all your replies, advice and suggestions.


We'll have everything up and running over the next couple of days and I'm sure I'll have more questions, but I appreciate your patience and willingness in helping me get off to a good start with my first Beardie.


Cheers!

 

[puppytoes72]

cant wait to hear about the new beardie you get make sure you get a digital thermometer WITH probe,or a tempgun.those stick on types are aweful.REPCAL brand supplements are the best.calcium(pink label)and hertivite vitamins(blue label) .you are gonna make a great beardie-parent!

 

[Anne]

Hello again!


Well, I purchased everything this afternoon and have it all set up (including the crickets in a separate container getting 'gut loaded' as I type this) and am now just periodically checking the temperatures (with a temp gun...I read about those) to make sure they're good for when we bring our friend home tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm going to need more heat but I'm not sure how to go about it. Right now I'm running a 75 watt basking bulb on one end and I've got the UVB bulb spanning the top. For more heat, do I get a higher wattage basking bulb? Or do I add an undertank heater instead? This whole thing is kind of confusing...it's been on for about half an hour now and the temperature on the basking side is low 90's and the other side is low 70's so it seems right now that I'm about 10 degrees off on each side. Does it take a while to warm up? If it already should be at proper temperatures, I'm going to need to do something else for heat. Also, my tank is 50 gallons (I got a smaller container to feed our Beardie in until he/she grows big enough to effectively catch its prey) so maybe I need more wattage with my big tank? Any more help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Also, I did end up getting the same supplement that you recommended...the Rep-cal stuff with the pink label and the blue label. It's what the pet store recommended.

I can't wait to bring our Beardie home tomorrow!

 

[puppytoes72]

you are doing a wonderful job! glad you got the repcal.did you get the reptsun 10.0? as for the temps,you said that the basking"side"is in the 90's,but did you measure the actual basking rock SURFACE?what are you using for the basking spot?real rocks or bricks retain heat better than wood.you can just go up in wattage,try a 100watt.when i had a 40gal i was using a 100w bulb.do not use any undertank heaters or heatpads,they can burn his belly.dont be surprised if he doesnt like to eat in a seperate container.if he does then you are very lucky its good to try to get him in the habit right from the start.gl!plz keep us posted. ps:temps are very frustrating but dont worry,we will help you through it

 

[Anne]

Okay so it's been about two hours since I turned on the lights in my tank. My husband went to his work to get a digital remote thermometer to check the temps, but we only have the thermometer set up and not the remote part. I've got it resting on top of the basking rock (the brand is 'Rep-tiles' and they appear to be made of of brick...they're red, anyway) and the temp on the rock is currently showing 103.3. I haven't checked the 'cool' side of the tank yet, but it seems like the basking side is warming up nicely. If I can't get it up to 110 or so, I'll upgrade tomorrow to a 100 watt bulb with a dimmer for fine tuning, as someone here suggested. Does that sound like a good plan? Otherwise, we've got a branch and some paper towels in there right now because the store was out of the right size reptile carpet, but it will be coming in on Monday or Tuesday. I might end up just going with the non-adhesive shelf liner instead because that seems cleaner and pretty hassle free.

I'll post another update tomorrow after we bring our little guy/gal home. He/she's going to be so small in their new big home! I can't wait!

I'll post a picture tomorrow after our new friend is settled.