Is this enclosure adequate?

[krjake]

Hi,

I have a young bearded dragon that I've had for about 3 months. I bought my setup at a local reptile store, and the reptile guy there said that the setup pictured was as good as the example pic (from this thread) that I took in. I want to make sure. My bearded dragon seems to be fine and has good color, but the light fixture seems to be faulty - sometimes it turns on the light and sometimes it doesn't. While I'm dealing with replacing it I wanted to be sure I don't need to change anything.



The only light is a Zoo Med uvb compact fluorescent, and there is a zoo med heating pad on the bottom below the rock. The substrate is paper towel, and I'll be adding a digging dish.

In addition to asking about the light - I wanted to ask about the smell. The rock especially seems to really stink. I take it out and wash it weekly, but even when it's cleaned through a dishwasher it still has an odor. Is there anything else to know about reducing the odor?

Thanks
Jake

 

[CooperDragon]

The tank looks OK size wise for now, but you'll probably need something bigger soon as your dragon grows. For lighting on a tank that size, I'd get a lamp stand and a fixture with a ceramic base. Put a 150w basking bulb or a 90w halogen flood light on the stand and adjust it to get the proper temp at the basking site. I would get rid of the compact fluorescent and replace it with a tube style ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia bulb and fixture. A T8 may be powerful enough for that tank but I'd get a T5 (higher output) with a larger tank (they need to be about 12'' from the basking site whereas a T8 can be 6-8'' from the basking site). The fixture and bulb should run at least 1/2 the length of the tank if not the entire length to provide nice even output. It's a good idea to provide a hide of some sort so he can get out of the light if he wants to as well. As far as the rock goes, I'm not sure what is making it smell. You could try washing it thoroughly with vinegar and then rinse it with water and bake it at 250 for half an hour or so and see if that kills off any bacteria on it.

 

[wes]

I just wanted to add that you should be providing heat from the top, as Cooper suggested, not from the bottom.

Also, give your beardie a luke warm bath twice a week. They usually defecate in the bath so he won't go so much in the cage. Of course, you can't control that all the time, but it will help.

 

[krjake]

Thanks for the replies... I will make my supply list and change the setup.

 

[krjake]

I had a question about the basking light I had been using - it was not a compact fluorescent but a Solar Brite 100w mercury vapor (I think mercury vapor from what I can see online). Has anyone else used Solar Brite? I can only find a couple of mentions of it in the archives.

Thanks

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not familiar with the Solar Brite. It should be producing proper UVB as well as UVA though. You can use that alone if it's providing enough heat at the basking spot. It needs to be mounted at least 12-18'' away from the basking spot though because MVBs are fairly powerful. If you need more heat, you can add a halogen flood light or reptile basking bulb to shine on the basking site in addition.

 

[Taterbug]

I can't find many good things about the solarbrite either, and not anything recent. What I was finding (on Google and the uv meter owners group) makes me a little skeptical. Not all MVB bulbs are created equal, just like the tubes. Of course, they may have since changed their formulations like many other bulbs, I would personally stick with a trusted brand.