Just stopping in to say hello.

[Greasy3489]

I am new to Beardies and in truth the reptile world. I've always wanted a reptile, but as a kid my parents said no.
My fiancee and I finally decided to get a bearded dragon.

My current set-up is a 29 gal tank with non-silica based smooth 1mm sand. I am going to see how messy my dragon(s) eat while in tank and how they respond to the sand. If they are ingesting sand I will be removing it right away for a more solid substrate right now. I have a local reptile shop owner that has been breeding dragons for 15 years and he keeps his own dragons on the same sand I am using.

Heat Setup:
24 hour infrared bulbs 1x 75watt 1x 50watt in deep dome twin lamp.
14 hour Basking bulb 150w in a 150w dimmer lamp.
14 hour UVB 10.0 Repti Sun.
14 hour CHE 150w in a 150w dimmer lamp set at about 85w.
24 hour small tank heat pad under cool side. Keeps sand at 71 degrees in hide at night and doesn't affect surface during day.
Ambient Humidity maintained at 20%
Ambient Cool side 82 degrees during day 68 at night.
Ambient Bask side 97 degrees during day 72 at night.
Basking structure surface is 106 degrees.

I have not yet gotten the dragon(s) as I have been testing my set up to see how stable the temperatures are.
These are the 2 dragons that I am looking at the 2nd one (goldxorange I believe) is my first choice, but I may get both if I can convince my fiancee .

Thanks for viewing; any questions, concerns or tips post them up.

 

[Beardednoob]

Wow, you have all those babies?
How much are you spending on feeders?

I have one concern is that any dragon under 16 inches shouldn't be on particulate substrates.

Is your UV near the basking lamp so they get both basking and UV?

 

[Claudiusx]

Welcome to the site. :mrgreen:

You shouldn't house two dragons in one tank. One dragon per tank and that should be it.

I wouldn't go with sand. There are plenty reasons not to.

There is a couple things I've noticed about your viv that isn't really too great. Did the petstore owner recommend all that stuff?

-Brandon

 

[Greasy3489]

Wow, you have all those babies? No, those are the babies at local store, I am interested in the 2 that are main focal point of picture.

How much are you spending on feeders? The reptile store in my area sells 1000 feeders for 23 so I am going to buy the 1000 I have a main tank set up for the 1000 and I have 2 gutload tanks for gutloading and dusting at least 30 feeders per day for 24 hours before feeding.

I have one concern is that any dragon under 16 inches shouldn't be on particulate substrates. I have read books form Philip Purser(great breeder and reptile expert) and consulted my local private Vet and Reptile breeder/shop owner and all agreed that this sand is a fine substrate. Like I said I will be keeping my eyes on the dragon(s) I get and if they seem to be willingly ingesting or accidentally ingesting I will dump the tank and change substrate. I don't mind wasting the sand the beardies are the main goal and I want what is best for them.

Is your UV near the basking lamp so they get both basking and UV? Since my basking spot is not too high, about 1 foot from top the Repti Sun bulb is hitting the basking spot perfectly, the bulb hits most of the tank pretty well. I also will be dusting feeders in calcium/vitamin d and the multivitamin every 2 days I think daily is a bit much with a Repti Sun 10.0 UVB bulb.

Welcome to the site. :mrgreen:

You shouldn't house two dragons in one tank. One dragon per tank and that should be it.

I wouldn't go with sand. There are plenty reasons not to.

There is a couple things I've noticed about your viv that isn't really too great. Did the petstore owner recommend all that stuff?

-Brandon

Thanks, yeah if I get the second dragon I have an identical tank that I can set up.

No the petstore owner did not recommend all that stuff. It is actually the best way for me to maintain a consistent ambient temperature. I have used a temperature gun to check everything the gauges and thermostrips in tank are just so I can be sure temps are being consistent without pointing the gun every 3 seconds.

 

[midmichicer]

No, he hasn't gotten any yet, just checking his temps and everything right?

First off: Get rid of the red lights, they can see them even at night, and they are worthless. A uvb bulb should be a long tube, not the coil. The coil has been proven to cause eye damage. It should be 6-8" away from the dragon. A heat pad is not needed either, if the basking spot is hot enough 105-108° for a baby, the cool side will be fine to thermoregulate and it will be around 80°. Don't put two babies in the tank together, they will get dominate as they grow and really bad things will happen. Last, dont put them on sand, or any other loose particle. Get tile, newspaper, or repticarpet. It makes it looks a lot cleaner, easier to clean, and 110% safer. Babies will often miss when they go for prey, and get a mouthfull of sand. This sand clogs up their tummy and causes back ups called impaction. This could kill them.

 

[Claudiusx]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all current books out on bearded dragons are very dated. We have leared a lot since the books came out. I wouldn't put any trust into books, and if the breeder your talking to recommended those lights and sand, I wouldn't put too much trust in that breeder either, to be blunt.

The thing is, everyone here is only trying to help you. No one here is trying to sell you a product, they just want what is best for your beardie. So don't take anything we say offensive, we just want to help the dragon.

-Brandon

 

[Greasy3489]

I do thank you guys for the advice I am taking it as constructive criticism. I have thought about tile, any certain types to look out for?

 

[Beardednoob]

I do thank you guys for the advice I am taking it as constructive criticism. I have thought about tile, any certain types to look out for?

Slate imo

 

[Claudiusx]

Phew thats good, I am glad you take it that way, sometimes people take it as an insult and its totaly not meant that way

For tile, any tile really besides ceramic. You want there to be some grip to it so the dragon isn't sliding around. There are also other options besides tile, but I like tile the best. Other options for good substrates are repticarpet, non-adhesive shelf liner, newspaper, papertowel, non adhesive linoleum, and most likely one or two more I can't think of at the moment, lol.

-Brandon

 

[midmichicer]

I do thank you guys for the advice I am taking it as constructive criticism. I have thought about tile, any certain types to look out for?

Slate is good, like mentioned above. I personally like ceramic, because I had problems with the slate chipping when I took it out to clean. If you get ceramic, get something with a little texture so your beardie can grip and not skate around when he/she runs.

 

[Claudiusx]

Sorry, I should have stated anything but untextured ceramic... lol :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[Greasy3489]

Thanks for the advice on solid, textured, substrates. Like I said I am new so throughout my time here I will definitely be learning what I can from you guys. I will let you know what I end up bringing home.

Since none of the items are heavily used I can always return it saying I am unhappy with the product and exchanging for the more expensive one places love taking money, except for the sand of course which is cheap enough maybe my cats can go in it

When dragons are adults is it safe to house 2 together in a 5x4x2 housing. I am pretty handy and have been thinking about building one for when the dragon is old enough. How fast do crickets grow, the best deal for me is to buy 1000 crickets at a time. I am just wondering how long it will take for pinheads to out grow an average sized 4-5 week old hatchling. Obviously it will come down to sex as well. Is there the normal male on male competition? Of course male and female will usually mate when the time comes. How are female-female habitats?

 

[Beardednoob]

I am just wondering how long it will take for pinheads to out grow an average sized 4-5 week old hatchling.

? 4-5 weeks

 

[Greasy3489]

I am just wondering how long it will take for pinheads to out grow an average sized 4-5 week old hatchling.

? 4-5 weeks

So in theory a tub of 1000 should work perfectly for almost a month of feeding if I get all pinheads?

 

[Beardednoob]

My little guy will finish off 1000 two week crickets in about 1 - 1.5 weeks