Large Tank vs Small Tank

[zxBadWolf]

Hi I'm at a total loss! I have a 6 month old bearded dragon (on the small side) I had her in a 50 gallon wooden tank and she is ALWAYS glass surfing for me to take her out.
I figured she didn't like the tank so I moved her to the 125 gallon glass tank and she wont move. She's very lethargic in it and not active at all. I moved her back to the small tank and she went right back to glass surfing right away.

Both tanks are properly heated and uvb

which is better for her?

Here is a pic of her large tank

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

How long did you have her in the large tank? If it was only for a day or so then she just needed time to settle in.

Personally I consider a 75 gallon at the very least to be the minimum for an adult bearded dragon as 40's, 50's and 55's are either too small in length or height or too narrow. I'd suggest either moving her back and then giving her a few days to settle into the new tank or waiting till she's bigger as that may be an easier move for her.

 

[zxBadWolf]

How long did you have her in the large tank? If it was only for a day or so then she just needed time to settle in.

Personally I consider a 75 gallon at the very least to be the minimum for an adult bearded dragon as 40's, 50's and 55's are either too small in length or height or too narrow. I'd suggest either moving her back and then giving her a few days to settle into the new tank or waiting till she's bigger as that may be an easier move for her.

It was only for two days. I'm thinking i just didn't give her enough time to settle in. It's not like she stopped eating or anything, she just got very still. She'd find a place to stay and then stay there until bed time.

I think I'll just give her more time to adjust to the bigger tank.

 

[JessPets]

Yep, probably just relocation stress. Give it a while, she'll eventually warm up to it.

 

[OscarLezard18]

I just went through the same thing with my baby. He kept window surfing, so I put him in the bigger tank (40 breeder) and the temp would only reach 81 degrees. I was starting to worry that he wasn't hot enough and my mom instincts kicked in and I moved him back to the 10 gallon tank. He hasn't pooped in a few days and I get anxious when that happens too. I decided to leave him in the small tank until I have the proper lighting set up in the big tank and something he can sit on that brings him closer to the heat. I bought a 13W UVB10.0 and a reflective dome. I've been using regular 100w bulbs from walmart. I want to do everything right to make sure he/she lives a very long life.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

by OscarLezard18 » Fri May 04, 2018 3:13 pm

I just went through the same thing with my baby. He kept window surfing, so I put him in the bigger tank (40 breeder) and the temp would only reach 81 degrees. I was starting to worry that he wasn't hot enough and my mom instincts kicked in and I moved him back to the 10 gallon tank. He hasn't pooped in a few days and I get anxious when that happens too. I decided to leave him in the small tank until I have the proper lighting set up in the big tank and something he can sit on that brings him closer to the heat. I bought a 13W UVB10.0 and a reflective dome. I've been using regular 100w bulbs from walmart. I want to do everything right to make sure he/she lives a very long life.

Your honestly doing more harm leaving him in a 10 gallon tank than moving him to the larger tank, mainly because your literally cooking him alive in there. 10 gallon tanks do not work for lizards that need overhead heat and UVB, they can not provide a correct temperature gradient. Your UVB is also wrong, you need at the very least a long tube light, preferably a reptisun T5 HO 10.0 with a reflective fixture.

I'd say go out a get a 120 or so watt regular heat bulb or a 60 watt flood light or halogen bulb (May have to experiment to get correct temps). Get that tube light ordered (I'd say get a 34" since you'll need a 75 gallon once he's grown and 34" is better than a 22" bulb for that tank), setup the tank and put him in. And just for future reference the minimum for a 1-6 month old bearded dragon is a 20 gallon, no less than that can be used.

And just to make sure you get the right UVB bulb and fixture here.
https://www.amazon.com/Reptile-T5HO-Standard-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B01B209YQC/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1523586973&sr=1-5&keywords=t5+ho+fixture
^ 34" T5 HO Fixture

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26062-Reptisun-Fluorescent/dp/B00AQU8HKO/ref=pd_bxgy_199_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00AQU8HKO&pd_rd_r=ZNH52XHETCP3Y7K5FGA2&pd_rd_w=GIi1G&pd_rd_wg=oAEwd&psc=1&refRID=ZNH52XHETCP3Y7K5FGA2&dpID=31QDwNV8eSL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail
^ 34" T5 HO 10.0

And in case of anything else heres a care sheet that covers the basics.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18PfjxbgD95KLcfRCqGAVz-ViuMPuP4AvgGBSZzPKRgc/edit?usp=sharing