little advice please (and hello!)

[rocketbabydolls]

Hey, im thinking of getting a beardie from the pet shop i work in, i fell in love with the little guy as soon as i saw him and have read lots and lots on them but just want someone to double check i have actually got the right idea!

I am going to get a 48" x 24" x 15" viv for him and thats about the max i can go to

do i need a (dimming) thermostat? they are pretty darned expensive :S

for the thermometer, can i use a normal cooking one with a probe on the end?

how do you connect the UVB lamp to the top of the viv?

is it ok to have sand in 3/4 of the viv but some slate for the rest, where i will put his food and stuff? i weight out the sand at work and it is very very fine but people have said a lot about the impaction issues but is it ok to mix and match slate and sand?

Im so glad i can use a normal lightbulb; £5 for a "basking" one seems a lot of money!

how much do people spend a week / month on their beardies? (juvy and adult ones)

i cant think of anything else at the moment but i probably will soon enough!

thanks for reading

-Louise

 

[Catalyst]

I am going to get a 48" x 24" x 15" viv for him and thats about the max i can go to

That's a great size as long as it's length x width x height

do i need a (dimming) thermostat? they are pretty darned expensive :S

Nope, dont' necessarily need one. Really all you need for heat is a lightbulb (regular or halogen flood) and a digital thermometer with a probe. Around here you can pick up one of those thermometers for less than $10.

how do you connect the UVB lamp to the top of the viv?

Depends on how your viv is set up - is it a solid top or a mesh one?

is it ok to have sand in 3/4 of the viv but some slate for the rest, where i will put his food and stuff? i weight out the sand at work and it is very very fine but people have said a lot about the impaction issues but is it ok to mix and match slate and sand?

Once your dragon is an adult that should be fine, but for a baby your best bet is to go with something completely solid. Babies are clumsy hunters and like to lick their environment as well, those things combined with a smaller digestive system make them more likely to become impacted on a loose substrate.

how much do people spend a week / month on their beardies? (juvy and adult ones)

When my dragon was a baby/juvie he went through 1000 crickets every two weeks or so, plus his greens, and cost me $70-80 a month to feed. Now that he's an adult he eats superworms (30-35 a week) and I can buy 500 for $30 or so which lasts me 3 months or more. He is going through more greens now though. I'd guess I spend maybe $15 a month feeding him now, if that.

Hope this helps Feel free to ask any questions you have.

 

[outsdr2]

Hi, sorry me and catalyst replied at the same time.

I am going to get a 48" x 24" x 15" viv for him and thats about the max i can go to

perfect!

do i need a (dimming) thermostat? they are pretty darned expensive :S

sometimes required to get correct basking temps

for the thermometer, can i use a normal cooking one with a probe on the end?

I would say no, go to walmart ,their about 10 or 15 bucks. be sure to get te digital with probe.

how do you connect the UVB lamp to the top of the viv?

does it have a screen top?
if not some people custom make one or they suspend the light from a hook and wire.

is it ok to have sand in 3/4 of the viv but some slate for the rest, where i will put his food and stuff? i weight out the sand at work and it is very very fine but people have said a lot about the impaction issues but is it ok to mix and match slate and sand?

this is a much heated debatable question ,which there is really no correct answer for. it depends if your beardie eats the sand or not. I personally believe in slate, non adhesive shelf liner or repti carpet. sand is not worth the risk or any particle substrate. if sand is a must then use sifted playsand from toysrus.

Im so glad i can use a normal lightbulb; £5 for a "basking" one seems a lot of money!

totally fine

how much do people spend a week / month on their beardies? (juvy and adult ones)

I would say I spend about 4 hours a day for me personally. weekends longer

i cant think of anything else at the moment but i probably will soon enough!

any questions, always welcome!

Jack

 

[emmini]

Hi, I have been given so much helpful info on this site, I thought I would pass some of it on!
I had loads of trouble getting my temps right, and tried the bulb with and without a thermostat. You will probably find, as I did, that a viv of that size will heat up too much without one. I had to play around for ages, and posted LOADS of questions here before I finally got it right (was a simple matter of moving the Habistat probe further along the wall in the end!!) As for the digital thermometers with probes, the lucky Americans can get them really cheap in their Wallmart - the best we can get is Ebay! You can get a habistat thermostat on there for about £35 (look for CornishCrispaCompany on there, think they're cheapest) and thermometers4u do good digital ones with a probe. Try and go for one with a min and max reading which I personally find very useful (eg for telling you the lowest temp at night unless you happen to be around at 3am!)