My intro and work-in-process vivarium.

[Stycim]

Hi everyone!

I should be getting my first beardie next week! I can't wait!!!

Here's a picture of the tank so far. It's a 29 Gallon tank (30 x 12 x 18). I know that won't last terribly long but my husband is a cabinet maker and has done reptile cages in the past so he's designing me a kick-butt one! Tags are still on everything & the bearded dragon food you see is not for the beardie, just to have as backup for gut loading crickets (it was on sale and I figured it could come in handy). I should be getting a shipment tomorrow that will have my 18" ReptiSun 10.0, the matching fixture, another digital thermometer, RepCal, & vitamins. The basking light is a 45w halogen flood light. Once the uvb and fixture are in place I'll be able to see if the basking spot gets hot enough, or if I need a stronger light.

Couple questions - Should I clean the accessories that I bought from the store? If so, how? I have diluted bleach water (1/4c bleach w/1 gallon water) Should I spray that on and scrub everything? What about the grapevine thing? Bake it? Do you think the food dish is too deep for a baby? It's a little over 1/2" deep.

If I'm planning on getting my beardie Wednesday, should I have crickets ordered to arrive Tuesday? Or, will the beardie likely be so stressed from the move that I might as well buy a few dozen from a local vendor and wait on the bulk order until it's appetite returns?

Thanks in advance for any input! I've been hanging around these forums for a week or so and have learned a lot!
Stacey

 

[Grimleo]

Nice setup. Also, welcome.

The earlier you get crickets, the better. That way you can start gutloading them beforehand and you can have your baby on a good diet right from the start. Not saying crickets are bad, but they're definitely better when they're full of good stuff for your beardie.

It might just be me, but I would not bleach any of the stuff. I would be too afraid of some bleach soaking into the wood or something. Before I made my setup, I boiled and air dried all of the stuff in my tank, but that's it. Also your food dish sounds fine, as long as your baby can see into it from afar. I am sure s/he will be able to from the basking spot or up high on the branch no problem.

I have a 29g tank myself and I have a 100w basking spot lamp that barely does the trick. So that might be why the 45w sounds a little low to me. As long as you get the temps up to a number that your baby will like, then great My guy likes to have his basking up near 106...and my little one won't have her temp lower then 111 O.O

 

[Stycim]

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I'm thinking I might as well go get a new basking light now. I wasn't sure what power to start at but it does seem low. After I had been running it for a few hours the basking spot got up to 85 or so, but that was without anything else on top of the screen to keep the heat in.

I'm also bummed because it appears now, due to the holiday, my shipment of supplies won't be here until next Tuesday.... I put in my order on Friday but it didn't get processed until yesterday. With any luck UPS will surprise me with early delivery, but it looks like I need to delay getting my little guy or girl for a few extra days.

 

[Grimleo]

Ugh I hate the delays! ._. It doesn't help that I am a very impatient person. xD But look on the bright side, you have a few more days to research and read about some amazing stories on here. Trust me it isn't fun thinking you know you have everything ready and they will love it, just to find that they are getting sick and you didn't do enough research I would know. Thanks to this site I know so much more.

It would be good to keep the receipts and things in case you need to try out some things and and take some others back. Since the 29g is a tall tank, I think it lowers the basking temp in my viv a bit more. That's why I have a 100w on that one, to make the temps hit around 106-108. I also have a 20g tank, and I had a hard time choosing whether I needed another 100w or a 60w, since the top of the tank was closer to the bottom on the 20g.