My 2 month old beardie will be here in about 2 weeks and I'd like some suggestions/tips on how I should handle lighting and feeding throughout the day. This might get long but here's a run down of how my day looks so far and specs of my tank .
Size : 36"X18"X24" Substrate : Slate textured tile Lighting : 1) 24" Reptisun 10.0 T8 in a under the cabinet fixture with the plastic cover off inside the tank back wall.
2)Exo terra intense basking spot bulb in a flukers dome with dimmer . Temp : Cool side 77-80F
Basking spot 100-105F and 85-90F near it .
1)My work hours vary so I will have the lights on a timer. When do the lights absolutely have to be on ? I'd like to have the lights off for a couple hours in the afternoon /evening since the temp stays around 77F with no lights on if that's ok .
2) I will be feeding greens , crickets and superworms since that's what I have easy access to at the moment . How often should I include the calcium w/ D3 ?
3) Since my work hours vary I will be feeding in the morning and I can have my roommate feed before she leaves for work at 1:30pm.
There's some info , let me know what you think and how I should try and schedule everything around this info . Thanks .
You can pick whatever time you want for the lights to come on, just make sure they are on for 12 hours a day.
Usually you want them on for a hour before first feeding so she has time to warm up before breakfast.
Why do you want lights off in the afternoon? Is really not a good idea, it could mess with digestion and her sleep cycle.
Your feeding schedule sounds good but no superworms, they are way too big for a baby. Will you be able to feed her again in the evening when you get home?
Calcium 5 days a week, vit 2 days a week.
I was thinking of maybe turning off the basking for a while simply because I live in Arizona and it can get really hot those hours of the day and nobody would be home to take temps to see if it's getting too toasty .
I could feed again in the evening when I get home but sometimes it's 9pm others not until midnight . Would it be a good idea to feed late around 11pm? My roommate is always home by that time .
The calcium and vit have to be separate ? I had understood to buy the calcium that already has the vit D3.
General rule is last feeding no later then a hour before lights out so they have a bit of time to start digestion.
Yes, keep calcium and vit separate. With the UVB you are using, you won't need calcium with vitD, just get plain calcium.
I wanted to double check on the UVB position too, will it be shining out from the back or straight down from above? Its needs to come down from above.