New Member and New Beardie

[Yaya]

I'm gathering up items even as I type. You stated reptile carpet was ok is ceramic tile better. I am having to use that for the gecko. I can get it for Lizzy too if needed. But first I need to get the lights right. I am going to go get a warmer bulb. 75 watt at least. What is this hook you are talking about. I apologize if you don't know you don't know. I really do not want to glue in the light if that is not correct. Plus cleaning will be easier if not glued in. I will take out the night light as the room is warm and I can run the wall heater along with the central unit. I have turned off the bad bulb and am returning it.( Maybe they will let me return it) I will look for the repti sun tube while I am out. If pet smart has it I will get it, if not I'll have to order. well gonna run. will keep a look out for the answer on my mobile. ..later.

 

[sweetpea1981]

I'm gathering up items even as I type. You stated reptile carpet was ok is ceramic tile better. I am having to use that for the gecko. I can get it for Lizzy too if needed. But first I need to get the lights right. I am going to go get a warmer bulb. 75 watt at least. What is this hook you are talking about. I apologize if you don't know you don't know. I really do not want to glue in the light if that is not correct. Plus cleaning will be easier if not glued in. I will take out the night light as the room is warm and I can run the wall heater along with the central unit. I have turned off the bad bulb and am returning it.( Maybe they will let me return it) I will look for the repti sun tube while I am out. If pet smart has it I will get it, if not I'll have to order. well gonna run. will keep a look out for the answer on my mobile. ..later.

Ceramic tile would be better as it will help wear down the claws and it is easier to clean, it is not a necessity, that one is definitely a choice. Right now I use repticarpet but I will go to tile or linoleum soon for ease of cleanup. But as long as your substrate is a non loose (like sand, rocks, etc.) substrate it will be fine.
The 3m command hook is like a suction cup but different, it would be with the suction cups though.
If your store does sell the reptisun 10.0 TUBE it will probably be fairly expensive, they are cheaper to buy online, but you can always check prices online then go to the store and compare prices.

 

[Yaya]

the reptisun 10.0 is 20 dollars higher than the online cost. But they are going to let me trade in the (bad) 22.00 dollar bulb towards the new on so that will off set the cost some. I think I will do that for the first bulb as I need it fast, but will online order in the future. I read where these last a year is that correct or should they be changed more often. I will be posting pictures soon I hope. Will try it anyway. Well everyone has been fed but me guess I will call it a day and get a bite myself.. later..yaya

 

[sweetpea1981]

the reptisun 10.0 tube needs to be changed every 6 months, cause even though they still work for light the uvb will get weaker, so every 6 months you need to replace it.
I think the arcadia 12% can last a year, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

 

[Yaya]

Had wanted to know about the Mercury Vapor but read more post and it does not seem to be all that wonderful. so deleted the question.

 

[Yaya]

What size repti sun would you get for a 40 gallon.? I'm ready to go buy it but this was important. So thought I better check. Thanks.

 

[jezwolf175]

Idk some of those posts I read were from two years ago. I use the powersun mvb and had no problems.

 

[Yaya]

So would that be use in place of repti sun. The power sun mvp

 

[jezwolf175]

Because of the many different views on the powersun I decided I'd try it to see for myself. but to answer your question yes I use this in place of the reptisun. I may switch to the reptisun if I see it as anyway harming my beardie. I have, so far, not seen anything wrong with it.

 

[sweetpea1981]

with my 40 gal I use an 18 inch reptisun it covers my entire basking spot, but does not cover the cool side, which my guys only go to their cool side once in awhile, but if you wanted to run the entire length of cage you could always go bigger like a 24 inch, the 36 inch will cover everything in your 40 gal so where ever your guy goes he will get uvb, so it all depends on what you want.

 

[Yaya]

Ok. I think I will go for the 18 inch my girl usually stays on the basking side and I did get the heat gun temps are better than I thought actually in the range it's suppose to be. I am going to set up my 40 gallon today she most likely will be lost in it but it will give her running room. How often do you clean your baby's cage and what do you use? Also what do you clean the glass with. I have children's fingerprints all over the tank. I thought about natural cleaners but had concerns about that also. One more question how often do you give her baths to soak in. She has a water dish she gets in every so often, not actually sure how much. I was reading some people don't use it due to humidity but she seems to like hers do you use one in your tank? So about to get ready to brave the freezing weather to go get what I need. What we do for our babies. Oh and crickets do you order yours online and where . I've been buying them at pet smart at 11 cents each ! This is adding up fast. Thank you again for taking time to help me .

 

[sweetpea1981]

congrats on getting the temp gun!! That is a great thing to have makes knowing your temp real easy, just make sure you hold it 2 inches away from whatever you are trying to read. on the outside i just mist some paper towels with some water and clean it with that, to do full cleanings you can use 1 part vinegar and like 5 parts water and clean it then keep rinsing until you can no longer smell vinegar, there is also some kind of cleaner you can buy at pet stores I can't remember the name habitat something, I heard that works. I give mine baths every other day to keep them hydrated, as most dragons will not drink standing water. I don't use a water bowl in my tank, because I don't want humidity problems plus mine wont drink it, but if your humidity is still in a good range with the water bowl in there then you could prolly leave it in. I try not to feed crickets, I usually feed phoenix worms, I order 1000 large about every 2 weeks from here http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/StoreFront occasionally I will feed crickets, some horn worms, for my 6 month old I feed him some super worms too, but their main staple is the phoenix worm. Maybe someone else who orders crickets online will come in and tell you where they order theirs, cause I have no clue about a good place to order online, you could always check the feeder section here and look to see where people are ordering theirs. I'm glad your getting everything situated things will get easier from here on out!!!

 

[Yaya]

Everything is in place the tiles will have to be trimmed as soon As my husband has time. He can't believe I have these "lizards" as he called them a few minutes ago. Lol. I can't believe it either. Oh well can't explain it either. So why Phoenix worms over the crickets are they healthier . I thought these good to feed but the crickets bite me no fun. I think I have everything except the multivitamin dust. Got to get that this week. What do you feed the worms and how do you store them? I would
Like to try some different food maybe I can go to animal tracks tomorrow and see what they have. They are in Huntsville about 35 mins from me. Is it super worms that bite back if you don't take the heads not sure I could do that. I'm looking forward to mine being that age and seeing its personality develop. Oh I ended up with 24 inch bulbs as petsmart had new ones come in. I hung the repti light at the top of the 40 gallon it covers well and I feel so much better about her eyes. I can't thank you enough for helping me get all this together. I had a hard time deciding on repti or mvb but repti won out. Even hung it all by myself. If you had ever seen me work with electrical stuff you would understand thanks ever so much. Yaya.

 

[sweetpea1981]

It's no problem, these are my first dragons too, but before I decided to get one I was on here reading everything so I would know what to expect, everyone on here is great about helping!
I do phoenix worms over crickets cause after feeding crickets for about a week my baby phoenix (my 3 month olds name haha) just wasn't that into them, and neither was I, so I tried phoenix worms and he would gobble them up. The worms are soooo easy to deal with they come in a little container packed in what looks like sawdust (it isn't it is their food) you can keep them at room temp or 50-60 degrees will make them last longer, never in the fridge cause it is too cold. They can't climb out of slightly tall food bowls (unless you get it wet or get them wet learned that real fast...) so i can put multiple feedings in the bowl if I'm going to be away and my guys can eat what they want when they want, they don't bite. Plus phoenix worm are full of calcium so much so that you don't have to dust them with calcium, you still have to dust them 2 days with the vitamins, but no calcium. I love them!!!
Super worms can only be feed if your beardie is 16 inches or over and no you do not have to remove their head they can bite but most beardies eat them so fast they wont get bit.
Lol yeah I feel you with electrical stuff that is my boyfriends department!

 

[daner923]

Actually, the stuff in Phoenix worm cups isn't food for them. It is just material for them to dig. Phoenix worms are fly larvae, and the only thing they eat is actually manure (gross, right??) But they are extremely healthy for beardies. Just have to wash the substrate off of them, dry them off, and feed away. They even wiggle more when they get warmer! I actually stopped feeding them to my dragon because he loved them too much - he wasn't chewing them, so they were coming back out whole, or even alive! Yuck! I found out it wasn't a big problem, but since then it's been crickets, roaches, and hornworms for Max :lol: