We purchased a juvenile beardy from a reputable pet shop yesterday after doing a few weeks of research. My girlfriend, Steph, has helped raise a beardy before at her youth center she directs, so she has a little experience with them. Anyways, we found a real beautiful leatherback with a great attitude, very alert and excited to feed and explore. We just want to make sure that we get the best setup possible for her.
We got the Exo-Terra juvenile kit with the 125w Solar GLO AIO MVB for lighting, picked up a second dome and 40w CHE for the chillier nights. Basking temps seem decent, reading around 95-110 gradient under the dome with a laser thermometer. The cool side is around 70-72 and am considering running the CHE around the mid point of the terrarium.
Also using a cardboard backing to help with the glass reflections. We've been reading and watching a lot of videos and care guides to ensure the best life possible for our little unnamed beauty. She devours dusted crickets and dubias with excitement.
I'm a little concerned that the humidity is not quite right, the dial gauge that came with the kit reads around 10%, I plan on upgrading the gauge to something with a bit more accuracy and am also wondering if I should get something to increase the humidity a bit in the room. I'm also worried that the MVB isn't putting out enough visible lighting, when I'm around her I try to pull the mesh top back so she can get the full UVB dose from the MVB as well. Any advice on upgrades, replacements, or rearrangements are very welcome.
A final note is, we plan on either investing into a very nice larger terrarium once she gets a bit more size on her or building our own custom enclosure once it starts warming up and then sterilizing the current tank and reusing it for a leopard gecko potentially in the future as we are also very much in love with those little guys too.
EDIT 1: Forgot to mention the substrate is that Exo Terra mat that is basically a natural sandpaper, We plan to switch it to a ceramic tile in the near future. We both like the tile aesthetic better, and even though I shook out all the loose particles, I don't want to chance impaction.
We got the Exo-Terra juvenile kit with the 125w Solar GLO AIO MVB for lighting, picked up a second dome and 40w CHE for the chillier nights. Basking temps seem decent, reading around 95-110 gradient under the dome with a laser thermometer. The cool side is around 70-72 and am considering running the CHE around the mid point of the terrarium.
Also using a cardboard backing to help with the glass reflections. We've been reading and watching a lot of videos and care guides to ensure the best life possible for our little unnamed beauty. She devours dusted crickets and dubias with excitement.
I'm a little concerned that the humidity is not quite right, the dial gauge that came with the kit reads around 10%, I plan on upgrading the gauge to something with a bit more accuracy and am also wondering if I should get something to increase the humidity a bit in the room. I'm also worried that the MVB isn't putting out enough visible lighting, when I'm around her I try to pull the mesh top back so she can get the full UVB dose from the MVB as well. Any advice on upgrades, replacements, or rearrangements are very welcome.
A final note is, we plan on either investing into a very nice larger terrarium once she gets a bit more size on her or building our own custom enclosure once it starts warming up and then sterilizing the current tank and reusing it for a leopard gecko potentially in the future as we are also very much in love with those little guys too.
EDIT 1: Forgot to mention the substrate is that Exo Terra mat that is basically a natural sandpaper, We plan to switch it to a ceramic tile in the near future. We both like the tile aesthetic better, and even though I shook out all the loose particles, I don't want to chance impaction.
The set up looks very good, there is debate on the amount of uvb put out by the Solar glo. It's a bulb I've used off + on for years but I interchange with a Powersun as well as the Reptisun 10.0 long tubes. I also put my dragons out in the sun part of the time and that really makes up any possible lack of uvb.
