Overview
I've never owned a reptile of my own before so I did some research and found that beardies are [supposedly] great reptiles for beginners. I went to my local pet store, purchased a juvenile beardie, a "starter kit" (I know, it's not the bestthing to do but it is a starter kit, right?) which included a reptile carpet, hide, food dish, water dish, thermometer-hygrometer combo, and a basking lamp.
I was anxious to get everything home and set up and didn't bother to think about what I was doing wrong. Why didn't I buy a UVB bulb and fixture? Around 2 hours after getting home I went back to the store and got a UVB bulb and fixture and continued setting everything up. Mind you, I had already set up the terrarium and housed the beardie inside so she wasn't wrongfully kept in the container the store gives new reptile owners. After watching her "glass surf" for a bit I started to panic and began to fiddle with her enclosure as I thought she was just uncomfortable with the layout. Changing her basking area, moving her water dish to the other side, removing and reapplying the hygrometer, moving the basking lamp around, and so on and so forth. I didn't realize that this actually stresses beardies. I noticed she also closed her eyes when she was basking, so instead of keeping the bulb right above her basking site, I moved it a few inches away so she's not overheating. She's eating fine, loves chasing around gutloaded crickets (I only give her 6 a day) and she grazes on her pellets. I sprinkle a vitamin D3 with calcium powder on her pellets and wet it down a little bit.
As of writing this I am planning on upgrading her 20 gallon terrarium to a 40 gallon as I don't have room for anything bigger (and well, I wasn't sure if I would have room at the time I purchased her). I also plan on changing her lighting a little bit as the mesh cover is practically unusuable -- the UVB bulb and basking lamp take up 75% of the space so I have to remove them every-time I feed her.
Terrarium Setup
I'd like some advice on her current setup. It's not completed as I plan on buying some more things for her terrarium, but would like some ideas as to where to start.
On the far right is her basking lamp and behind that is the UVB bulb. It may be hard to see, but her basking bulb is positioned towards the front of the terrarium and her basking site is in the back. As mentioned above this was my attempt at cooling her down and making sure she doesn't overheat.
Her water dish is in the far left corner and her food dish is in the front. There are a few pellets contained there with powder and a little bit of water. Her reptile carpet is still drying off and I didn't place it back in otherwise the humidity would've spiked (right?). I couldn't tell you how old she is as the pet store wasn't even sure of what gender she was. I want to buy a 40 gallon tank in advance so I don't stunt her growth and shorten her lifespan.
Questions
[*]On her basking side, the temperature is around 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 50% humidity (without the damp carpet), whereas her cold side is close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit with 41% humidity (without the damp carpet). The temperature and humidity didn't drop much when I switched off her lamps for the night. What am I doing wrong, if anything? I desperately need to get her humidity down so she doesn't develop respiratory illnesses.
[*]Can I use a reptile hammock in place for a hide to provide more surface area for activities? Her current hide is sturdy and serves its purpose, but instead of using that I was wondering if I could use a hammock for her basking site.
[*]How many hygrometers and thermometers should I have inside of a terrarium? When I upgrade to a 40 gallon I was planning on having one hygrometer-thermometer combo on both ends of the terrarium to monitor the levels of both the basking site and cool side (similar to what I'm currently doing).
Thank you in advance for any advice you send my way!
I've never owned a reptile of my own before so I did some research and found that beardies are [supposedly] great reptiles for beginners. I went to my local pet store, purchased a juvenile beardie, a "starter kit" (I know, it's not the bestthing to do but it is a starter kit, right?) which included a reptile carpet, hide, food dish, water dish, thermometer-hygrometer combo, and a basking lamp.
As of writing this I am planning on upgrading her 20 gallon terrarium to a 40 gallon as I don't have room for anything bigger (and well, I wasn't sure if I would have room at the time I purchased her). I also plan on changing her lighting a little bit as the mesh cover is practically unusuable -- the UVB bulb and basking lamp take up 75% of the space so I have to remove them every-time I feed her.
Terrarium Setup
I'd like some advice on her current setup. It's not completed as I plan on buying some more things for her terrarium, but would like some ideas as to where to start.
Her water dish is in the far left corner and her food dish is in the front. There are a few pellets contained there with powder and a little bit of water. Her reptile carpet is still drying off and I didn't place it back in otherwise the humidity would've spiked (right?). I couldn't tell you how old she is as the pet store wasn't even sure of what gender she was. I want to buy a 40 gallon tank in advance so I don't stunt her growth and shorten her lifespan.
Questions
[*]On her basking side, the temperature is around 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 50% humidity (without the damp carpet), whereas her cold side is close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit with 41% humidity (without the damp carpet). The temperature and humidity didn't drop much when I switched off her lamps for the night. What am I doing wrong, if anything? I desperately need to get her humidity down so she doesn't develop respiratory illnesses.
[*]Can I use a reptile hammock in place for a hide to provide more surface area for activities? Her current hide is sturdy and serves its purpose, but instead of using that I was wondering if I could use a hammock for her basking site.
[*]How many hygrometers and thermometers should I have inside of a terrarium? When I upgrade to a 40 gallon I was planning on having one hygrometer-thermometer combo on both ends of the terrarium to monitor the levels of both the basking site and cool side (similar to what I'm currently doing).
Thank you in advance for any advice you send my way!