NEW Soon to be Bearded Dragon owner =)

[lloydy]

hey guys, i just wanted to introduce myself to this forum. i have been reading alot from this site, and it has just such great information.

So im looking to get a bearded dragon very soon.

I have built a 4ft x 2ft x 18inch enclosure which is made of melamine.

At the moment, im looking to get the heat, lights and other things ready for the Beardie.

I was just wondering if i could get anyones help on what lights would be best suited for me.

Im looking to get a 42inch ReptiGlo 10.0 ovbiously for the UV.
now with the heating im a little stuck on what i should get.
im thinking of having perhaps 2 basking spots at one end of the enclosure? so he will have a choice which one to go to.. is that a good idea or?
and what should these lights be?

ive been advised by some people to get a 250w Ceramic Heat Emitter, that i can use for heat in the day, and also to keep the temp warmish at night times. 250w.. now is that to powerful or?

well thats pretty much it.. just need the help on the heating.

im going to be getting a MicroClimate dimming thermostat so that when it gets to hot its going to dim the lights, instead of turn them off so that the temp remains at what it should be.


look forward to hearing from one or some of you to help me out.

Thanks.

 

[KairaandTaz08]

Welcome to the site!
I'll try to help you with some of your questions.
Don't get a ReptiGlo 10.0, you need a ReptiSun 10.0 tube. ReptiGlo UVB lights have been known to cause eye problems. Make sure that the beardie can get 6"-8" from the ReptiSun 10.0, though.
You'll need a cool side and a hot side (the basking side). So, no, you don't want 2 basking spots on both ends of the enclosure. Beardies need to thermoregulate and they do this by having the cool side. Also, for the temps...for a baby you'll want to keep the cool side around 78-82F, the warm side should be between 100F (most recommend higher) to 110F. I have a 6 month old and a 4 month old. At 6 months, Kaira perfers her basking spot to be around 102F, Taz (4 months old) likes it a little higher, 105F or so.
For basking lights you can use a regular household bulb, or a Halogen bulb (which I use and what will probably be more practical for the size of your enclosure). You can get them anywhere...specfic "reptile-brand" lights are usually more expensive and a waste of money when you can use a simple household bulb.
250 watts does sound a bit extreme for a ceramic heater. They also usually don't need one, as long as their night temps don't drop below 68F or so. They are good to have on hand, but be very careful about what brand you get and fixture (I've heard of them melting the fixtures).
Beardies like it bright. So, I really don't recommend using the ceramic heater as a basking light (sorry if I misunderstood you). I actually have 3 different light sources for my babies...the ReptiSun 10.0, their bright basking light, and then just a regular flourescent (sp?) light.
One last thing, thermostats are great, although we don't use it anymore because it didn't dim the lights...it just shut them off for a bit. Dimmers are great, but like I said, beardies like it to be bright so you may want to consider a plain flourescent (sorry I can't spell!) light, too. They don't give off heat (well not much, only as much as the ReptiSun's do), so you don't need them connected to a thermostat and that way if the temps drop and the lights dim, your beardie will still have a bright light.
I hope that helped some.
Again, welcome to the site!
Abi

 

[fresnowitte]

:wave: Hello & Welcome to BD.org!