okay, I brought my little darling JIMMIA a new 5ft long 2ft deep tank, she has been in a 2ft tank now for 2 and half 3 months, now I am going to put her in this bigger tank so now I need a little help! What heat lights? uvb? heat rock? will I need? please; can I put in a drift wood so she can stretch out on? will she like it? will she still be easy to handle? can I put any ornaments in there from there? etc
okay, I brought my little darling JIMMIA a new 5ft long 2ft deep tank << 2ft tall ?
, she has been in a 2ft tank now for 2 and half 3 months, now I am going to put her in this bigger tank so now I need a little help! What heat lights? uvb? heat rock? NEVER USE AN ELECTRIC HEAT ROCK …. they have habit of failing and overheating and are common causes of very bad burns on the bellies of reptiles.
will I need? please; can I put in a drift wood so she can stretch out on? yes
will she like it? most do
will she still be easy to handle? can I put any ornaments in there from there? etc < lots do ….i'd steer clear of fake green leafy stuff --- dragons have been known to try to eat these .
WHAT SHE WAS IN ———>
WHAT I WILL BE PUTTING HER INTO ———> <<<< Please no particulate substrate (looks like gravel or seeds of some sort --- these are extremely high impaction risks.
Suggest lining the floor with loose laid ceramic wall or floor tiles …. no glue , no grout.
How tall is the tank ?
here is a guide I put together : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611
I'd be getting a 36" T5HO 12%UVB tube (or even a 14%UVB tube) and a good reptile specific reflector hood for a 5ft tank that's 2ft tall , if the basking spot (driftwood) can be arranged so the basking spot is 12" under the T5HO UVB tube , a 12%UVB tube will be fine. If it's going to be further away , the 14%UVB tube will be needed to keep the UVB at about 180-200 microW / sq.cm and at 100 microW / sq.cm elsewhere under the lights.
Best basking globes are
>>> good quality (Zoo Med, Exo Terra, or Arcadia) MVBs = all in one (heat , light , UVA & UVB
or
>>> par38 domestic incandescent spot globes (colourless)
or
>>> par38 domestic halogen spot globes (colourless)
some people use GU10 halogen spot globes (but be aware they get super hot at the fitting so you need a high temperature all ceramic GU10 fitting or GU10-E27 adapter.
no red coloured infrared / heat globes .
no blue coloured night heat globes.
I suggest JUMBO SIZED HubbaHuts for a bearded dragon …. I'd have 2 of these in 5ft L x 2ft D tank , one in the cool zone , the other in the warm zone (can double as a lower basking spot).
Make sure you remove the staples from the inside and top of the Hubbahuts (they are very dangerous to a dragon).
These dimensions will be needed to help you select the correct wattage basking globe and the UV lighting.
I Recently Upgraded Loki to a new 4x2x2 Tank and he has been loving it, I Use a tube UVB Mounted OVER the tank (not sideways and out) to illuminate UVB down throughout the tank. I Use Tile and (since I ran out of tile) Terrarium background decor (like a background photo sort of thing) and It actually works great, Good traction, easy to clean, and Loki seems to like it (and the other 'duel lamp' is just LEDs to illuminate the tank better).
View media item 60656 Loki's Tank. I Also have a nice big blanket in the tank now but It was added after the photo.
I Hope This gives you ideas on how to set up Jimmia's Tank. I Also recommend the items kingofnobbys mentioned earlier to use. They work well.
thank you again but without sounding silly sorry :| you American people use 'farenheight' and here in Australia we use 'celcius' so I'm a little confused sorry and I know you all had bearded before me and I'm no expert but JIMMIA doesn't lay on her heatrock at night, I turn that off when I turn off her lights, she lays a different end every night- sometimes under the red light side or vice versa and under the uvb, sometimes on her blanket, she is always in a different spot sorry so I need all this broken down slowly please
The red lights should not be used at all, regular halogen bulbs and regular reptile basking bulbs can be used instead for basking. No colored lights at all pretty much, that means blue, red, green, purple, etc.
No lights should be on during the night either, they need total darkness.
If temps drop below 18C (65F) then you can use a ceramic heat emitter which produces only heat and no light.
For UVB lighting I'd really suggest either a Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 at the very least or a Arcadia T5 HO 12-14% bulb. The one you currently have can be used but the tube lights are so much better and longer lasting.
thank you again but without sounding silly sorry :| you American people use 'farenheight' and here in Australia we use 'celcius' I always specify if I am talking degC or degF. I'm in Australia too.
Most americans when they talk temperature are talking Farenheit .
The conversion T(°C) = [T(°F) - 32] × 5/9.
so I'm a little confused sorry and I know you all had bearded before me and I'm no expert but JIMMIA doesn't lay on her heatrock at night, I turn that off when I turn off her lights, she lays a different end every night- sometimes under the red light side or vice versa and under the uvb, sometimes on her blanket, she is always in a different spot sorry so I need all this broken down slowly please My skinks (eastern BTs & water skinks ) and all my beardies have been like that , some nights they retire into their hubbahuts , other nights they choose to sleep in the cool zone , other nights they crash ontop of their hubbahut (which doubles as their basking spot). I regularly move them under their hubbahuts just before I go to bed.
Better for your dragon and the 5ft long x 2ft wide x 2ft tall (?) tank is an 36" long Arcadia T5HO 12% or even 14% UVB tube and good reptile specific reflector hood
I'd place a layer off scott towels on the floor of the tank (which appears to be a converted fishtank (so the bottom will be made of glass and you don't want to drop hard objects on this (you'll crack or break the glass , and glass is too slick a surface for glass to crawl on ).
I'd lay 30cm x 30cm floor tiles https://www.bunnings.com.au/duratile-30-x-30cm-ceramic-floor-tile-11-pack-pumice_p6661197
these on the entire floor over the paper padding and not use any grout or glue to hold them in place (ie loose laid), this way if a tile is soiled it can easily be lifted (taken outside to be hosed down to clean, then dried and replaced …. a 5ft x 2ft tank will need 10 tiles. I'd get 12 tiles so you have a couple of spares. You shouldn't need to trim the tiles unless the inside dimensions are not quite 5ft x 2ft.
Trimming/cutting tiles is easy, but you need a special tile cutting tool or special blade for an angle grinder.
You can ask the trade desk at Bunnings to cut some the the tiles down for a token fee.