Hello,
My fiance and I are new to this We recently bought a 55 gallon tank and would like a bearded dragon.
We are in the process of getting everything we need for the upkeeping we are just a little stumped with the lighting and other essentials.
Here is what we are thinking UVB - Reptisun 10.0 and a 100 watt halogen flood light thats about all we have covered.
We live in New York and of course it gets pretty cold at night in our house so thinking about what would be best for the night time.
Hi I'm also from NY(Long Island) make sure have a hide a climbing branch I use newspaper as a substrate as far as UVB reptisun 10.0 is good don't forget calcium powder to dust insects and vegetables.
For night time, if it's cool many people use ceramic heat emitters - they work in a dome fixture and sort of like a lightbulb with no light. Another option (for a larger size enclosure) is a radiant heat panel on a thermostat - same concept but they heat a larger area.
I would recommend the T5 type lighting for UVB as the most versatile and easy to setup. Alternatly a good MVB or metal halide bulb would work, and have the benefit of UVA (visible to reptiles) that is generally low in other lights.
Most furniture you can buy or improvise. I've used tiles stacked on bricks for hides/basking platforms, branches for climbing, catfood bowls for water/salad etc.
Tile or paper towel make a good starting substrate, it's easy to clean and user friendly.
As mentioned vitamin and mineral powders for the insects, as well as a cage for them.