Noobie Advice

[shiver905]

hello all.

Im thinking of getting a beardie.

First of all. I will build a cage.

For a 4x2x2 cage. How many watts is needed?
Im thinking of making it a screen front.
My room is failry on the cool side.

For lighting/Uv. Im thinking of buying a Mega Ray 60 or 100.
Can I use a normal soket from Homedepo? Or do i have to buy there whole ballast kit?

For night time Temp controll. I plan on getting an ordinary nocturnal bulb-(red one)
For night time viewing+heat.

 

[EmJagsz]

Everything sounds good except for the red bulb. An infrared bulb will disrupt you're beardie's sleep. Use a ceramic heat emitter if you need the extra heat at night. Nighttime heat really isn't even necessary unless the temps get below 65F

 

[shiver905]

Any bulbs out there i can use at night. Its for My viewing pleasure.

 

[EmJagsz]

No, there are no bulbs that you can use for viewing pleasure. The CHE or a black light bulb are the better options for your bearded dragon. Honestly, there isn't much to view at night anyway. They aren't nocturnal animals and all you will be seeing is your dragon sleeping. If you'd like to watch your dragon sleep, you can just take him out, wrap him in a little blanket or dish cloth and snuggle with him

 

[freitas]

The screen front will only make it harder for you to maintain the proper temps. Use glass or plexiglass. What i did for my 4x2x2 viv was glass, but to buy glass to fit it would have cost me close to $100 so i headed to the nearest dollar store and bought 4 - 11 x14 frameless picture frames and used the glass for the front. it only cost me $8 and gives me more options as to what side i want to open. And it looks great. Anyway other than the screen front, the home depot sockets will work great, just make sure that the socket is ceramic. I bought my socket at home depot and it only cost me $2.79 for the socket.

By the way welcome to the hobby of keeping poopers. Glad to have you on board.