Setup going to be ok or?

[SydsMum]

Hi everyone,

We got our Beardie "Syd" about a month and a half ago. We got him with the "Zilla" Bearded Dragon starter kit (which I know now has some non-recommended stuff in it). He is about 13" long right now.

We went on a trip for a few days and had some friends take care of him at their place - his tank came back with ANTS in it (I flipped) and a blown heat bulb which they had replaced. So as of now, he's got the Desert Series 50 Fluorescent Coil Bulb (20w) for UVB, an ExoTerra Sun Glo 75w for basking area, and the Incandescent Night Black Heat Bulb (50w).

As for temps all we have right now is the crappy analog Zilla thing that comes in the kit, which I know is bad, and it reads 80 in the cool side and 95 in the hot side, but who knows how off that is as apparently it is a bad thermometer...

Syd seemed a bit lethargic the last few days and didn't eat a single thing for three days straight (although that was directly after my boyfriend fed him 12 superworms at once which now I also know is probably way too much). Yesterday he finally ate crickets again and today he ate lots although no greens for like 5 days now. Today also for the first day he's running around and actually moving again so that's good.

The tank we got with the kit is a 20-long 30"x12"x12"... which I know will not be big enough for him, we are searching for a good deal on Kijiji. The pet store originally sold us Crushed Walnut for substrate but after reading lots of bad stuff about that, we have switched to sifted play sand.

Any insight or things I should change??

 

[isabelleandpaul]

I don't know much about the zilla, but a switch to a better UVB could help him (reptisun). Accurate temps are also a must!

 

[pimmsoclock87]

The coil bulbs are not good at all for basking lizards. As said above you will see a big improvement if you get a reptiSUN 10.0 TUBE (if in USA) or the Arcadia 12% TUBE (If in the UK)

You really need to get a digital thermometer with a probe to get a accurate reading. Those stick on thermometers are utter rubbish and can be as much as 20 f +- off as it only measures ambient temperature