Slight noob questions for a good enclosure.

[Chassassin]

Hello, I have a few questions. I'd like to start off by saying, I have had a Beardie before, but I did not know how to properly take care of it, so I gave him away to someone who did. Okay, I'm going to be getting a new Bearded Dragon soon. I'm trying to find a good website to find a male hypo orange leatherback, but I'd be fine without him being leatherback. Could someone please recommend a good website that sells healthy juvenile Bearded Dragons? I'm going to buy the 36x18x12 Exo-Terra Large terrarium, with all of the basics. The lighting is what I'm having problems with. Should I just buy a PowerSun 100W Mercury Vapor bulb, and just that? I've heard that they're very good bulbs, but I don't know if it'd be enough. I have a thermometer I used with my snakes, and it works well. But I don't know if it'd be fine to use just that bulb, and turn it off at night. I know I should only put it on one side, as a basking spot. Do I need some sort of heat at night? Please help! I don't want to potentially hurt a Beardie by not knowing how to take care of it, so I'm not going to get one until I do. Thanks!

 

[Chassassin]

By the way, the bulb I mentioned above is heating, UVA and UVB all together.

 

[Chassassin]

One more thing, what substrate should I use? I was thinking about the tiles, but I have no idea where to get them!

 

[jarich]

As you are a new keeper, I'd recommend getting one light for heat, and a separate light for UVB. Once you have a bit of experience under your belt, it's a little easier to know how to control them together. So for the heat, it's pretty simple. You can go to the hardware store and save yourself some money. But a clamp light fixture, the kind with the ceramic base. The plastic ones are cheaper but don't hold up well with the heat, so ceramic is better. There are usually two sizes, I'd recommend going with the bigger one that is rated for 150 watts bulbs just to be safe. You probably won't need that high a wattage but better to be safe. As for the bulb, just buy a normal PAR 38 halogen outdoor flood lamp. The wattage will largely depend on how far away the bulb will be from the basking area. Generally if it's about 12 inches away, a 75 watt should work. If it's farther away, then you may want a 100 watt bulb. Make sure it's a flood light, not a spot light, so that you get a nice wide area for your lizard to bask in. Also, best to get the outdoor rather than indoor ones as they are a little more rugged and hold up better in your enclosure.

For the UVB, I would recommend getting either a ZooMed T5 10.0 fluorescent tube and fixture with reflector or the same thing in the Arcadia brand (they call theirs the T5 12% though). Those are the two best brands regarding those types of bulbs. Remember to get the T5 high output fixture with them, with the reflector in it. The reflector will give you about twice the output from your bulb as it reflects the light from the backside of the bulb down into your enclosure. The bulb should be about 2/3 to 3/4 the length of the enclosure. This light should be mounted right next to your basking light, directly above the dragon, and all the way over to one side. You want to give the lizard the ability to have an area of the enclosure free from UV exposure, so that's why you mount it over to one side.

As for substrate, there are many different choices. Some people when they are first starting out just use paper towel as it's a little simpler to clean. Some use tile or linoleum as these are non porous and again simpler to clean. Like lighting, once you get the hang of things you can start looking at more complex substrates like bio active soils too.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask away!

 

[Tonja]

You can get tiles from lowes or home depot. I have 40 gallon breeder tanks for my beardies and use the 6x6 inch and I think they were 68 cents apiece. On this forum we recommend tiles, newspaper, paper towels, and no loose substrates at all. Dirt, soil, walnut shells, sand ,and loose substrates can harm a beardie as they lick their environment and take in the loose substrates and it can cause them to be impacted. Other types of substrates have not been proven safe for beardies or there is no evidence of them being safe for them. Both of my tanks have ceramic tile that is textured and helps keep the nails filed down and its so easy to clean up, they mess on it, clean it up, pop the tile out, wash it and pop it back in.

 

[jarich]

From one of the mods...

Options and suggestions are also provided to those who ask, and it is that person's own choice to accept or deny them. No one is allowed to force any "idea" on anyone.

We have a difference of opinion Tonja. I am still allowed to make a suggestion that this is one option among others, so please stop trying to force your opinion on me. People can make their own choice as to what they use, of course.

 

[timisimaginary]

the main thing i wanted to mention was, i would recommend getting the 36x18x18 enclosure instead of 36x18x12. 12" isn't really ideal height for a beardie, 18" i would consider minimum, 24" even better. dragons are arboreal and like some vertical height for climbing and basking. at 12", it will be difficult to get safe distances for basking and heat and to provide some climbing areas for your beardie.

 

[jarich]

A great point and something I overlooked entirely. Thanks Tim

 

[Chassassin]

Thanks for the help guys. I've decided on Reptile Carpet until I can find something else that's good and won't hurt the Beardie. And Tim, I typed this out in about 5 minutes, so I had a few typos. I meant to say 36x18x18. That's the one I am getting.

 

[CooperDragon]

Repti Carpet should serve you well. Just be sure to clean it on a fairly regular basis and replace it if it starts to get frayed.

 

[timisimaginary]

Thanks for the help guys. I've decided on Reptile Carpet until I can find something else that's good and won't hurt the Beardie. And Tim, I typed this out in about 5 minutes, so I had a few typos. I meant to say 36x18x18. That's the one I am getting.

ok that should be fine. there is a 36x18x12 version also so it's good to clarify.