Soon-to-be Owner with a few questions.

[Xanthur34]

Alright, back from the store with a few more supplies.

I got this probe thermometer that's made by Zoo Med, will it do? If not, I guess I can go to Walmart and find that other one.

I found that dragon salad again, it contains
dry dandelion greens
dry red clover tops
freeze dried corn
fr. dr. carrots
fr. dr. zucchini
fr. dr. grasshopper pieces
fr. dr. green beans
fr. dr. bananas
dry calendula flower petals
calcium carbonate

I wish I would have seen that post that said freeze dried veggies aren't as great. Oh well, there's always the option to return...

I found a Reptivite powder that didn't have D3, but the calcium powder all had D3 in it. So I found this calcium spray that just had calcium in its contents. Are the sprays alright to use?

Also, will I not be able to use a MVB for a baby in a 20 gal? If so, I could REALLY use some help with all of the lighting requirements... it confuses me a lot.
On the plus side, I found a lot of Reptisun products at the store, and you mentioned that those are trustworthy too, right?

Still looking for a breeder, good idea to check the forsale forum!

Man, I hate to have to ask all this, but I just want to be the best owner I can be : P

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Pm sent

 

[Xanthur34]

Sorry for shamelessly bringing up my own post, but I'm still waiting to hear about those Powersun MVB's, the spray calcium, and the salad...

 

[Jess]

LOL, thats OK
On the PowerSuns- No... They arent very good. Go with the MegaRay or T-Rex Active Heat if you have a 40gal+ viv, and a Reptisun 10.0 if your viv is smaller than 40gal.
Spray Calcium- No... Powder is better. Rep-Cal is a great brand, and I like the Flukers one too. If you have a MVB, go w/o D3. If you have a flo. tube, go w/ D3.
Salad- If you want. Keep in mind it cant be given everyday, but it might be nice to have around in case of emergencies (If your beardie will eat it that is)

 

[Xanthur34]

Alright, no MVB's in a tank less than 40 gal: got it

No spray calcium: got it

Use D3 with a 10.0 Reptisun bulb for UV: got it

Alright then, if I get a 10.0 Reptisun, that's the long florescent tube, correct? I'll need a vivarium hood to accomodate that won't I?

Now, if I get the Reptisun tube, what other lighting will I need for my vivarium? a heat source, a night light, am I forgetting anything?

 

[Jess]

Fixture: You can get a fixture for the ReptiSun and Walmart for $9, and mount it inside of your viv so that the screen will not filter out any UVB. Command hooks that stick on smooth surfaced work great. Mounting the fixture to a board and setting the board across your viv works great too.
Its not as fancy as a hood, but it is ALOT cheaper and more convenient IMO!

Lighting: You will need a basking light, and preferably a light for the cool side too (this is for visual light, and a little extra heat too if needed). If your night temps are below 65*f, you will need a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE). CHEs produce heat but not light, so they wont disturb your beardies sleep.
If your night temps are above 65*F though, you dont need any additional heat or lights.

 

[Xanthur34]

Today I talked with the reptile specialist closest to my town, and he told me a few interesting things.

Firstly, he told me that a 10.0 florescent UVB tube (Reptisun?) would be ALL the lighting I need. No heat emitters, no basking lights. What do you think?

He also suggested that rather than a nighttime heat-emmiting bulb, to use a heating pad instead (yes, I'm aware NOT to use heat rocks, either). He said that if my beardie gets too cool at night he can just move over to the pad and be fine.

He said to ditch the dragon salad, which is fine by me. I'll just make it fresh.

Question though: How far away does the beardie need to be away from the 10.0 bulb. Was it 8-12 inches? I can't remember.

Some feedback would be great though : D

 

[Jess]

Like most pet store employees, he has no idea what he is talking about :roll:

The ReptiSuns are a flourescent tube (not a regular heat-giving-off house light), I think mine is like 20 watts or something... But they give off next to no heat! The small amount of heat that they do give off is no where near enough to privide a 100*F+ basking spot, and a 80*F+ coold side! It doesnt add to the vivs temp at all.
You definatly need a basking light, and maybe a cool-side light too.
and about 8-10 inches is good, unless your UVB is filtered through a screen- it should be more like 6-8 in then.

Most people will not reccomend a heating pad. I have one on the bottom of my viv (from when I kept my hermit crabs in it), and sometimes I used it in the winter under slate tile if my cool side was too cold. So, IMO, it is OK to use once in a while if there is thick tile over it and there is no possible way for your beardie to come in contact with it, but I wouldnt go out and buy one just for your beardie... If you are going to spend the $30-$40 on some kind of heating device, get the CHE and not the UTH.
But the main danger with it is that if it shorts out while your beardie is lying right on it, the beardie can get some pretty aweful burns. They dont sense heat below them very well either, so Beardie wont notice right away of it gets too hot for him.

The pet store dude was right about the salad though! Haha :lol:

 

[AprilMayJune]

I would have to agree with Jess.

You will need a basking light and in order to use it correctly you will need to have a ceramic dome fixture of some kind with either a reptile brand basking light or an ordinary flood lamp to get the temperatures 100F and higher. You may need to play with different bulb wattages to get the recommended temperatures. Sometimes I have to swap different wattage for different seasons. The temperatures flucuate and so does the need for a couple different wattage bulbs. That's where the digital thermometer with the probe come in handy so you can monitor the temperatures and change wattages when necessary. For instance, in the summer I can get away with using only a 50 watt bulb but in the winter I need to use a 150 watt bulb for the same temperature in the same tank for the same beardie.

There is a lot to learn for basic care but once you know it, it will become second nature and the next thing you know you're on the boards helping someone else getting ready for their first beardie.

The first thing that everyone should learn is that pet store owners don't know as much as they think they know (even if it's a specialized reptile store) or want YOU to think they know.

 

[Xanthur34]

Ugggghhhh, I knew my wording would come back to bite me, so let me correct myself here:
The man I talked with was a reptile VET, you know, the kinda guy who by all means SHOULD know what he's talking about? He wasn't some half-baked store manager trying to grub my money.

I'm sorry, but there's just too many conflicting ideas, I'm losing my mind here!

Yeah, I'll be making sure that the beardie doesn't come in direct contact with the heating pad. But are the CHE's really that much better? I suppose that I could get one if you really think I need it.

I bought the Reptasun viv hood and a bulb, but surprise surprise, it was the wrong size for the hood, so I'll have to pick up a new one. But should I keep the hood, or go with another top? And if I did, what do I plug the UVB bulb into?

Here's a bit of good news: I found that Acurite thermometer at Walmart for $12, thanks for the tip! Shoot though, do I need another one for the cool side?

Alright, I'm sorry that I'm agitated. I very much appreciate all of your input, but this stuff can get so darn confusing!

 

[Rukia1988]

The acurite thermometer is meant for a person to stick the wire part outside and get an outside temp while the other part gets the inside temp. What I do in my cage is a stick the wire right on the basking spot because it tells me exactly how hot of an area that my beardys are getting. Then I keep the actual base on the other side of the cage. I can take pictures if you want.

The thermometer is great because it takes the temps on both the cool and warm sides of the cage. You won't need a second one. If you look at all the pictures on that forum link I gave you it shows my cage set up and the way I have the thermometer in there.

 

[Xanthur34]

Thanks! I'll take another look.

 

[Jess]

He was a vet?! Wow...
What ever he is, he definatly is NOT qualified to be a reptile specialist! Im sorry, but he didnt give you good info :|

Sorry this is so confusing- I know how you feel though! You should have seen me when I got my first beardie. I took me a while to figure out the right UVB, food, ect.! So your not alone, LOL!

What hood did you buy? The ReptiSun is a T10 bulb, and most aquarium hoods are T12 so they wont fit. Make sure any light fixture you get says "T10" on it.
For the therm, put the probe on the basking spot and the display part on the cool side... It will tell you both temps.

And if this helps any...
See the light fixture my UVB is in? Thats the kind that you want- Just a simple under-the-counter type one, so you can mount it inside the viv. I got mine at Wal-mart, but you can get them at Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, ect too.
Its a little harder to see, but my therm probe is on the basking log, and the display is on the cool side under the hammock.
I have a seperate basking light above the log, and a seperate light for the cool side too.
Does that explain everything a little better?

 

[Xanthur34]

I suppose. But I have to tell you, I'm stressing this a lot. Who do I believe, a qualified vet (which I'm sure he is, for crying out loud) or a bunch of strangers on a forum? Put yourself in my shoes, you can imagine the irony here.

But, it's apparant that I at least need to get a basking bulb, and a new top for the viv (if i'm not going to use the Reptisun hood I bought). So, here's my questions: Is there a brand of basking bulb you'd prefer, and what should I use for the top of the viv? I found a cover that was like a grating, but it said 'heat resistant', so would that work? Here's my plan: buy a new fixture to but the reptisun uvb bulb on the inside of the cage (like yours) and have the basking bulb on top of the viv top. That sound good? Lastly, do I need a cool side bulb?

Ugh, this is wearing me out. I hope that it will feel worth it when I get my dragon

 

[Jess]

Maybe your vet had mistaken the ReptiSun for a MVB? Because you dont need a seperate basking light with those. As for the vet thing, I guess your best bet would be to look him up and ask others about their experience with him.
Unless you house is freakishly cold at night, you shouldnt need any night heating either. And I guess you can use the UTH if you want, as long as there is tile over it like I described before.

Any house hold light is fine for basking. I like the halogen ones best, because they give off the most heat. Cool side light is optional, but personally I prefer it.
Oh, and the ReptiSuns are actually T8, not T10 LOL. I thought it was T10, until I looked at my light yesterday. Sorry!
The lid is perfect... Thats the one I use. "Heat Resistant" means it wont melt.

Oh, and it will definatly be worth it once you get your new baby! Trust me!