Soon to be owner

[AndyHarp94]

Hey everyone! I'm a soon to be beardie owner and I have a couple of questions before I make the purchase. I'll be getting my little buddy sometime later this week but I would like to buy my tank and set it up tomorrow so I can have everything ready for when I bring him or her home. As of right now I'm going to be buying a 20 gallon enclosure due to some budget constraints. I know this is only a temporary home for my beardie as he or she will need a bigger container with a growth in size. At what age/size would you recommend upgrading to a bigger tank?

Thanks for the help!

 

[CooperDragon]

A 20g is fine for a baby but won't last long (Mine was relegated to cricket tank duty after a while). I'd save up and plan on getting something 2'x2'x4' or similar within about 6 months. It's good that you're getting everything ready ahead of time. It's important to dial in the temperatures properly so I suggest getting a digital thermometer with a probe or a temp gun. Good lighting is also quite important. If you want to give a rundown on what you plan on picking up I'll be glad to go through it and make sure you have everything you need for your new buddy =)

 

[AndyHarp94]

Thanks for the tips! As of right now I'm looking at getting this set here from Petsmart since it has most of the basic things I'll be needing.
http://www.petsmart.com/supplies/terrariums/zoo-med-trade-reptihabitat-bearded-dragon-20-gallon-terrarium-kit-zid36-5175697/cat-36-catid-500028?_t=pfm%3Dsearch%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted

I will however be making a few of my own modifications to personalize it some more. It doesn't come with a hide or basking rock for him/her to run around on so I'll be getting those. It comes with vita-sand as the substrate but I've heard to avoid that with the young ones because of impaction so I'll most likely be buying reptile carpet. As far as food goes I'm about to place an order for 500 dubia roaches along with the veggies I have here at home.

Let me know if there's anything that I should change or if you have any other tips, thanks again!!

 

[CooperDragon]

I advise against getting the kit because you'll wind up having to replace most of what's in it. I would get a 20g (bigger if you can afford it) tank with a screen top. From there, get a T8 light fixture about 18'' and a ReptiSun 10.0 tube UVB light for it. Pick up a single dome with ceramic base and either a reptile basking light or a PAR38 halogen flood light (hardware store). That should have a clamp or something you can use to mount it above the tank. You'll need to adjust the height to dial in the proper temps (100-110 on the basking surface and 75-85 on the cool side of the tank), so if you can get an adjustable lamp stand that will be helpful. You can also pick up a lamp dimmer at the hardware store to give you better control over the basking light's power. Getting a hide is a good idea. The arches of wood work well. Repti-Carpet is decent as a substrate but must be cleaned often. It's much better than a loose substrate like sand, but you may be better off with some non-adhesive shelf liner for now. That can be picked up for cheap at walmart or similar. It can be cleaned easily and just thrown away as needed. 500 roaches is a good start, but you'll want more if you plan to start a colony (and that will take quite a while to get going but will be self sustaining right around when he hits his peak appetite). You will also want some vitamin powder (Repashy supervite or similar) to dust feeders with 2 days per week and some calcium powder (Repashy Calcium Plus or similar) to dust feeders with 5 days per week. Here is a good list of veggies to provide http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html I suggest providing a salad every day (pick 2-3 things from the list, whatever you can get that is fresh) but don't be discouraged if he only want's bugs for a while. They crave protein/feeders until they are about a year or so old and then switch over to mostly salad. He may love salad, but not all do at a young age and that's OK. It may also be a good idea to stock a second feeder such as Phoenix Worms. Those are a very balanced nutritious worm to offer in addition to a staple such as roaches. I realize that was a bit of a brain dump and I may have missed something. Please let me know if you have additional questions about the setup or feeding schedules.

 

[AndyHarp94]

Thanks for all this! I'm compiling my list right now. Is there a particular wattage you'd recommend for the UVB light?

 

[AHBD]

Hi Andy, I agree with Cooper's recommendations.....and I have a suggestion to save yourself some money, just gather a few nice rocks + a nice branch from outside. Wash the rocks in hot water with a 1/4 cup of vinegar and some dish liquid, rinse with hot water. For the branch or small log [ you can look for a nice small piece of driftwood or unusually shaped branch, but no pine ] just preheat the oven to 250 and put it in for 45 -60 minutes. That will kill any potential pests. It's fun to gather things from outdoors if possible....it's free and you can find some very attractive cage furniture.

 

[CooperDragon]

The UVB bulbs go by length, but the 18'' bulb is 15w I believe. You'll want it to cover at least 1/2 the length of the tank. An 18'' bulb/fixture will be about the right size for a 20g but you'll want a bigger one (and probably the higher output T5) when you upgrade your tank. I can help you with that when the time comes.

Collecting furniture from outside works well depending on what you have around. I also use the baking method AHBD for both rocks and logs/sticks. The key is just to clean and sanitize everything very well so you don't introduce parasites or other unwanted critters.

 

[AndyHarp94]

Thanks so much for the help guys! I went out and bought all the supplies today, I'll post pictures when I finish setting everything up. I have 600 dubia roaches en route to my house and will be bringing my little fella home with me tomorrow!

Thank again for all the advice, the immediate support this community is giving is such an awesome thing. Looking forward to keeping everyone updated!

Andy

 

[CooperDragon]

Excellent. I look forward to hearing how everything comes together!

 

[AndyHarp94]

Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks again for all the advice last week! My little buddy Spyro is doing great and is loving his new home! The picture here is him during his first bath, I thought it was the best at showing his color! I'll be posting more soon!

-Andy/Spyro

 

[CooperDragon]

Happy little guy. I'm glad to hear everything is going well so far =)

 

[jenn4turtles]

Congrats! He's beautiful!

I'm probably too late, but ... Don't buy the kit from PetSmart! We bought the 40G one and wound up replacing just about everything. LOL.

Every now and then the big stores will do a sale on aquariums - $1 per gallon; that will be your best bet to upgrade to a bigger tank down the road. Smauggie is still in her 40G, but I do want to get her a bigger one. Right now, she's about 16-17", and she seems comfortable in there, so it will do for now.