supplies

[jwilusz]

So first thing is first I am going to be a new dragon owner and cannot wait. I have wanted one since I was 13 and I am 25 now (in the military and could not get one for my room there). I understand that there is a lot in this and at one time I had an iguana so I know very little. Over the past year I have been reading everything I can on these awesome reptiles. I have been trying to look around at where to get supplies. My local pet shops kinda stink for selection. I was looking at lllreptiles.com and a few others. Where do you guys get your supplies from and do you have any advice or other pages I can read that will tell me things that I do not know about them. I want to take the best care for this animal that I can so please just let me know. Thank in advance for the time you take.

 

[CooperDragon]

Welcome to the forum! A lot of times the local shops don't carry the best supplies for dragons specifically. I use Amazon a lot to order supplies. LLL is a pretty reputable supplier. I like LightYourReptiles for UVB lighting. There are quite a few online options for feeders as well. I'd dig through the care sheet and guides in the Articles section to get started. If you have any specific questions after that or would like recommendations on something please feel free to post all you want.

 

[jwilusz]

Welcome to the forum! A lot of times the local shops don't carry the best supplies for dragons specifically. I use Amazon a lot to order supplies. LLL is a pretty reputable supplier. I like LightYourReptiles for UVB lighting. There are quite a few online options for feeders as well. I'd dig through the care sheet and guides in the Articles section to get started. If you have any specific questions after that or would like recommendations on something please feel free to post all you want.

Thanks for your response. I have seen very mixed reviews on LLLreptile everything from I didn't get what I ordered to it took forever to ship. I honestly did not even think of amazon. I have a care guide petsmart gave to me which has a check list but there are somethings that I don't get. Let me ask you this the bearded dragon I will be getting seems to be a young dragon as it is about 6". Can I put it in a 55 gallon tank? To make a very long story short I have that extra tank brand new sitting around. My plan is to put orange sand down and there is this awesome branch I saw that is suppose to be for fish but it's large enough that I think it would work for him to bask in. Any way I have been told by 5 people all kinds of different responses.

 

[CooperDragon]

A 55g tank will be a good size because it will be easier for you to build a heat and UVB gradient across the larger tank than with a smaller one. For the tank you'll want to create some areas to climb around on (a branch or piece of driftwood would work well) and you'll want some cozy hides and shade areas as well. The haba huts work pretty well and there are some hollow rocks that work well as hides. Lots of different options available for that. The key is just to provide a variety. I suggest avoiding sand, especially colored sand. The orange sand will start to stain his hands and feet which is hard to get rid of. The sand in general absorbs liquid easily and harbors bacteria so it's very difficult to keep sanitary. I suggest using a solid substrate such as non adhesive shelf liner or ceramic tile that has a little bit of grip to it. Both of those are easy to clean and disinfect, making a healthier environment overall. What else is on the checklist? I'll be glad to go through it and give my thoughts on their recommendations.

 

[jwilusz]

A screen lid, some kind of substrate, rock or wood hiding spot and basking site, food and water dishes, thermometers, hygrometers ( I found thermometers that have a humidifier gauge on it as well so two in one deal), basking bulb, daytime UVA/UVB bulb and fixture, a stand if desired, timer for light and heat bulbs if desired, Ceramic heat emitter and fixture or night time bulb, spray bottle (still not sure what that is for unless it is to help with humidity also still going through alot of posts on here), live food, container for live food, fresh fruit and vegetables, calcium supplement, and a vitamin supplement if desired. As I said something about the sand I and went into some of the articles here i noticed that about sand and will likely change my mind. If I can find some kind of time that has a slightly rough feel so that it can gain traction that's what I will do. By reading everything I apparently need 3 bulbs but I have only ever seen a two bulb setup for tanks. I also noticed that the fixture should be mounted in the tank?????? I am kind of confused on this why not have it sitting outside the tank? Couldn't the dragon get hurt by trying to reach up and touch it? Tons of questions and I want to know all the basics before getting one.

 

[CooperDragon]

This is a pretty good list but the devil is in the details. Screen lid, substrate I've spoken about, hiding spot, dishes - those are all pretty straightforward aside from substrate.

Thermometers should be the digital kind with a probe or a temp gun (or both). I use a temp gun because I like to get instant surface readings anywhere in the tank. The probe kind are more fixed and take longer to acquire a reliable reading. Generally speaking though if you have an accurate reading of the basking surface and of a surface on the cool side, that's enough because it will tell you what the gradient is.

As far as hygrometers go, I don't use one. If the humidity is comfortable to you in the room it's probably fine. If you do get one, I'd be sure to calibrate it and test it out because I've seen inaccurate readings cause some unnecessary panic in the past.

The lighting is VERY important so I'd reserve a larger portion of the budget for this. The basking light needs to be a bright white light that produces heat. I've had good luck using the ZooMed Repti Basking Spot lamps. For a 55g tank I'd go with a 150w and then adjust it's height to get the correct temps in the basking area and cool end. You can also use PAR38 or BR40 halogen flood lights which are often a bit cheaper. I'd put the basking light in a dome fixture rated appropriately for the wattage of bulb and then put it on an adjustable lamp stand or on a lamp dimmer so you can fine tune the output to get proper temps. The basking bulb shouldn't get closer than 12'' or so from the basking spot.
For the UVB light, I suggest using a T5 UVB tube if you're going with a 55g tank. They have much stronger output than the older T8 bulbs and have an optimal basking output at 12-14'' so they can be mounted right on top of the tank with the basking spot about 12'' below. The tube should run roughly 1/2 the length of the enclosure and be mounted on the basking side so that the intense UVB goes along with the high heat and has a gradient down to low UVB on the cool side of the tank. These are some good options for UVB lighting
This fixture http://www.amazon.com/Sunblaster-904296-NanoTech-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B00AKKUBDQ
With this bulb http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun-10-0-Lamp/dp/B00AQU8HAO/

Or this combo set http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

It's a good idea to use a timer for the lighting. I use a dual outlet analog outlet timer from the hardware store and it works well. The UVB fixture I use has a ground pin so I use the timer with 3 prong ports. Don't need to go crazy on this one, just a cheap one from the hardware store will do. This will let you set it and forget it when it comes to turning the lights on and off and provides a consistent routine.

For nighttime, you don't need any additional heat if the temp in the enclosure stays above about 65 overnight. It's natural for them to have a cool down period overnight - to an extent. If the temps drop lower than that, I'd use a ceramic heat emitter. They produce heat without visible light which can disrupt sleep. I use a low wattage CHE during the winter. A 50w mounted about 20'' up is enough to bump the temps into the high 60s/low 70's which is plenty. That's on a separate timer so when it's needed it comes on an hour or two after lights out and goes off an hour or so before lights on.

The spray bottle is for misting their noses to provide water. I'm more in favor of using a dropper or plastic syringe to drip water on their nose so they lick it up. I also provide baths regularly which gives them another opportunity to have a drink if they want. They will get most of their hydration from food so be sure the bugs are well hydrated and the water will be supplementary.

Live food will vary. I suggest using either crickets or dubia roaches as a staple bug. Both will need an enclosure which could be made from a lot of things. I use a spare 20g tank with a mesh top for my dubia colony. You can also use a large rubbermaid bin with a screened hole cut in the top which will work just as well. If you decide on building a dubia colony, give it a few months to get started before feeding them off and they'll be an easy to care for and cheap food source going forward. Crickets are cheaper if you order them regularly in bulb but they aren't as hardy and are a little more of a pain to care for. You'll also want some supplementary worms like Phoenix Worms or silk worms to have on hand for variety. This is in addition to fresh salads which young dragons often ignore for a while in favor of bug protein to help support growth. There is good info about what to put in salads here http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

It's important to have good calcium supplement. If you go with a T5 UVB light, I'd use plain calcium without D3. The D3 supplement is for use in enclosures with lower output UVB lights which aren't strong enough to allow natural D3 synthesis. It's a bit of gray area but that's what I go by. The calcium should be applied according to the label but in general, dust bugs at every feeding with calcium and if you get a multivitamin, use that once or twice a week in place of the calcium.

 

[Taterbug]

Amazon is great for supplies like supplements, lights and fixtures but a lot of other things can be gotten at regular stores, made, or in the case of sticks and branches gotten outside.

Babies can do fine in larger enclosures but you'll want to furnish it to help them feel safe - visual barriers and branches to climb and stuff like that. Otherwise it's just a big open space that can be really scarey to live in. Not to mention, It's easier to put up barriers in a big enclosure than make a small one big Also, A 55g is a very narrow tank - a good rule of thumb is that the smallest dimension of an enclosure should be at a minimum as much as the dragon is long. 55g are 13" long and a fast growing baby could outgrow that in just a few months.

 

[jwilusz]

A ton of information and with that more questions come. So I took out the humidity gauge and I am ordering a zoo med infrared temp gun. In fact I have been looking at a lot of zoo med stuff so I am glad that it is a brand you like gives me a little more comfort in knowing that it is indeed respectable. Thus far I am going to order 8.5inch ceramic dome lamp for the basking bulb plus a stand, the temp gun, zoo med large lamp stand, I also decided to go with T5 bulb, the vitamins are rep cal calcium without D3 and Herptivite (its a combo pack). Now as of right now I cannot afford to get a lot at first but will add. I have a large habba hut right now. I got the big one thinking for the long run. I am also going to be getting a very large branch that the beardie will be able to use to bask in and climb on but I don't want to crowd the tank. It's a big tank but I don't want to make it feel cramped. What other kinds of things do you guys use for them to climb on? As far as the colony of roaches I don't mind about that.......My wife might not be so forgiving on the idea. It's a good thing I started doing a lot more research then what I did. the dusting of the critters, How much is enough? Should I be able to see the dust? should it just be a pinch and sprinkle in? I can understand variety and really don't want to do crickets so I could look at roaches. Can I find a care sheet for the roaches on here? The vegetables I knew about for the most part and have several pages saved that has what they can and cannot eat. one other thing that just popped in my head I read somewhere that whatever I feed a beardie it has to fit between the eyes. Is this a fact I would think so because it doesn't make sense to feed him something bigger than his/her head..I know I keep switching around to a bunch of different names and sexes. I don't have one yet. I want the tanks set up and then mess with the lighting to get everything perfect. As far as the timer goes I think that will end up waiting until a later date. Sure it would make things easier but the majority of my budget is going to essentials first then I will get the other stuff.

 

[jwilusz]

Amazon is great for supplies like supplements, lights and fixtures but a lot of other things can be gotten at regular stores, made, or in the case of sticks and branches gotten outside.

Babies can do fine in larger enclosures but you'll want to furnish it to help them feel safe - visual barriers and branches to climb and stuff like that. Otherwise it's just a big open space that can be really scarey to live in. Not to mention, It's easier to put up barriers in a big enclosure than make a small one big Also, A 55g is a very narrow tank - a good rule of thumb is that the smallest dimension of an enclosure should be at a minimum as much as the dragon is long. 55g are 13" long and a fast growing baby could outgrow that in just a few months.

Just measured the width of the tank and its 14.25" as it stands right now. I got this tank because of some dumb stuff that happened with fish. No fish or fish water has touched the tank I will be using. The tank I am using is brand new and I will be keeping it that way until the dragon gets in there. What size tank do you use?

 

[Taterbug]

I have a custom built 48"Lx48"Hx24"W, the smallest I would personally go is a 48"x24"x24". Lots of people use a 40g breeder which is smaller volume wise than a 55g but wider, but that is still small for my preference and I don't know I would choose one over the other if I already had the 55g. Dragons can get pretty big/long and a larger cage makes things like using adult size furnishings and giving space for exercise as well as making the thermalgradient easier. The custom ones are not too difficult to build out of plywood if you have some power tools and are a bit handy. The 55g isn't bad, but just something to think about for if/when your dragon gets big and starts to find the 55g cramped.