Tank setup BEFORE buying dragon?

[coastergirl946]

I have decided that in the future, I want a bearded dragon. It will be my first experience owning one, but I have learned A LOT from this forum and from experience with my boyfriend's dragon before he passed away from impaction.
I know everything, EVERYTHING there is to know about how to avoid impaction in a beardie. No loose substrate, no food bigger than the space between their eyes, temp on cool side should be 80 and temp on hot side should be around 105, don't feed them less than 2 hours after lights on, leave lights on for at least 2 hours after last feeding of the day to let them bask/digest, don't handle them for at least an hour after eating or they can vomit.
I understand how to give them a bath.
I know exactly how to hand feed them with a plastic syringe if it comes down to it (from the side, NOT the front or they can aspirate), and I understand that you can mix medicine into babyfood turkey or squash when things are getting bad with their health.
I have utilized http://www.herpvetconnection.com when my boyfriend's beardie needed help.
I understand that as a first time owner, I should probably not get a baby at first.. would a juvie (1 year old) be the best bet? I don't care what color it is.
Is there a difference between owning a male and owning a female? I know that unbred females can lay infertile clutches, but I'm not sure I'm ready to handle that.. would a male be better for me?
I plan on using non adhesive shelf liner as a substrate. I also plan on using natural rocks to create a basking spot, a branch to climb on, and a hammock. I also understand that the rocks and branches MUST be clean (baked or frozen).
Is a 40 gallon breeder what I will immediately need?
How many times per week or month does the viv need cleaned, and what nontoxic cleaner can I use?
I do not plan on using heat rocks, undertank heaters, or coil bulbs. I plan to use the ReptiSun 10.0 tube (from petmountain) as the UV source, a ceramic heat emitter for nighttime warmth, a household bulb for basking, and a digital temp gauge with probe to properly measure temps.
If setting bulbs on top of the screen filters them out, and you need a screen top so they don't escape, how do you go about mounting the light fixtures inside the enclosure? I'm a 29 year old college student and I'm hardly a handyman (or shall I say handywoman), lol.
What is the best feeder for them and where can I get these feeders?
I know that beardies love squash, prickly pear, collard greens, and mustard greens, and that these are all good for them. I know to dust the feedings 3x a week with calcium to ensure that my beardie doesn't get MBD.
I know to have a food dish.
Is a water dish necessary? Or should I just bathe them a few times a week, and add a mist once a day when they are shedding?
I also plan on saving several hundred dollars back for regular and emergency vet visits.
You won't have to explain that love and attention are crucial.. I'm a softie, and I will handle and pet my beardie whenever I can.

Any help is appreciated. I'd like to have every single piece of the enclosure perfect before I get my dragon.

 

[Screamin99]

a 40gal breeder will be the absolute minimum tank size for an adult dragon and a baby can do just fine in this space, although some might get a little scared at the large size. Depending on how old the dragon you purchase is, you won't know if its a male or female without having it probed by a vet so keep that in mind when purchasing your dragon. I use tile in my Viv and I clean the soiled tiles as soon as I can. I try to clean the entire tank once a month, and I usually use a disinfectant spray or Lysol spray to clean the glass with. For the tiles I usually wash them using hot soap and water or the same Lysol spray, but with this you need to clean the tank than wipe it dry then come back over it all with a clean damp / wet cloth and then dry that all up. This will not leave any trace of the spray behind and will help remove the smell / odor of the chemicals used.

For his furniture I usually just wash it off really well the same with his plants and again use the same sprays. (think its the yellow 4 in 1 spray) Again just MAKE double sure you get it all off, so that you don't run the risk of them getting to it and ingesting it.

For wooden furniture you can rinse off anything that might be on it and then bake it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes at about 200-250*.

You do NOT need a screen top as long as the dragon cannot get to the top of the viv, when they are younger they can jump very well and will most certainly escape if you give them the chance. SO just ensure they cannot get that close to the top of the viv and you should be okay. My dragon will be 2 this year and He stands on his back legs and trys to climb out of his tank all the time (no screen, but he is too fat to get out so he just stays put thank god) You may not need a night heat source as long as your temps in your house don't get too cold.

To mount your UV strip you can purchase these little picture hangers in any crafts store they have little "J" shaped hooks attached to a flat plastic piece that attaches itself to a wall using some strong adhesive tape. I've been using this and its been a life saver since I gave up on MVB lights.

For best feeders it all depends on your dragon. I think that crickets are by far the easiest to keep. I would buy 1000 at a time and just put them in a 10 gallon tank with a screen lid and egg crate. You place the egg crate on one side and then you put a little food and water down on the other end. When its time to clean the cricket tank its super easy to keep the dead crickets away from the ones that are alive and you need to keep!

Simply take the egg crate pieces out and shake the crickets off before you pull the pieces out. Once all the pieces are out you tilt the tank to one side so all the dead and live crickets are forced to the side with the food. then you simply sit the tank flat and grab a couple gallon sized ziploc backs and start catching them in your hands and tossing them in the bags with a little bit of egg crate so they don't trample and kill each other. Then dump the dead stuff into the trash/compost and then begin to clean the tank out using hot hot water and some disinfectant spray. If your dragon doesn't fair well on crickets you can always go for pheniox worms/repti worms as they are high in calcium and are great staples, they don't keep very long IMO, but are great feeders. Dubias are another good choice, but my dragon wouldn't touch them. Superworms are great if your dragon is 14+ inches. And hornworms/silk worms can be good too as long as you get the correct size.

Watch out with crickets as they will climb almost anything and just simply jump out of the dragons tank lol.

Collard,Mustard,Turnip,Dandelion greens are 100% safe staples. Butternut squash is also good, but again with some dragons its a hit or miss. I always dusted 3x a week for calcium and 2x a week with multi-vitamin.

Water dish is NOT necessary if you bath regular. Water dishes can raise humidity, and some dragons won't even drink out of them! A simple 20 minute soak every 2-3 days is okay and some even do it every day/every other day which is fine too! When they are in shed you can bath daily. Misting doesn't do much good as dragons can only take in water via drinking or through their vent. Misting might let them lick the drops, but doing a mist in take can raise humidity levels.

The only thing I can think of that I can add to this is, depending on where you keep your dragon at you should keep a towel up over the front/sides of the tank at night to keep light out.

My dragon stays in a 55gallon long and he is also in my bedroom. I keep a towel over the front of his viv at night when he is sleeping to help keep light out of his tank. I also cover him with a small hand towel to keep the light out of his eyes and off his parietal eye so that he can rest easier.

When buying decor from a pet shop most pieces will have tiny holes on the bottom of it so that water/air can escape if you put it in a fish tank. Crickets also crawl up these things and will hide in the furniture. So if you decide to use crickets and have any furniture like this then you might think about cutting some small wire mesh and gluing it over the holes so that they can't climb up inside and hide from your dragon! Or you could feed in a totally different tank/setup thats up to you. If you feed in tank do your best to remove all the crickets you can otherwise they can climb on your dragon and bite and just not allow them to sleep very well!

The best thing to do is get all your stuff ready and have it on hand minus feeders and your dragon. I had everything I needed minus my dragon and a few feeders before I actually went to the store and got him.

Good luck!

 

[apaprikao]

Thank you Screamin99! That was a very informative post. I'm in the middle of doing the same thing as the OP, getting a tank set up before buying my dragon and your post was awesome! Thanks!

 

[Screamin99]

I re-read my post and forgot to mention one thing.

If you use crickets and tilt the tank, all the the dead and live crickets will be in one corner. Simply sit the tank back flat and most of the live crickets will run to the opposite side of the tank.. makes it easier to make sure your not scooping up dead crickets to put back into the clean tank/tub.

 

[moongypsy]

a 40gal breeder will be the absolute minimum tank size for an adult dragon and a baby can do just fine in this space, although some might get a little scared at the large size. Depending on how old the dragon you purchase is, you won't know if its a male or female without having it probed by a vet so keep that in mind when purchasing your dragon. I use tile in my Viv and I clean the soiled tiles as soon as I can. I try to clean the entire tank once a month, and I usually use a disinfectant spray or Lysol spray to clean the glass with. For the tiles I usually wash them using hot soap and water or the same Lysol spray, but with this you need to clean the tank than wipe it dry then come back over it all with a clean damp / wet cloth and then dry that all up. This will not leave any trace of the spray behind and will help remove the smell / odor of the chemicals used.

For his furniture I usually just wash it off really well the same with his plants and again use the same sprays. (think its the yellow 4 in 1 spray) Again just MAKE double sure you get it all off, so that you don't run the risk of them getting to it and ingesting it.

For wooden furniture you can rinse off anything that might be on it and then bake it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes at about 200-250*.

You do NOT need a screen top as long as the dragon cannot get to the top of the viv, when they are younger they can jump very well and will most certainly escape if you give them the chance. SO just ensure they cannot get that close to the top of the viv and you should be okay. My dragon will be 2 this year and He stands on his back legs and trys to climb out of his tank all the time (no screen, but he is too fat to get out so he just stays put thank god) You may not need a night heat source as long as your temps in your house don't get too cold.

To mount your UV strip you can purchase these little picture hangers in any crafts store they have little "J" shaped hooks attached to a flat plastic piece that attaches itself to a wall using some strong adhesive tape. I've been using this and its been a life saver since I gave up on MVB lights.

For best feeders it all depends on your dragon. I think that crickets are by far the easiest to keep. I would buy 1000 at a time and just put them in a 10 gallon tank with a screen lid and egg crate. You place the egg crate on one side and then you put a little food and water down on the other end. When its time to clean the cricket tank its super easy to keep the dead crickets away from the ones that are alive and you need to keep!

Simply take the egg crate pieces out and shake the crickets off before you pull the pieces out. Once all the pieces are out you tilt the tank to one side so all the dead and live crickets are forced to the side with the food. then you simply sit the tank flat and grab a couple gallon sized ziploc backs and start catching them in your hands and tossing them in the bags with a little bit of egg crate so they don't trample and kill each other. Then dump the dead stuff into the trash/compost and then begin to clean the tank out using hot hot water and some disinfectant spray. If your dragon doesn't fair well on crickets you can always go for pheniox worms/repti worms as they are high in calcium and are great staples, they don't keep very long IMO, but are great feeders. Dubias are another good choice, but my dragon wouldn't touch them. Superworms are great if your dragon is 14+ inches. And hornworms/silk worms can be good too as long as you get the correct size.

Watch out with crickets as they will climb almost anything and just simply jump out of the dragons tank lol.

Collard,Mustard,Turnip,Dandelion greens are 100% safe staples. Butternut squash is also good, but again with some dragons its a hit or miss. I always dusted 3x a week for calcium and 2x a week with multi-vitamin.

Water dish is NOT necessary if you bath regular. Water dishes can raise humidity, and some dragons won't even drink out of them! A simple 20 minute soak every 2-3 days is okay and some even do it every day/every other day which is fine too! When they are in shed you can bath daily. Misting doesn't do much good as dragons can only take in water via drinking or through their vent. Misting might let them lick the drops, but doing a mist in take can raise humidity levels.

The only thing I can think of that I can add to this is, depending on where you keep your dragon at you should keep a towel up over the front/sides of the tank at night to keep light out.

My dragon stays in a 55gallon long and he is also in my bedroom. I keep a towel over the front of his viv at night when he is sleeping to help keep light out of his tank. I also cover him with a small hand towel to keep the light out of his eyes and off his parietal eye so that he can rest easier.

When buying decor from a pet shop most pieces will have tiny holes on the bottom of it so that water/air can escape if you put it in a fish tank. Crickets also crawl up these things and will hide in the furniture. So if you decide to use crickets and have any furniture like this then you might think about cutting some small wire mesh and gluing it over the holes so that they can't climb up inside and hide from your dragon! Or you could feed in a totally different tank/setup thats up to you. If you feed in tank do your best to remove all the crickets you can otherwise they can climb on your dragon and bite and just not allow them to sleep very well!

The best thing to do is get all your stuff ready and have it on hand minus feeders and your dragon. I had everything I needed minus my dragon and a few feeders before I actually went to the store and got him.

Good luck!

Wow, very helpful, thank you! I will be getting mine tomorrow or sometime this week :") Adopting a girl.