Kymatix & Drako
Bearded Dragon Egg
- Messages
- 4
Hello everybody,
This is Drako, my name is Kyle and I'm new to the community. I wanted to share the new terrarium that I've been working on for my beardie Drako. He is just about 2 years old, and 18" nose to tail. We got him from a friend who was moving and couldn't take both his dragons with him. It has been great having him in our home, and I've really love with this lizard, which I didn't really expect at first.
Here is a photo of his old set up, and Exo-Terra Small-Tall (18” x 18” x 24” [WxDxH])
I knew it was too small, so we decided to build him a new one. My grandpa, a woodworker, built the wooden terrarium, using MDF for the walls and plywood for the base, with plexiglass sliding doors. It is approximately 4'L, 2'W and 2'H, for a volume around 120 gallons. We sealed it using a water based poly-acrylic multi-purpose sealer.
We decided to use ceramic tile as the substrate, with a seedling heater under the tile in his cave. I built the fake rocks using polystyrene insulation and grout, sealed with a no-VOC penetrating grout sealant. There are 4 separate pieces of fake rock making up his caves and basking rock. I decided to keep them separate for flexibility and convenience.
Drako loves climbing, so we fastened soft pieces of driftwood to the back wall with screws from the outside. We also set-up a Zoo-Med Reptile Hammock, just using screws and washers instead of the suction cups. The fake plant vines are secured with zip-ties with screw-mounts, so they can support him when he climbs on them. (I wasn't sure if he would, but within 3 minutes of exploring his new place he was climbing them!)
For the light set-up, we decided to go with a Zoo Med Repti-Sun 24" UVB Terrarium hood, mounted in a pre-cut hole in the lid. Then we have 2 Zoo Med Combo Deep Dish fixtures on metal screens in the rear. They both have an Exo-Terra 100W Infrared basking spot light. One also has a blue moon-light, and the other just has a regular 60w incandescent bulb (not really using at this time).
The UVB and 1 Infrared basking spot light are hooked up to the timer on a 12 hour cycle. The other IR spot light I've been leaving on 24 hours, as Drako seems to like sleeping up on the driftwood where he is in most the photos (Drako's favourite spot). The moon-light I turn on and off manually, and the 60w bulb is just used if a little heat boost is needed. You can also see the metal screens we custom made for the light fixtures. And his worm dish and veggie dish down there in the front.
For ventilation, we have the screens in the lid and then 6 - 2"diameter vents. As you see here, the 3 on the left side are near the bottom, where they are about midway up on the right side. This are on the left is his cool side, with some rocks and pieces of slate that stay cool, and the wood provides some shade.
Here is a picture with the plexi-glass back in, which I had removed for most the other photos.
He definitely seems pretty proud of his new home. He's been very active and exploring every nook and cranny, making good use of his favourite spots. The hammock and basking rock are good, but his favourite seems to be on the driftwood up in the corner. His colour seems to have brightened and his appetite seems to have increased, I'm not sure if its just the season or if he's really happy, or both =).
If you have any questions, or would like further details on anything feel free to ask. I hope that you guys like this as much as Drako seems to! =)
and kept a little sand pit for Diego coz he loves to dig 
