Soon to be beardie parent

[stinax182]

Hey guys, I'm Christina and i finally decided i want a bearded dragon. I use to keep a chameleon but he was a lot of work so i decided for an easier and more handleable pet.

I'm probably going to buy one at the upcoming New England reptile expo October 12. I do not want a baby... I want a juvenile. Any advice on purchasing one there? Maybe price ranges i could expect?

I'm setting up the enclosure before i get the dragon so i know everything is perfect. I currently have a 35g bow front aquarium which I'll line with paper towels. For uvb i have a 12" 5.0 reptisun fluorescent.... Will that be good enough until it dies and i buy a 10.0? The enclosure will be in my reptile room which is very warm so i won't need additional heat besides the basking bulb which will probably be a low watt incandescent bulb. The entire room is kinda humid so I'm not going to give him a water dish and i have a drip system from my chameleon to use.

Any suggestions or tips?

 

[SkyAndMojo]

Sounds good bearded dragons like to burrow at night. That's why sand is what's suggested for a substrate but I use crushed chestnuts. I have a half and half. Half loose substrate half solid. Price ranges from how fancy the Dragon is more color softer back so on.

I also use a ceramic heat emitter for night. Just to keep the tank around 80F

 

[stinax182]

Depending on the age dragon i get i may add some substrate. And the room stays at 77°f so i didn't think i needed night heat.

 

[PatsyB]

You won't need any night time heat if your room stays 77. As long as the room doesn't get below 65 you're good. Paper towel substrate is perfect. It gives you an easy way to 1. clean up messes, and 2. to monitor and get a good look at "messes" to make sure there aren't any medical issues that need to be taken care of. Offer a hide or two to your dragon so if they want to hide they have a place to go. Mine actually rarely go in their hides, at night they like to sleep on their hammocks or ledges.

As far as the light, I would plan go get the better bulb ASAP. A 12" hood is kinda small and the 5.0, I would try to get a longer one so the UVB covers more of the tank. Also, if getting a new hood, you should look at the HO 10.0 T5 bulbs. Apparently, they are much better than the T8 bulbs.

I am very bad at giving advise on lighting so hopefully Jarich will come along and answer this question for you, he's kinda the lighting expert around here

 

[stinax182]

Okay, i had the 5.0 leftover from my chameleon so i just figured I'd use it but i can buy the t5 10.0. But the aquarium is only 20" across so i figured 12" is fine..... And I already have the fixture. Once he grows and i buy him a large enclosure i can upgrade to a 48" because i have that fixture as well. I realy don't want to buy another fixture when i have spare ones.

Thank you for the advice ! I have some nice wood pieces for basking, a hammock and a large diameter pvc pipe cut in half that's long enough for an adult beardie to hide in.

For the drip system... Should i have it drip on the glass or some strategically placed plants?

 

[PatsyB]

I would probably drip it on the glass, he mighe try to eat the plants!