Beardy Setup

[ander88]

Hi All.

Looking to setup a Viv to house, one or possibly two beardies. Ive been researching loads and know I need a heat source, a UV source, hot end, cool end etc.

I was just wondering if the following setup is good to go.

36 x 15 x 22 Viv
Exo Terra Double compact light with repti glo 10.0 and 2.0 UVB flu tubes for the UB light
Exo Terra Glo Light with Solar Glo lamp for basking area. This has UVB and UVA so is this too much (what other would be suitable)
Either habistat or microclimate dimming thermostat for basking lamp.
Two therms one either end of viv.

What Im not sure about is what about temperatures at night? I presume the basking light and the strip lights off at night so I need a heat mat right?


Thanks in advance for your help.

Michael

 

[beardie_love]

Hello!

One beardie per viv, as 2 may fight, and can result in serious injury or death. I learned to not house beardies together the hard way. Just one day, one of my babies attacked the other. Luckily I was there and no injuries were caused.

The viv dimensions seem good.
The compact lights are said to have caused eye problems in reptiles, so they aren't good. For the UVB, everyone suggests the Repti-Sun 10.0. For the light setup, have the Repti-Sun covering majority of the viv, and for a basking light source, a regular household bulb will do. You may have to try different wattages to get the right temp (basking spot should be about 105*F). What kind of thermometers do you use?

For the night temperature, it should not go below 65*F. A heat pad won't be necessary if temps do not drop below that.

 

[renich]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Beardie_Love pointed everything out for you and listed out the essential lighting requirements that you will need. I am a fan of the ReptiSun 10.0 tube. Beardies need a high level of UV and this is the best on the market right now. Here is a link to our site store:
http://mybeardie.com/bearded-dragon-reptile-supplies.php?itemtype=ReptiSun

Heat mats are not good for bearded dragons. If temps fall below 65F, you can get a ceramic heat emitter.

 

[ander88]

Ah never thought of the ceramic. Theyre just like bulbs too without hte light right?

If I were to use that I would place that in the middle of the viv only to be on over night or well stat controlled to keep things nice.
Ive seen alot of people recomending the repti sun, just suggested exo terra as this is what my local breeder has for sale in his shop.

Still doing lots of research first so I'm sure in time Ill have everything all good. Just like to get things sorted in my head first before I start incase I miss something.

Beardie_Love - Not sure what thermostats I'll be using yet. Not looked into anything apart from the habistat and micro for the basking area. Prob just a little neat dual channel digi one, possibly with humidity monitor too just incase.

Ive just thought too about substrate. I know from what Ive read that juvenilles are best on kitchen towel then steadily onto a diff sub. The breeder uses chippings but I thought about slate, or sandstone to give a sort of rough texture? How does this sound?

 

[renich]

There have been studies on the ReptiGlo being linked to eye issues in beardies. Coils are just no good for beadies. Eye issues again.

Substrate can be a controversial topic. For babies, papertowels, shelf liner, newspaper make good substrates. But if you want, ceremic tile or slate make excellent ones. They are easy to clean and help keep the nails filed.

 

[crypticdragons]

Ive just thought too about substrate. I know from what Ive read that juvenilles are best on kitchen towel then steadily onto a diff sub. The breeder uses chippings but I thought about slate, or sandstone to give a sort of rough texture? How does this sound?

I prefer paper honestly. i use newspaper, but you can get rolls of paper similar to newspaper without the ink print on them. Its easy to clean and keep sanitary.

Problems with tile (though tile is a fine substrate) is extreme overwear of their nails, much harder to keep sanitary, and it causes a good bit of dust in the enclosure.

 

[ander88]

What do you mean by coils? Compact lights, like energy saving shape?

Never thought of the dust issue. I was just thinking of something authentic and natural but saying that, being captive bread, they really dont no the difference.

I work in a paper mill so paper wont be a problem to get my hands on lol!

 

[crypticdragons]

What do you mean by coils? Compact lights, like energy saving shape?

yeah they are talking about the bulbs that look like the power saver bulbs out now

it was in response to this

Exo Terra Double compact light with repti glo 10.0 and 2.0 UVB flu tubes for the UB light
Exo Terra Glo Light with Solar Glo lamp for basking area. This has UVB and UVA so is this too much (what other would be suitable)

But if im reading that correctly the hood has 2 tube lights in it correct? 1 reptiglo 10.0 and 1 reptiglo2.0, both being tube fluorescents. if so that will be fine. Though it is adviseable to switch the reptiglo bulb out for a reptisun 10.0 as they are the best tube bulb on the market currently. And yes if you use the SolarGlo in conjunction with the Tube bulbs it will be too much UV rays. The solarglo is a MVB and it emits a high amount of UV rays, so much so that you do not need to supplement D3 in the dragons diet (meaning when you use a MVB bulb you have to use calcium without D3). using the solar glo with the 10.0 would be far too much and not adviseable. Now, if you choose to use a MVB you can get a regular Fluoro tube fixture and just use a Non-UV output bulb to help brighten the tank up. Or use a normal household bulb as the basking light and get the fluoro fixture you spoke of. Make certain that if you use the fluorescent bulb that your dragon can get within 10-12 inches of the bulb, and if you use a MVB make certain your dragon is no closer than 14-15 inches.

 

[corrine]

What do you mean by coils? Compact lights, like energy saving shape?

Never thought of the dust issue. I was just thinking of something authentic and natural but saying that, being captive bread, they really don't no the difference.

I work in a paper mill so paper wont be a problem to get my hands on lol!

Yes by coil/compact they mean the energy saving ones. You will want to get a tube bulb. I personally use slate tile and I love it. I did use paper when my Yoyo was a baby tho. when purchasing a thermometer you will want to get one with a probe on it or a temp gun. The ones that stick to the glass can be off by as much as 20 degrees.

 

[ander88]

Thanks for the info crypticdragons. Much appreciated.

I think I'll go with a UV Tube to give a nice even distribution of uv across the viv and a household bulb for the basking area. Only thought about this is will the household bulb give enough heat for the hot end of the viv?
Overnight the room the viv will be in gets quite cold so someone mentioned a ceramic heater for at night, wheres the best place to put it, hot cool or middle of viv?

 

[crypticdragons]

With the CHE i would still place it on one side of the tank so that the dragon can decide how warm he wants to be in relation to his distance from the heat emitter.

And yes the household bulb will have a high enough output, though you will have to play with the wattage to determine what wattage works best in your tank. Luckily they are cheap (typically around 1.47 per pack of 4 at like home depot) so you have plenty of room to experiment money wise lol.

 

[ladyknite]

Welcome aboard. Join the crowd and get a bit silly.

one thing.

36 x 15 x 22

that would be 36" long by 15" wide y 22" tall correct?

is this for an adult?

 

[ander88]

Sounds good. Ill "borrow" some lamps from the store at work hehe

So for lighting / heat heres my plans.

Household Lamp for basking / heat, CHE for overnight heat in same area as basking on a thermostat and a uv tube running along the viv with two tubes, the reptisun 10.0 and another (or just the reptisun if its a single light fitting)

For the basking area, a habistat is still required yea?

Welcome aboard. Join the crowd and get a bit silly.

one thing.

36 x 15 x 22

that would be 36" long by 15" wide y 22" tall correct?

is this for an adult?

Lol thanks ladyknite. Well at first I plan on getting a juvenille to watch grow up. Isnt this viv big enough for an adult?

 

[ladyknite]

the 15 inch width makes it a tight squeeze, but it'll do just fine for a juvenile.
We tend to like no less than 18 inches in width to prevent damage to the tail where it joins the spine. This is a concern as the dragon reaches it's mature length.

 

[ander88]

Ah I see.

Ill deff go for a bigger size then. Just at the research stage at the mo so all info is good! Possibly a 36 x 22 x 22 depending what a certain auction site has, or possibly I might build my own

 

[ladyknite]

building your own is a great idea. The crossfire enclosure is a cinch to build, looks great, and is rather inexpensive all the way around, including the power bill to run it.

And congrads on doing research first. Always pays off.

 

[ander88]

Sorry to be a dufus but, what do you mean by crossfire?

 

[ladyknite]

http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/

That's Russ's design. Works great.

 

[ander88]

Just googled it hehe.

Guess what I'm doing at the weekend, or.... even better, my next nightshift in the workshop!!

 

[renich]

Cool. Please share when you finish.