Big screen cage ok?

[Larsa]

Hi everyone! Newbie here! I plan on getting my first bearded dragon within the next few months and I am researching right now before getting and soon trying to set everything up. I live in texas and it stays hot and very dry in my apt. I have a left over screen cage from my chameleon that is 18inWx 18inL,x24in H. I know bearded dragons love to climb! I see so many bearded dragons in glass terrariums but I have huge problems keeping glass inclosures "dry" in my apt in fact in my old 10 gal it was like 95% humidity!!!!!!!! I also wanna note that even with a screen top on the 10 gal terrarium, it was still pretty humid, especially if I had a small water dish omg it would get ridiculously humid in there!!! There was just some rocks, hygrometer, and thermometer in there at one point and it was still humid!. 0.O My screen terrarium stays super dry so much like the rest of my apt that I had to use a humidifier and a LOT of plants to keep my cham's humidity at just at a tolerable 60%. I obviusly will get the 100 watt heating bulb and reptisun 10.0 uva/uvb bulb too. I am hoping that if I can test out the temperatures for a week in my screen terrarium, hopefully I can achieve a bearded dragon's required temps and low humidity levels. I wanna point out that I dont turn on my AC in the summer, I just kinda blow a fan on me! LOL. I dont mind the hot temp. My average apt temperature is near 76F- 82F so hopefully it wont be too hard to get the terrarium hot and keep the humidity low. So is my screen encloser ok for a baby bearded dragon? Here is the brand and picture of it:


http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/images/detailed/0/product_detailed_image_30017_184.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41UPw+juJ9L.jpg

 

[jessica domke]

2 be honest, i wud really advise against using an all screen enclosure. only b/c it's so hard 2 keep heated & if ur worried bout the humidity, u can always get a de-humidifier. plus, not saying it wud happen..but it is possible 4 a dragon 2 hurt itself w/a screen enclosure. just tryin 2 help

 

[Germ]

Answered your questions in your Intro Post. A screen enclosure is Not suitable as a BD enclosure. As far as them being climbers, as they get older they get quite lazy by our standards & don't care for the effort to climb too high, spend more time basking, laying around. Tall enclosures of any kind are not recommended. 18-24" is the best, gives room for a raised basking spot, temp gradient & still be able to be proper distance from the UVB.

 

[Larsa]

^ Thanks! I will test out the temperatures when I get all my bulbs and see if I can maintain the right temps for 3 straight days. I plan on putting up some thick plexiglass that is heat-resistant on a couple of the sides if that helps with the tempurature too. You said 18x24 is good size, thats exactly the size of my enclosure. I wont have anything too tall or too low for the basking spot. I also wont make it their climbing decor too tall if they are scared of heights. If its possible for me to use a my screened home, I guess could always tip it horizontal so the baby can have more room to run around than too much to climb. If nothing seems to work with the screen, I can always get a 20 gal glass tank for the baby, but it will more than likely have humidity problems :/ are there any easy fixes to that problem? All my desert babies that have lived in my glass terrariums have had high humidity problem for some reason even with those screen tops. Its so strange! Also if this helps, my terrariums are in an area away from air conditioning and windows I forgot to mention that! So far I have googled and I saw a few successful screened enclosures but so far they are like 95% glass. I was planning on getting a 40 gal+ glass for when he gets bigger, not keeping him in a screen forever. I might even build one myself! Maybe get a huge deep book shelf and tweak it up with glass doors, vents, a screen top,ect. Thanks for the help everyone!!! =)

 

[Germ]

18"-24" High!!! I don't understand why you bother to ask the question, if you won't heed the answers. Screened enclosures are dangerous, they will climb the walls, & cannot climb back down as explained in your other thread. Claws get caught, ripping them out & at times toes, twisting & breaking bones, it is just a bad plan. Previous humidity problems may have been caused by the substrate used? Your BD has to get within 8"-10" of UVB at the basking spot, in order to receive any benefit from it when filtered through a screen, within 10"-14" when not.

 

[Larsa]

Oh heck no I absolutely try not to use substrate other than reptile carpet in small terrariums, it seems too risky for me and it has caused problems so I just kinda not use it. Although it looks very nice, I have lost many reptiles from substrate! As I have said above, even with ONLY rocks and hygrometer/thermometer, the humidity is crazy high-even with a screen top, no lights, it is so weird! I said earlier I could tip my terrarium horizontal so its not high and more longways, is 18 inches seriously way too high from the bottom to top?? But since it sounds like its super impossible to use a screen enclosure without dramatically damaging them, I wont use it, ok!? Im fixin to get a large 20 gallon, but how the heck can I keep the humidity low!??? As an example right now I have an empty 10 and 5 gal right now ( for geckos and fishes, not the bearded dragon) that are literally both close to 60% humidity and there's nothing really in them right now. They arnt wet, they are perfectly dry everywhere. I dont have a humidifier anymore, havnt used one in 2 months I have no idea how its staying humid in the glass tanks when average humidity indoors being pretty low. Right now its 32% humidity indoors from what my digital thermostat is telling me. It hasnt rained in a few weeks. Someone above or on another thread said a de-humidifyer, do they sell those at pet stores? Ergg srry I know im being weird about all of this, Im really trying to figure this out T-T Mostly because Im trying to cheer my spouse up! We just lost a special family member and my husband has been looking up bearded dragons a LOT the past week. I really think it would cheer him up greatly, so im desperate to make this set up thing work. He is really taking his loss hard :/ And that poor chameleon. All Im really worried about now is how to the heck to keep the terrarium humidity low low low. My AC sucks all the humidity out, but makes it chilly in here and only goes up to 75F which is too cold. When I turn it off, within 15 minutes, I notice the humidity climb back up! The Heater on my AC unit makes things more humid @_@ Is there anything I could do????

 

[Germ]

In the past I have owned these reptiles: uromastyx ( my favorite!) chameleon, a few snakes, red ear slider turtle, salamanders, ALOT of anoles and geckos, and a classroom iguana =)

I have lost many reptiles from substrate!

I am curious, so where are all these reptiles, now? BDs, as were many of the mentioned reptiles, are a long term commitment, with proper care, can live to be 10-15 years old.

 

[Larsa]

Just because I have owned them before doesnt mean I still have them now, unfortunately. Some of them I have had since I was little and already passed a long time ago, a few I had to give away just before I moved. My uro still alive is at a science center, my leopard geckos are in a freshman high school biology class idk how they are doing. A lot of my geckos and my turtles have already passed on and my anoles I just let go free before I moved out of FL, they were wild caught by me! My iguana my dad gave away a long time ago I wish I knew where he was he was 12 years old going on 13 :/ He was originally a class pet but took him in. My mom HATED him, thought he was some kind of evil satanic creature! :O


**** I take that back on the rain thing, we just had a tornado a thunderstorm LOL. No joke!

 

[Larsa]

Ok so my husband and I are planning to get a size 30 gal glass terrarium, is that too big for a juvinile BD?

 

[Germ]

A 30 Gal would be fine for a young BD, many will go directly to the minimum 40+ Gal required for an adult, as it is more cost effective than having to upgrade in 7 or 8 months.

 

[Larsa]

thanks! ^-^ I just bought a 40 gal tank at petco for babie's first tank!! It was on sale for $80 because it was originally for aquariums and was just a weird more box-shaped glass tank than the desired tall ones. That works great for me!!!! I snatched it right up! It fits perfect in my living room =D My husband is going to built a custom aluminum screen cover with metal lining. I got some tan reptile carpet for the bottom. At my pet store they also have some large grapevine branches on sale, is that type of wood ok/safe for beardies?

 

[Germ]

Likely a 40 gal Breeder tank which gives more floor space

As far as the grapevine goes, if it will hold it's weight as it grows, i may be okay. They grow very quickly, full size 10-11 months. Need something more solid to bask on though.

 

[Germ]

You want to keep the enclosure simple, free of clutter, at least to start with for the 1st 3-4 months, for the Young'un.

 

[Larsa]

I have a couple pieces of slate, a grapevine branch, and his water/food dish. Hopefully thats not too much stuff, but enough. I have reptile carpet right now and I hide the wire under the carpet from his digital thermometer. The ambient side is around 75F and his basking spot is 104F-ish if thats ok. I have a reptisun 10.0 desert uva/uvb bulb in the middle of the tank screen cover so it kinda penetrates most of the viv. All of his lighting stuff are on timers from 7am-7pm The darn hygrometer is staying at 50% again.... :/ I am buying a gosh darn mini dehumidifyer that has a sticky suction cup for the wall. I found one online and I am gonna go for it LOL.

I would love to get some live desert plants but I am scared he will eat them!!! Are the plastic ones safe for decoration? Also will it stress the beardie if I got a desert scene background like a wallpaper for the tank instead of the black sheet? I kinda want to get a small plastic tree from Petsmart for his cooling spot as well. Here is is viv so far, minus the humidity-is everything looking ok? =3

The viv:


Here is a great view of my 40 gal viv:

Here is all the stuff:

Cool side:

Warm side:

Basking spot digital thermometer placement:

 

[Germ]

The enclosure is looking very nice. A few adjustments should be made.

• UVB: The UVB fixture should be moved to the far right, along side the heat lamp, so it covers the basking spot. There won't be any effective, usable UVB reach the floor. It appears in the picture that there may be a clear plastic cover over the bulb. If there is, this must be removed, as UVB can not pass through solid filters such as Glass or Plastic. Screens can block reflect as much as 40-50% of the effective UVB, so the BD must be able to get within 8-10" of it, preferably the center of the tube, as there is not very much UVB emitted off of the ends.

• Cool side thermometer: Where it is mounted now, you are measuring the temps where the BD will never have access to & should be moved opposite the Heat bulb, down near the floor. Cool side should be 80F-85F. Can be easily achieved by moving the basking spot & heat bulb towards the center of the enclosure until you get the right heat gradient.

• Basking Temp: Should be bumped closer to the vicinity of 110F for a young BD.

• Caution: When feeding Live Prey, keep an eye out for any hiding under the carpet or anyplace else, prior to lights out. Crickets will come out of hiding at night & bother it's sleep by crawling and nibbling on it, so all must be removed prior to lights. Live feeders will also drown in the water dish.

• Plastic Plants: I never recommend Plastic plants because of the dangers of the BD attempting to nibble on them. Pieces/leaves may fall/break off & be ingested, blocking the digestive tract. Also just give feeders a place to hide from the BD.

A background of your choice is fine.

Good Luck

 

[Aleena]

I love the setup! I have aloe plants in my babies setup, but they're positioned to where no feeders or babies could get in to them, also the sides are slick so crickets can't climb up them. I think I saw debates as to whether any live plants even should be used, but aloe is fairly gentle and usually consumable by most things so in my opinion it would be okay, again, use with caution if you decide to. I would definitely share Germ's concerns with plastic plants, I've considered getting some cool looking basking spots but then I think that I'll have to go through the effort of removing all the fake plants and dismiss them. My Castiel I'm sure would try to eat them!

 

[Larsa]

Thank you guys so much!!! I will address these issues right away! I'm gonna take off the plastic on the uvauvb light and move it inside the viv. No plants then

 

[Germ]

Sounds good. Even with the UVB inside the enclosure, it still should be mounted to cover the Basking spot as close to the center of the bulb, as the setup will allow.