Im New and want a bearded

[mastermindc3pro]

hey everyone I am new to this forum, and im new to the bearded dragons. However i really want one, but before i allow myself to buy one i need to know how to set everything up, whats the best type of equipment, exc. I understand ill need about a 40 gal tank need to keep a part of the tank at 100+ degrees. If any of you have any tank designs you can link me or any advice at all please feel free to inform me. I like to get an idea by people who acctually own them.

Thank you

 

[egg 80]

welcome to the forum,
beardies are really easy to look after in respect to other species, are you getting a young beardie or one a little older. it seems like you done some research on them keep looking art research as there is so much to learn about beardies, also before you get a beardie find yourself a vet in your area who deals with reptiles i hop youll never need to use them but is there for your peice of mind.

tank= its ideal to get a tank big enough for your beardie when its a adult and fully grown i would personnally advise you to have a 4'x2'x2' so he/she has enough room to roam and still have their baskin spot, summit to climb, water, food, hide etc

lights= for a 4' tank you will need a uv light 10.0 output, basking light set off to one side

substrate= before 12 month old use a solid substrate like paper lay flat or astro turf etc, after 12 months old you can introduce sand i use play sand or kiln dried sand as its a damn site cheaper than the exoterra stuff and lasts alot longer just make sure the sand is dry before you put in, alot of reptile shops will tell you to use calci sand dont use it when it gets wet it clumps up and the dragon wont be able to digest the amount clumped up in their stomach and can be fatal.

accesories= i personnally prefer to use sandstone rocks, small desert plants and a couple of peices of drift wood to try and make it as natural as possible for them rather than the vines etc you can buy from the reptile store.
if anyone can add to this please do so as i probably havent said everything needed, please ask for more info if required we will do our best to help you out and i hope you enjoy your new beardie when you get it

 

[zebraflavencs]

Okay, I'm going to add quite a bit to what Egg said...

Minimum for an adult enclosure- 36" x 18" x 18". Or a 40 gallon Breeder.

Lighting- Reptisun 10.0 Tube (USA), Arcadia 12%(UK), Mega Ray MVB, Trex Active Heat MVB.
If you get the tubes, then you will want a secondary heat source, most of us use a flood light, wattage depends on your ambient house temps. Make sure that the flood is positioned so that the rays from both lights are concentrated over the basking site.
If you choose the MVBs then no extra heat is needed ( in the 40), though you might want extra light for brightness. You will want to "burn in" any MVB for 4-12 hour periods away from the dragon, as days 2-3 you'll often record some insane high temps. Once burned in, then the MVB needs to be positioned on one side of the enclosure, straight down onto the basking site, at least 12" distance from the closet the dragon can get to the MVB. High temps= dehydration and possible burns, so lets' make sure that the distance is present.

Duration- You will want a "day" of 12-14 hours each day for the dragon. This is easily done with digital timers. You set the on and off times, and plug it into the socket, plug your lights into that, and you are set. Get the kind that has the back up battery for when power loss happens.

Temp control/accuracy- You want to make sure that the temps you are recording are accurate. In order to do that you will want either a therm with a probe, or a temp gun. There is one model of therm/probe that also reads humidity. This is called Accurite , and folks have found this at Walmart and Home Depot for under $20.

Probe needs to be placed on site to record temps, for 45 minutes.
Gun is instant. Aim around 2" away from spot, pull trigger, and instant accurate temp.

Temps for babies/juvies should be: basking-105-110*F, warm side 85-95*F, cool side 75-85*F and over night temps should not fall below 65*F.
Adults (18 months and older): Basking-95-105*F, warm side 85-90*F, cool side 75-85*F and over night no less than 60*F.

Feeding.
Babies/juvies need lots and lots of protein to grow properly. We highly suggest 3 different feedings of protein daily. We also highly suggest a salad daily, that will last the whole day. Most of us place the salads in first, since that is when the dragon is hungriest, when lights go on in the morning. The last protein feeding should be no less than an hour before lights out for the "day". This allows plenty of basking/digestion time for your dragon.

This is a wonderful list of foods to help you choose a healthy diet for your new friend:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Green is for daily staples,Black is for treats 1-2 times a week. Most of us tend to ignore the rest of the colored items.

Substrate- As Egg noted, particulate substrates are just not safe for babies, and most of us tend not to want our pets living in their own litter pan, so we use particulate substrates like non adhesive shelf liner ( the one without the holes), newspaper, butcher paper, Sealed, ceramic tiles (either permanently fixed to the enclosure or removable), or reptile carpet.
If you must have sand, then what Egg suggested is the best... Stay far away from any "calcium Sand". It is NOT good for your dragon, and will cause serious health issues due to blocking the intestinal tract, as well as too much calcium in the dragon's system.

Bathing- This is fairly necessary due to the high temps a captive kept dragon experiences. For babies we suggest a soak for 15 minutes daily in shoulder high warm water. Older dragons can have a soaking bath for same duration and depth, but only 3-4 times a week.

Supplementation- You need to add both vitamins and calcium to your dragons' diet daily. Rep-cal (USA) for calcium. If you use the tube UVB, Reptisun10.0 then get the with D3. If you choose the MVBs then go with the NO D3, as those lights are stronger and allow the dragon to produce it's own D3 from the calcium. These will be offered once daily on first insects and salad, 5 days a week, until dragon is around a year in age.
Rep-cal also makes a vitamin, called Herptivite. This should be added to the diet the last two days of the week, until the dragon is around a year in age.

You'll not want to mix these together, just keep m-f for the cal, and s-s for the vitamins...

Well, I think I covered everything fairly well... Sorry for the long post, but I always want to make sure that all information is thoroughly covered...
Janie

 

[mastermindc3pro]

No need to apologize i appreciate that you took the time to explain everything to me, and not give me short simple responses like yes or no to this. I have already started researching the lighting for the tank and the basking light, if its ok id like to send them to you and have you check them out and let me know if their ok. Also how do you feel about heating rocks and huts, ive read about dragons being burned by them. Do you have any experience with these types of objects. What about the heating pads that people use under one side of their tank, do they work and do you think i will need one to help give me another 5-10 degrees. Also how many times should i feed the dragon a day? You said to put a salad in the morning am i feeding him another couple times a day? Is it ok to use those rare treat foods mabey once a week or once every 2 weeks?

 

[zebraflavencs]

Absolutely ! Pass anything suspect by us so we can explain why yes or why no.

Heat rocks and pads don't really do anything positive for dragons... They sense most of the UVB/heat from above in their third "eye". So to avoid tummy burns, let's just leave those on the shelf shall we ?
Feeding for a baby to 6 months of age should be as close to this:
Lights on- salad is offered. 2 hours later, first protein insect feeding ( as many as that baby will eat in 15 minutes, dropping in one or two at a time so not to overwhelm baby). Allow for 1-2 hours basking, then feed second insect meal of the day... allow 1-2 more hours basking, then third and last feeding of insect of the day. Once again 1-2 hours Before lights out is when the last meal should be planned. Depending on how your day runs, you can either bath baby in the morning, before insects, or and hour after last meal, just before lights out.

Treats can be offered 1-2 times a week. For instance... Wax worms... for a baby less than 12" in length, I would offer say 2-3 once in that period of two weeks... Then say the next treat time... offer 3-4... this way you can gauge his/her intake amounts, but still offer enough as a treat.

Anything else I can write you a novel on ? lol... Oh yes... Janie is well known for writing novelettes when it comes to answering questions... Let me know, or if I don't catch it, others can and will... Once again, Welcome and thank YOU! for getting everything squared away BEFORE the baby arrives !
Janie-Roach Queen

 

[mastermindc3pro]

Right now i am currently researching the lighting that i will purchase to go across the top of the tank and different lights for basking lights. If any of you have any spare time please feel free to link me the ones that you are using, or ones that you recommend, I am very open to suggestions, and appreciate it. I will most likely end up with a 40 gallon breeder tank 36 X 18 X 18 due to limited space i have.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hello and welcome!

 

[renich]

Hi and welcome! Congrats on your future beardie! It's awesome that you are doing your research before bringing the little one home.

I'm partial to the ReptiSun 10.0 tube for UV lighting.

 

[mastermindc3pro]

Thanks for the welcomes Im hoping to start looking and pricing tanks either this saturday or sunday. Im not sure if i want to go with an open top or a sliding door. I will most likely end up with an open top though probly will buy it from petco or petsmart, possibly ebay if i can get a good deal on a nice tank. Im pretty positive i have all the lighting worked out im just trying to decide on the bulb wattage. I will post everything before i buy it for approval from you guys if you dont mind. Also i have begun looking for a private breeder, as i have researched and been told that is the best way to find a healthy dragon. Hopefully i can find one i dont really want to buy one out of the petco or petsmart near me. However i did when i was at the pet store check them out and they did seem very life like, they ran up to the tanks when u walked by and seemed eager and curious to get out explore. The person there could not give me much information about them as i asked how old they were, basic questions that ive read to ask before i buy. I asked if they have been checked out by a vet or any specialist and if they have had any recent infections.

 

[lexi]

Welcome and congrats on your new future family member! ;D

I have found some pretty good prices on lighting at drsfostersmith.com - particularly the MVB (mercury vapor bulbs) which are $80 in the mainstream pet stores. That site also has flat shipping of $6 no matter what you order, which is awesome!

We just adopted our 2 year old Beardie and we switched him from sand to slate tile... he LOVES it. We didn't secure it with grout or anything, just have paper towels underneath 12"x12" tiles that we bought at Home Depot (with some smaller accent tiles to cover the whole floor), and it was only about $15.... sand (no matter what kind you buy, and I definitely 3rd the suggestion of NO calci-sand) is going to have to be replaced and is a pain in the butt to clean whereas the tile is a one time buy (unless ya break one taking it out to clean it, lol) and is easier to keep clean. We wipe up any messes with a baby wipe and then a wet paper towel to remove any residue from the baby wipe, and plan on taking them all out once a month for a good rinsing, replacing the paper towel underneath and putting them back in. I have read that sand can cause problems with their eyes, their vents (underneath their tails) as well as impaction and bacterial infections because scooping it never really gets all the germs out. Our boy really likes the warm tile, as well.

We researched extensively (as it sounds like you have!) before bringing Sal home, and we have a friend who's had Beardies for some time and has even bred them, but this site has been by far one of the most valuable resources. Everyone is really nice, knowledgeable and they've all "been there, done that" so it's a great place to ask questions and weed out all the conflicting info on the web and in pet stores.

Welcome again and please post pictures of your little guy or girl when you get 'em!

 

[zebraflavencs]

When we get you all sorted out... We might even have a baby for ya... Does it have to be a baby baby ? I think I have a great source for a fantastic juvie
What cha think, Tom ? lol
Janie

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

babys, Juviniles, dont matter I have both. Loaded for bear so to speak.