my beardies home

[GroomerMo]

their tank for now is a 15 gallon but i think i have everything i need for them. i already know i have to get a huge tank if i decide to keep both but so far i have three lamps ( one with a 100 watt uva repti baskin spot lamp bulb, the other has a 13 watt repti glo 10.0 uvb bulb and the smallest one is the night bulb is a 50 watt zoo med night bulb) three decorations ones a basking spot the other is for hiding and the last one is just there for them to climb. two bowls one for fruit and veggies and the other for pellets and one more dish for water. i have two thermometers and a humidity scale. and i have calcium sand for their ground. please let me know if you think of anything i can do to make there home better.

 

[Germ]

Please read the info links that have been provided to you.

As has been mentioned in another of your threads, the heat & UVB must both cover the basking area & a 13W coil 10.0 UVB is too weak of a bulb to be effective when filtered through a screen. The Calci-Sand should be replaced with an acceptable substrate. Calci-Sand is a dangerous substrate, as it clumps when moistened as it would be in the digestion process, posing an extremely high impaction risk.

An X-Ray of a calci-sand impacted BD. More like a rock with legs .

No BD under 10" in length should be on a particle substrate of ANY kind.

A 15 Gal enclosure is too small for one juvenile BD, let alone 2. You should get them separated ASAP.

 

[GroomerMo]

I was told that the the sand I got is digest able and I used to have carpet for reptile and I was told to change it cause the claws can get stuck and hurt them

 

[Germ]

Sorry, You were misinformed on the Calci-Sand for any age BD & recommend that you change it ASAP to a Non-particle Substrate for your young BDs, regardless.

 

[GroomerMo]

Like what I'll change it today and would the sand already have effected their stomach?

 

[Germ]

May not have affected them at all yet, depends on if they have ingested any larger amounts yet. Changing it out as quickly as possible will help alleviate any potential issues arising from it.

Please separate them as soon as you can, with both larger enclosures.

 

[GroomerMo]

I will change it today but what should I change it too back to carpet? And should I ever use sand if so when?

 

[Pat B]

Use paper towels while your babies are little. Easy to clean up. You can go back to childrens play sand when your beardies are about 10" nose to tip of tail. I had Spike on slate but changed over to sand and he loves it. Absolutely separate your babies and you don't need a night light. Beardies don't like them. I was told by Petsmart I just HAD to have one so I bought one....not cheap. Then found out here that I shouldn't use it....so....I never ever listen to Petsmart reptile 'specialists'....they don't know squat....

 

[GroomerMo]

I finally changed the bottom from sand to tile

 

[GroomerMo]

And the reason I use the night bulb is because of how cold my room gets it would drop under 60' over night and I was told not to let it.

 

[Pat B]

Use a CHE bulb with a thermostat. There is no light just heat. My house goes down to 60 degrees at night but I doing use a che.

 

[Germ]

A CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) is a much better choice for night heat, provides heat but no light to bother the BD.

You also need a stronger (Higher Wattage 25-26W) UVB bulb, if you continue to use the coils & Please make arrangements for bigger enclosures & get them separated before it is too late ...

 

[Pat B]

Tile looks good and poo is easy to clean up!

 

[GroomerMo]

Ok I've finally upgraded their tank to a 40 gallon and took the small 13 watt UVB fixture away and added a Zola slimline desert fixture with a desert 50 UVB t8 fluorescent bulb but now I'm havering trouble getting the temp high it's stayin around 85-90 how can I get it to go up if needed I can post pic, should i add my extra 50 watt basking bulb and I have tile not sand or carpet. As well as I'm going to have to rehome one but keeping the other and I'm going to be getting a higher basking area because its about 7-8 inches before the can reach the basking area.

Or I have a spare 75 watt basking bulb too

 

[Germ]

To get the temps up, either use a different type of bulb, a higher wattage or raise the Basking Spot. Personally, I use regular Philips Halogen Bulbs (Not the Halogena ones & does not specifically have to be a Philips, that's just the brand that I buy\use ) in all of my enclosures & have for many years, that I purchase at Home Depot for less than half the price of a pet store basking bulb. Brighter, whiter light, more heat per watt, so also cheaper to run, great heat penetration into the enclosure. If your ambient room temps are usually in the 70sF during the day, a 50W Halogen will quite likely do the job in a 40 gal breeder tank (18Dx36Lx18H), in a regular 40 gal long (12Dx48Lx17H), you would likely have to use a 65-75W halogen because of the added length.

Really glad to hear of the improvements that you have made in the overall setup

Pics would be great.

Good Luck

 

[GroomerMo]

next thing ill do is of course but maybe a lof fixture in the middle and the ceramic heat bulb for over night.

 

[GroomerMo]

Is it ok to have a 100 watt basking bulb and a 75 watt just until the temp rises

 

[GroomerMo]

And one more thing what watt ceramic heat bulb

 

[Noella]

Here...I get them at petmountain. You'll need a wire housing for them because I've had several fixtures burn out because an owner kept selling me domes for basking lights instead of the wire housing with a ceramic screw part. Those were clamp lamps that burned out. (You can find them at local petstores or other websites.

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...44/zoo-med-ceramic-infrared-heat-emitter.html

This may be safe...as long as it has the ceramic in it.

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...-professional-series-dimmable-clamp-lamp.html

60 watt. Don't want to boil the beardies. (I had a higher bulb once because Allie had been sick. It's a lower wattage now

 

[Germ]

Is it ok to have a 100 watt basking bulb and a 75 watt just until the temp rises

If it takes them both to get the heat up, one won't keep it up. Besides it would be difficult to be there monitoring the temps all the time to shut one down when it gets too hot. The best bet is to experiment with a few different types & wattages of bulbs, until you find the ONE that does the trick. This is something that we ALL have to do to get our temps right for each different enclosure. Having only the one heat fixture would enable you to place the linear UVB fixture on the basking end along the back with the heat fixture in front of it, so both cover the basking spot. Better yet if you can 'Hot Glue' the UVB fixture inside the tank, just under the screen in the back corner, so the UVB is not blocked\filtered\refected by the screen. Here is a good post By Mungi's Buddha on the subject. Hot Glue has been holding my UVB fixtures in place for many years.

MVB's are not really a great choice for small enclosures. The are also much more expensive. My preferance is to use standard household Halogen floodlights for basking the bulb. These are readily available and cheaper than the "reptile" bulbs at the petshops. They also put out a clean bright white light which dragons are attracted too and a lot more heat per watt. In your 20 gallon Long tank it would probably only take a 50 watt to produce the right basking temp. That saves you significant both on the cost of the bulb and in electricity used.
For the UV light I use and recommend 18" inch 10.0 0r 10% ReptiSun or ReptiGlo tube lights. I also recommend mounting them inside the enclosure using a cheap 18" under the cabinet mount fixture you can get at Walmart for about 10 dollars.(Note: These fixtures come with a clear plastic shield that covers the bulb. Make sure to remove and discard this shield as it will cut of all of the UV output.) This can be mounted to the back glass wall and side wall about an inch under the lip of the tank so you can still slide the lid closed and using a hot glue gun.
Here is a picture of what I am talking about. This is in a 40 gallon Breeder tank but they sell a slim-line fixture as well which may work better in your 20 gallon tank. You can order the slim-line version for about 14 bucks at Walmart.com. The type in the picture is sold in the stores.

Mounting the UV this way will give your dragon full unfiltered UV light. The screen top of your enclosure can filter out up to 50% of the UV of your bulb when the light is placed on top. With the light unfiltered you will only have to change the bulb out every 12 months too instead of every 6 months with an above the screen mount which saves a lot of money again as well as being better for your dragon.
It will also then allow you to line up the basking and UV lights easier like I had shown you in your other thread so that both shine down on the basking spot making them both highly efficient.

The foil in the pic around the bulb is just heavy duty aluminum foil and there to intensify and direct the UV at the basking spot.

Again these are inexpensive and quick fixes that can be done in just a few moments and when you compare prices you will see that this way is much cheaper than a single MVB as well too more efficient and safe for your dragon.

Enjoy!!

As for the CHE, as Noella said, a 60W should easily do the job.

The enclosure is starting to look very good, btw .