Bearded dragon advice please

Jimkel

Hi guys, I plan on getting 2 bearded dragons soon Just wondering if anyone can offer any advice on my planned setup.

very large terrarium/Vivarium, will be about 4.5 feet by 2 feet deep and 3 feet tall. will be insulated on the outside.

Heat mat (large)

Red heat lamp

Reptile full spectrum tube light

drinking/bathing bowl

red sand substrate

feeding dish/bowl

two termometres one at each end to check max and min temp

will feed crickets dusted with vitamen suppliment and fresh veg.

Rocks and other decor

Any experts out there??
Have I got all the bases covered??
I dont want them getting sick because im doing something wrong. thanks guys!

Our man in Havana

Dont keep young beardies on sand - use newspaper or kitchen towel - they can eat the sand & get impacted guts!

Read www.anapsid.org the site has good info on veg for iggies we use a smaller version of an iggie salad for out beardies when they are young add a few mealworms to the salad this helps them to gobble the salad down too!

The cage sounds like the right size - you should get a thermostate for the heatmat just in case! I have had 2 mats overheat & had 1 snake with bad burns - so I do not use heatmats now or if I do they are taped to the side of the viv so an animal can not lay on them!

Hellrazer

I dont use heatmats either with my beardies--They have a habit of sleeping right on it which is worrying.

High wattage spotlamp bulbs on a dimmer switch should be enough for all your temperature needs.
Wire the spotlamp and UVB lamp onto a timer of 12/12 and then you really shouldnt have to worry about it again.

Also forget the red bulb unless its for night time heating and you`re keeping them in a cooler room.

As for temperature monitoring--id forget the 2 thermometers and get a laser one.It can check the temperatures instantly.You should be aiming for a gradient of 115 under the spotlamp to 70-80 on the far end of the cage.

A 3 feet tall cage is going to need some serious heating though and also bear in mind that for full spectrum lighting to be effective the animal needs to get within 6-8 inches of the bulb.

Hope this helps,
Richie

Jimkel

Hellrazer wrote:

I dont use heatmats either with my beardies--They have a habit of sleeping right on it which is worrying.

High wattage spotlamp bulbs on a dimmer switch should be enough for all your temperature needs.
Wire the spotlamp and UVB lamp onto a timer of 12/12 and then you really shouldnt have to worry about it again.

Also forget the red bulb unless its for night time heating and you`re keeping them in a cooler room.

As for temperature monitoring--id forget the 2 thermometers and get a laser one.It can check the temperatures instantly.You should be aiming for a gradient of 115 under the spotlamp to 70-80 on the far end of the cage.

A 3 feet tall cage is going to need some serious heating though and also bear in mind that for full spectrum lighting to be effective the animal needs to get within 6-8 inches of the bulb.

Hope this helps,
Richie

Thanks Richie, ill try get one of those laser thermometers and take everything you said into account. I am aware of the distance required for a full spectrum bulb to be effective as I keep turtles, however this is my first venture into lizard keeping so thanks for everyones advice, every little peice of advice helps!

Jimkel

Bond-007 wrote:

Dont keep young beardies on sand - use newspaper or kitchen towel - they can eat the sand & get impacted guts!

Read www.anapsid.org the site has good info on veg for iggies we use a smaller version of an iggie salad for out beardies when they are young add a few mealworms to the salad this helps them to gobble the salad down too!

The cage sounds like the right size - you should get a thermostate for the heatmat just in case! I have had 2 mats overheat & had 1 snake with bad burns - so I do not use heatmats now or if I do they are taped to the side of the viv so an animal can not lay on them!

Thamks for the advice:)
LOL i know the cage is pretty huge for heating, I'm gonna insulate the outside of it with polestyrine, maybe leaving the cool side bare so i can achieve the gradient, im gonna do allot of experimenting before I actually add the lizards, just to have it all working fine.

I've heard bad things about sand alright , and also other substrates such as wood chippings. newspaper seems the best option, altough its not the most visually pleasing substrate. I've heard about a substrate you can get made of calcium so if accidently ingested by the beardie it doesnt do any harm, but benefits them. It was in a book i bought on beardies. Does anyone know if this is available in ireland??? or if its any use??

Shane190

would you have to clean out the cage?? if so how often?

Hellrazer

Just spot clean every day and then once a month or so empty the cage,clean everything down with a 10% bleach solution,rinse thouroughly and you`ll keep any nasties at bay.