Cage question

[wtbullins]

My beardie is a baby and right now is in a 10 gallon (he's only been in there a week). I'm going to get a 50 gallon and set it up nicely for him. He is only about 5 to 6 inches long as of now....is a 50 gallon too large for a beardie this small? If I get the 50 gallon within the next week should I leave him in the 10 gallon for a little while until he gets a bit bigger? I'm not sure of the proper protocol.

 

[ladyknite]

10 gallons doesn't hold a good gradient for dragons. When his basking site is 110F his cool side will be up close to 90F, too hot to cool off.

The 50 will do. You'll want at least 36 x 18 x 18 high by the time he's an adult. 12 inch wide tanks can cause a turning issue.

if you plan on changing tanks in a week........then i wouldn't move him unless i had something immediately available. Just make sure he's not overheating by providing good hydration with soaks.

 

[wtbullins]

is a 40 gal big enough for life?

 

[li]

A 40 gallon breeder will be. Many still upgrade to bigger eventually, but you wont need to.

 

[staylor]

Be sure you get a 40 breeder and not a 40 gallon. there is a difference in how wide they are. I have my adult in a 40 breeder and he does great. He is 17 inches long and turns good and has room to move around good.

As far as the tank being too big for the baby, my little oe is about 8-9 inches and he loves the room and can still catch his food. If he has a problem hunting you can partition off a part of the tank at feeding time.

 

[wtbullins]

What kind of fake plants are acceptable?

 

[zebraflavencs]

Anything that is firmly attached, so it isn't easily torn, or ripped off and ingested.
Most likely, you'll want to avoid anything that has small plastic pieces.

Folks have used aquarium decor with the silk material, created their own with materials from craft stores, home improvement stores, or what ever you happen to have laying around.
If you want to use natural items from your yard, or outdoors, make sure if wood, that is first a hard wood, second to debark it, third to bake it in the oven @250* for an hour or two.
Stone you can scrub off the dirt, allow to air dry, and bake the same.
Hope that helps out !
Janie

 

[wtbullins]

are 2 75-watt zoo med basking bulbs good for a 40 gallon breeder tank?

 

[staylor]

I only use 1 75 watt house hold bulbs in my vivs. They work just as good and do not have the price of the zoo med bulbs. The watt you need also depends on how far from the bulb your basking spot is. My baby who needs high temps is very close to his light and my adult who does not need as high of temps is a little farther away. You will have to play around with different watts, that is another reason I use regular house bulbs, much cheaper to have different watts and if I don't need them I just use them where needed in the house.

 

[li]

Yeah, no need for expensive reptile bulbs. The UVBs are expensive enough on their own. You can use regular household bulbs. As for the wattage, depends on many things in your home. Your temp in the house, your humidity, etc. For a 40 gallon breeder I would start with a 60 and go from there. Make sure you are reading the temp with a digital thermometer probe on the basking spot.

 

[wtbullins]

I have another cage question. My little guy is now about 7 inches long and has been living in his 40 gallon breeder for the last few weeks. However, when I got the tank I partitioned a foot off of it so he wouldn't be so stressed (he was only about 4-5" at that time). Now that he is growing quickly would it be ok to take the partition out so he has the entire space. Also is one basking bulb and one reptisun 10.0 18" tube enough lighting for all of the space. thanks!

 

[li]

You an take the divider out, he should be fine. The 18" is sufficient, although the longer the better. How long is the tank? As for the basking (heat) bulb, you might have to go up a few watts once you take the partition out. Just watch your thermometer and see what it says. Again, make sure you are using a digi.

 

[staylor]

To brighten up my tank I got one of those energy saver lights and put it on the cool side raised up. I use the energy saver on that side b/c they do not give off much heat so it does not raise the temp on that side. I also have it raised(not sitting on the screen top) so that any heat it does put off has a chance to be disbursed a little.

As far as taking out the partition, definitely. My little guy was only 7 inches when he was put in the big tank with no partition.

 

[wtbullins]

So far the temps have been fine. The tank is 36" inches long (its a 40 gal breeder). I'll take the divider out and take temps from around the tank and see what it says. Maybe I'll also use one of those energy saver bulbs to brighten up the whole thing like you said, thats a good idea. thanks.