Geico's New enclosure

[JerinZorb]

These are a few pics of his new enclosure...

 

[Germ]

What type of substrate is that? The enclosure also looks quite tall. Could you post pics showing your lighting setup & post what you are using for heat & UVB? It does not appear that UVB can be anywhere close enough to be effective. A water bowl is not necessary for most BDs as most will not recognize or drink from standing water. Just serves to raise the humidity, something that most of us strive to keep lower. Also using a water bowl in conjunction with a particle substrate can provide a haven for bacteria growth when it get's wet from splashing around. BDs get ample hydration from regular misting, warm soaks & their greens.

 

[JerinZorb]

Hi Germ. I've actually been on the forums for awhile but lost my account :/. The substrate I am using is ground english walnut shells and I've actually taught him to drink water if I show it to him. I clean out any wet substrate everyday and feed him anything outside of his food bowl elsewhere.

 

[JerinZorb]

Also, that UVB is only temporary hopefully. I will be getting a long UVB bulb and I will hot-glue gun it to the inside of the tank. The basking bulb i'm using is a ceramic heat emitter that works just like a normal bulb but works up to 3 years.

 

[Germ]

That is what I suspected & why I asked ... Crushed\Ground Walnut Shell is an unsafe substrate ... Is indigestible, sharp & poses a high impaction risk ... Here is a link to some graphic pics & article of a Walnut shell impacted BD.

http://mrskingsbioweb.com/beardeddragngrossanatomy.htm

My favorite quote on the subject is ...

Crushed walnut shell is dangerous and should only be used to clean up oil spills. This substrate is NOT digestable and if too much of it is eaten it will cause impaction. I have seen this occur first hand with reptiles ranging from lizards to tortoise. Stay away from this product please.

Jeremiah "Podunk" Jaeger

I remember you now, Geico's facebook page & doing the Signature for you .

Geico's New Facebook page

 

[JerinZorb]

I've been really careful watching him and he hasn't been eating it at all (so far as I've seen). I was just looking for something that would be temporary because I haven't been able to find and repti-carpet (or things like it) to put in his tank. Once I do I will immediately switch him off. Also from looking at those pics, the substrate i'm using seems to be much finer and also more rounded.

 

[JerinZorb]

Thanks for all the advice Germ. I will try and get him off of that ASAP. Thanks for the signature again

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

You can remove him from it immediately and use paper towels until you can figure out something more permanent....there are also many other safe choices that are cheap....Slate tiles can be bought for a couple of bucks each and most Lowes stores will still cut them to the size you need for free. Non stick floor tiles are cheap too work well and you can cut them to size yourself.
Those are just a few choices...there are more but the important thing is to get him off the walnut shell now. Even if you haven't seen him eat it he may have because you can't watch 24/7.

 

[JerinZorb]

Okay. Thanks for the information Mungi and Germ. I will do that ASAP. Glad to have such good staff here

 

[JerinZorb]

I think I'm going to go to Lowes and get washed childrens playsand because I heard that was really safe if you bring it home and sift through it a bunch. If you guys could give me any other tips on what I should do with his enclosure than please do. Thanks for all your help, both Geico and I are very grateful.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I am not sure how big your dragon is but he has to be 10+ inches snout tip to tail tip before it is safe to use the playsand.
That being said Lowes has the best quality... I always use the Quikrete Premium Washed,Sifted Children's Playsand they sell. It is the best quality I have found and I have looked far and wide believe me.
Only buy the bags that they store inside the store. The ones outside have more potential of having molds or fungus having been exposed to the elements outdoors.
Before using it you will want to re-sift it just to be certain there are no pebbles in it. I sift mine using a simple square frame I built from scrap 2x4s I had with a piece of ordinary window screen stretched and stapled on the frame.
Once you have sifted it then I highly recommend baking the sand in a 225 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes and then allow it to cool down to room temperature before using it. This will kill any molds,bacteria or fungi that may be in it.
When you put it in your enclosure vary the depth from 2-6 inches...I usually go 2-4 inches.
Last thing is that once you install the sand in your enclosure you need to closely monitor your temps for a few days. Sand holds heat and you may find that you will have to adjust light wattages or furniture heights etc to get your temps correct again.
Enjoy....your dragon will for sure and its a great substrate and perfectly safe as long as your dragon is of appropriate size.

Keep it clean by daily sifting with fine scooper and as long as you keep up daily sifting/cleanup then you don't have to replace the playsand but every 4-5 months.
Hope that helps

 

[JerinZorb]

Yea thanks Mungi. Geico is 18+ inches so he is plenty long enough. I will try and get that as soon as possible.

 

[Germ]

Play Sand is cheap, can often be found for like $4/50 lb bag at many larger hardware stores. Unlike petstore prices, twice the price & only receive 1/10th as much .

 

[JerinZorb]

Thanks to the both of you so much! I will be doing that ASAP.