Hobbit Dragon Enclosure

[RF Wildlife]

So me and my son age 7 are about to get a Bearded dragon. He heard Dragon, and immediately named him Smaug from The Hobbit Here are a couple of pictures that I have so far, the background I carved out of foam. Gandalf, Bilbo, and Thoren are cake toppers. UVB is a 46" 12.0 t5. Do I need more shade spots with this UVB? Floor is tile. Plan to build other foam structures, but want to get him before the weather gets to cold. If you see anything amiss let me know first Beardy, getting him because my Vieled Chameleon is to grumpy to interact with, and we have an excess of feeders with only one to feed.

 

[KelliLorenz2000]

I love the look! Really cool. Tile is a good choice!

 

[jarich]

Thats an unusual sized enclosure, it looks like a 4x2x3. Is that correct? If so, how far away does that make the Arcadia bulb from the basking area?

Cool theme and nice execution!

 

[RF Wildlife]

I think the background makes the tank look taller it is 24 x 24 x 48. 16.5 inches from the bulb. I was told 12-24 inches is the range I should stay in.. I was going to put a bridge at the upper doorway, but it would be 8 inches from the bulb. Thought that would not work with the 12% bulb? I may downgrade to a 10% next year When this bulb needs to be replaced and build a higher platform could not find a lot of info for the 12% bulbs as far as basking spots. I have a 4 tube 24 inch 2 x 12% 2 x Grow light version on my vields cage at 8-9 inches, but that is on top of screen cutting it from 20-30%. That cage is 6 ft tall with lots of plants to hide in. I do not have a meter to check exact amounts of UVB, but the Vield is doing great in that setup

Another question I have any recommended breeders in the North East? I live in CT. NY has a show coming up, but do not think we can wait two months

 

[DanielE]

I like Caroline Classic Dragons thats where I got mine as far as breeders go.

 

[jarich]

Actually just saw someone on CL from Waterbury that is getting rid of an entire collection. Might be worth looking into as the juvenile dragons he had were only $75. If I were you Id definitely want to see how they are being kept with that many reptiles up for sale, but could be someone who knows what they are doing too.

As for your T5 light, you can just take the reflector off the bulb if you want to build the bridge. At 8" without a reflector, you are only getting a UVI of 4, which is perfectly acceptable for bearded dragons. Youre right, with the reflector behind the bulb that would be too close otherwise. If you are comparing the ZooMed T5 10.0 and the Arcadia T5 12% they are pretty much identical in output and spectra, so any information you find on one can just be applied to the other.

 

[RF Wildlife]

Thanks will check out CL. The reflector is built into the fixture, I could cover part of the fixture with a filter if he seems to be getting to much uvb, I imagine he will hide in one of the caves if this is the case?

 

[RF Wildlife]

I went with Caroline Classic Dragons here is a picture of my new boy gets here Tuesday

 

[DanielE]

Beautiful looks great
I love their dragons and could not be happier with mine.

 

[RF Wildlife]

Thats an unusual sized enclosure, it looks like a 4x2x3. Is that correct? If so, how far away does that make the Arcadia bulb from the basking area?

Cool theme and nice execution!

I have one more question Basking temps Here is a pic of the prob on the rock in the light. The rock is rather large around 5inches thick. That probe reaches a max temp of 122f by the end of the day yet it is black and in the light. the cool side stays around 75-78f. If I use a white probe about 1/2inch above the light on the rock it is 110-115f. With my IR gun on the rock in the light it is 110f now yet the black probe reads 120f... What one do I go by? I have a feeling that I may just have to watch for behavior and see what he likes... On that how long should he be basking time wise? Or do I need to IR him and stay within a certain range?

 

[Luvthemanimal]

The surface email of the rock will always be hotter than what the probe says.... As the temp gun is measuring the surface of the rock and the prob measures the heat coming down to the rock.... If that makes sense.... So your temp are fine...

 

[jarich]

I think you sort of answered your own question. You noticed that the black probe measures the highest. As you know, that black colour absorbs more of the light and therefore heat, causing that probe to read higher. That black part or the white part is actually just a cover to protect the actual probe, which is inside. So the colour of the probe casing makes quite a big difference. However, your dragon is able to manipulate its colour and adjust it according to how much it wants to absorb too, so as long as youre within a certain range, youre all good. So yes, as luvthemanimal said, your temperatures sound just fine.

 

[RF Wildlife]

So I got him today. He did real well ate some crickets, and dubias. He pooped on me(yuck) He was interacting with my veiled across the room veiled was not happy all puffed up and as dark as I have ever seen him. The beardy was looking at him and doing the submissive arm waves (veiled was having none of that).. May have to turn his viv time will tell? Right before lights out the beardy was freaking out going back and forth climbing the back wall until he finally settled on the tree. When the lights went out he was looking upset, so I put my hand in, and he launched off the tree onto my hand and did the body shake. That is how he went to sleep. I ended up wrapping him up in a washcloth and put him in his enclosure nearest to me at the computer. Right now he is nodding off while watching me. Is this normal for a beardy to feel so comforted by a human? Seems bonding is not going to be an issue at all Thanks for all the advice btw.

 

[Josh]

Glad to hear he's settling in ok!
If the two animals seem to be stressing each other out, it may be best to not keep them where they can see one another

 

[RF Wildlife]

Planning on moving the Chameleon if he does not get over it by the weekend... Beardy could care less today. Veiled was still angry. I just can not believe how quick he settled in. Very curious and friendly, fell asleep on my 7 year old tonight. Loved bath time also. sucked down some new feeders silks, and a couple baby hornworm's a bunch of reptis, along with crickets and 2 dubias even ate some salad today. I am lucky to be able to put food in my chameleons dish without him getting all fired up. Veiled is wall art, the beardy is a pet. Vields near the one year mark hoping he mellows a bit when he gets older. If not we have a pretty good arrangement, he does not bite me I give him the best food money can buy

 

[diegothediggy]

Nice to c ur beardie settle in ok. U have two beardie and the both go real black bearded wen they x each other.

 

[PatsyB]

It's funny how quickly mellow bearded dragons are around other animals. My frogs still watch Luci every now and then like he's going to eat them. He never gives them a second look. In the dragons' opinion the cats are other dragons! They walk around them and climb on them and the cats just look at them for a second and put their head back down! We have this very fat cat that we just shaved down. Which was a chore because she is very scared of being touched on certain parts of her body. Once in grooming her she bit me so hard I had to be on antibiotics for a week! Anyway, she's shaved and so real sensitive and last night Luci jumped on her back to get down off the couch and she didn't even flinch! It's so interesting to see the interactions.