Lights, rocks, decorations and more. [Help]

[DanielE]

So setting up a tank for a bearded dragon. This seems simple but xan also bring up questions. These are mine.

☆☆☆UV☆☆☆
Can you have too much?
How do you know if you have enough?
Is there a UV buld watt to inches high or sqft rule or something like that?
Does all UV bulds have UVA and UVB? Do I need separate bulbs?
Mercury vapor bulb vs compact fluorescent?

☆☆☆heating☆☆☆
What type basking light should I use?
What wattage? (For a 14gal and 40B aquarium enclosure)
Do I need a night buld?
If so what kind is best?

☆☆☆ENCLOSURE SIZE☆☆☆
I have read that a 40 gallon breeder aquarium is considered the min size for a single adult bearded dragon. Is this true?
Also I have read that you should start out the babies in a smaller tank because it wi stress them out if they are in a big one. To me this sounds like BS. I mean in the wild im sure they dont have little boxes to stay in. Id think the bigger the better. BUT im no expert. So is there a good reason for this rule? If so what is it?

☆☆☆decorations, hides, etc..☆☆☆
Does the tank need to have three of the walls covered? Does this have to be done from the inside or can a background just be placed on the sides?

Water bowl: needed or not?
Waterfalls: good or bad idea?
Misting needed? (If given soaks)

Hides or caves:
How many is needed?
On the hot or cold side?
How big do they need to be?

Climbing branches or rocks? Maybe both?
If branches are used how big in diameter do they need to be? How high can they go? (I know they are not arboreal)
What kind is best to use?
If rocks are used is there any that should not be? Can they be smooth (polished) rocks? Can I use rocks I find? (If baked and sanitized of course)

Can I use live plants?
If so what are suitable?
Any face plants to avoid?
Can I use "aquarium" fake plants?

Should I use a feeding bowl?

☆☆☆humidity☆☆☆
What is too high?
Do I need to lower it if it reaches a certain point? If so how?
Can it be too low?

Thank you for reading I know this is a lot of questions and I appreciate any help you can give.

I want to do things right this time so that I dont encounter any preventable (setup wise anyway) problems.

 

[diegothediggy]

So setting up a tank for a bearded dragon. This seems simple but xan also bring up questions. These are mine.

☆☆☆UV☆☆☆
Can you have too much?
How do you know if you have enough?
Is there a UV buld watt to inches high or sqft rule or something like that?
Does all UV bulds have UVA and UVB? Do I need separate bulbs?
Mercury vapor bulb vs compact fluorescent?

☆☆☆heating☆☆☆
What type basking light should I use?
What wattage? (For a 14gal and 40B aquarium enclosure)
Do I need a night buld?
If so what kind is best?

☆☆☆ENCLOSURE SIZE☆☆☆
I have read that a 40 gallon breeder aquarium is considered the min size for a single adult bearded dragon. Is this true?
Also I have read that you should start out the babies in a smaller tank because it wi stress them out if they are in a big one. To me this sounds like BS. I mean in the wild im sure they dont have little boxes to stay in. Id think the bigger the better. BUT im no expert. So is there a good reason for this rule? If so what is it?

☆☆☆decorations, hides, etc..☆☆☆
Does the tank need to have three of the walls covered? Does this have to be done from the inside or can a background just be placed on the sides?

Water bowl: needed or not?
Waterfalls: good or bad idea?
Misting needed? (If given soaks)

Hides or caves:
How many is needed?
On the hot or cold side?
How big do they need to be?

Climbing branches or rocks? Maybe both?
If branches are used how big in diameter do they need to be? How high can they go? (I know they are not arboreal)
What kind is best to use?
If rocks are used is there any that should not be? Can they be smooth (polished) rocks? Can I use rocks I find? (If baked and sanitized of course)

Can I use live plants?
If so what are suitable?
Any face plants to avoid?
Can I use "aquarium" fake plants?

Should I use a feeding bowl?

☆☆☆humidity☆☆☆
What is too high?
Do I need to lower it if it reaches a certain point? If so how?
Can it be too low?

Thank you for reading I know this is a lot of questions and I appreciate any help you can give.

I want to do things right this time so that I dont encounter any preventable (setup wise anyway) problems.

Wow u really do wanna know a lot hehe. The.more u know the betta tho so il do my best to help u. So firstly lights. U need a reti uvb strip light they not expesive. As for ur basking light well thats trile n error. Id start with a 40 watt leave that in for a while n.check the temps. U want the basking spot to b 105- 110 a little warmer if u get a baby. Cool end u want it around 80. U want ur beardie to b able to reach at least 6inches from the basking and uvb for them to b affective. Just a normal house hold bulb is fine for the basking light.
Decor is ur choice but id say the simpler the better. Both my beardies have.the same set up in there vivs. They have tile floor with 1/4 a sand pit at the basking end with a few rocks to bask on. They have a bamboo branch to climb a plant or two and a salad dish. As for a hide thats also ur choice mine dnt have hides.
Il post a couple of pic of my vivs so u can c ewt ive miss out il add in

 

[Marmoset]

Misting and especially waterfalls can create too much humidity. I don't leave a water bowl out for my beardie. I do spray his salads and give him baths and I make sure his feeders are gut loaded and well hydrated too. I also try to have one or two items that are moisture rich in his salad. This week he is getting blueberries (sparingly because he loves them and we don't want him hooked) and cucumber in addition to his greens. I do occasionally spray him with a spray bottle so he can lick the water droplets off his snout but I then go and wipe up all the water droplets.

As far as decor- Well most of the time they are out basking. If they have a hide they might use it and be blocked from the UVB so I prefer not to have one. I tuck mine in a blanket at night because he does seem to prefer to be underneath something when he sleeps.

You can use rocks you find if you heat sanitize them. I just got ones from an aquarium store. They were dirt-cheap because the place was going out of business. Rough stones are good because they help file down the nails but they also tend to be more porous and soak up waste materials. I'm using rough sandstone and I like them even though they need a little extra work to keep clean. Make sure that any rock arrangement you create is stable. Beardies will climb all over and you wouldn't want a rock to dislodge and injure your animal!

I use a "feeding bowl" for salads. Actually I also have a bunch of large plastic jar screw-on caps that I use. They are perfect because they have low sides and are very easy to keep clean.

 

[DanielE]

Ok I got a basking like (uva) and a uvb buld. I also got reptile carpet for the little girl and I have rocks that have been sterilized and baked. I also have a small water dish. Is there anything else that I ☆need☆before I get her?

 

[HlynnReid92]

I need to remember all this

 

[diegothediggy]

Ok I got a basking like (uva) and a uvb buld. I also got reptile carpet for the little girl and I have rocks that have been sterilized and baked. I also have a small water dish. Is there anything else that I ☆need☆before I get her?

You dntvreally need a water dish in there they dnt drink still water.

 

[timbalan]

^^^ some dragons do drink standing water. Not all but some do. If it doesnt mess with your humidity and you have enough room it wont hurt. Just keep an eye on humidity if you do use one.

 

[DanielE]

Ok thanks. I have seen some people use a small waterfall but id be afraid that would raise it too much.

 

[timbalan]

Ya i talked to a guy on here that has a water fall he said it didnt mess with the humidity to much. I had one at first when i had my girl in a 55 gal tank with a screen top she loved to climb on it and sit at the top. Didnt affect the humidity much with that tank but the crix kept hiding and drowning in it so i took it out. I havent put it in her new viv because theres not as much ventelation in it so it would mess with humidity.

 

[PatsyB]

I put a water bowl in Dexter's tank she will actually drink the standing water out of it. Luci on the other hand doesn't get one because he just makes a mess of it.

 

[jarich]

So setting up a tank for a bearded dragon. This seems simple but xan also bring up questions. These are mine.

☆☆☆UV☆☆☆
Can you have too much? YES. Generally the larger problem in most enclosures is not enough though.

How do you know if you have enough? You can get fancy and buy a Solarmeter, but they run about $200. Otherwise you just take the recommendations of how far they should be for your particular light. Generally with T8s you need the dragon to be within 6" of the bulb, with no screen in between and with T5s you need them within about 12" of the light.

Is there a UV buld watt to inches high or sqft rule or something like that? See above

Does all UV bulds have UVA and UVB? Do I need separate bulbs? NO, fluorescent bulbs are typically very bad at producing UVA. They are for producing UVB and some visible light basically. Your basking halogen bulb will create a small amount of UVA too, about as much as your fluorescent bulb. Dont be fooled by reptile bulb packaging though. Those reptile basking bulbs that say they produce UVA do produce some, but no more than the normal halogen flood light you buy for a third of the price at your local hardware store. If you want to produce high levels of UVA you need to look into metal halide (MH or HID lights) or mercury vapour bulbs (MVBs).

Mercury vapor bulb vs compact fluorescent? Hands down mercury vapour, but then again, anything over compact fluorescents. Mercury vapour are good for certain reasons, but also are a little tricky for new people to get right as they also produce quite a bit of heat. They are best used as a supplemental light to the basking area, just further away, while still using a fluorescent for UVB. They also vary widely based on brand. Compact fluorescents (CFLs) arent worth the gas it takes to drive to the store.

☆☆☆heating☆☆☆
What type basking light should I use? Generally, a mid wattage PAR 38 outdoor halogen flood light. The 38 in the PAR 38 is a measure of the width of the bulb, and generally means you get a nice wide spread beam of heat and light, which is good. You want an outdoor light as they are a little more able to stand up to the elements of a hot enclosure. And you want the flood light over a spot light because again you want to make a nice big basking area rather than just a small beam of heat. Dont waste your money on the reptile branded basking bulbs, they are exactly the same light, just with a prettier box, and a not as pretty price tag.

What wattage? (For a 14gal and 40B aquarium enclosure) Will depend on how far away the basking area is from the light, but Id say start with the 75 watt and move the light closer or farther away to get the right temperature (or move the basking area up or down)

Do I need a night buld? NO, unless your room gets really cold at night. The general rule is dont let it get below 65 F at night, but its just a guideline to help out keepers.

If so what kind is best? If you need a night heat source, as mentioned above, stay away from lights and get a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), which only produces heat and no light. Dragons can see better than we humans, so any light you can see, they can see.

☆☆☆ENCLOSURE SIZE☆☆☆
I have read that a 40 gallon breeder aquarium is considered the min size for a single adult bearded dragon. Is this true? Yes, but bigger is always better.

Also I have read that you should start out the babies in a smaller tank because it wi stress them out if they are in a big one. To me this sounds like BS. I mean in the wild im sure they dont have little boxes to stay in. Id think the bigger the better. BUT im no expert. So is there a good reason for this rule? If so what is it? Pretty much BS, yes. If you have a bigger enclosure, you just need to provide more 'furniture' or places for them to hide and feel safe. When they are little especially, everything eats them! So they get scared more easily and need places to hide to feel safe. If you have a big 100 gallon tank but only one hide and a log, they are going to feel pretty exposed to predators and stressed out. However, if you have lots of hides, logs, rocks, nooks, crannies, etc. then they will be happy to have the extra space to move around in.

☆☆☆decorations, hides, etc..☆☆☆
Does the tank need to have three of the walls covered? Does this have to be done from the inside or can a background just be placed on the sides? Not needed at all, see above.

Water bowl: needed or not? Always a good idea to provide fresh water to any animal. You arent around 24 hours a day to see if they drink or not, so provide it anyway.

Waterfalls: good or bad idea? Not necessary but some dragons seem to respond better to movement, so may drink more from a moving stream as opposed to still water.

Misting needed? (If given soaks) Soaks not needed and dont really accomplish much other than giving them the opportunity to drink. ALL water that a dragon uses is taken in through the mouth. So if you spray their faces, sometimes it will get them to drink, but the same is true, maybe more so when you do it in the bath.

Hides or caves:
How many is needed?
On the hot or cold side?
How big do they need to be? For all of these see above about 'furniture'

Climbing branches or rocks? Maybe both? Both, and again the more the merrier. Dragons are semi arboreal animals and love to be up high. Youll generally find that your dragon likes to hang on at the highest point in any enclosure, so multiple branches allows for more use of the space.

If branches are used how big in diameter do they need to be? How high can they go? (I know they are not arboreal) Generally the branch should be at least as wide as the dragon with legs out, but they will use smaller diameter branches too.

What kind is best to use? Whatever youve got really. Dont use conifer tree wood as they generally have toxic resins. Drift wood is good, and you can usually find it on any lake or river side.

If rocks are used is there any that should not be? Can they be smooth (polished) rocks? Can I use rocks I find? (If baked and sanitized of course) Rough rocks are better as they file down their nails a bit more. No need to sanitize rocks as they harbor no nasties.

Can I use live plants? Yes you can, but they will likely get trampled pretty quickly, or eaten.

If so what are suitable? Anything that is ok for them to eat

Any face plants to avoid?
Can I use "aquarium" fake plants? You can, but people have had troubles with dragons trying to munch on them, thinking they were real.

Should I use a feeding bowl? Yes, no, up to you really. I doubt your dragon will notice or care much

☆☆☆humidity☆☆☆
What is too high? Its not really the humidity you need to worry about, but high humidity and stagnant air can be a problem. They live in areas from low humidity to around 60% humidity, so are very able to adapt to conditions. However, if you give them moist, cold or stagnant air it can lead to fungal blooms and respiratory issues.

Do I need to lower it if it reaches a certain point? If so how? Not really, just increase circulation in the enclosure.

Can it be too low? YES, it can. While they do live in the desert, they also usually burrow in the soil to retain moisture. Since most normally take away that option, Id recommend going staying between 30-50% humidity in your enclosure.

Thank you for reading I know this is a lot of questions and I appreciate any help you can give.

I want to do things right this time so that I dont encounter any preventable (setup wise anyway) problems.

Hope this helps, see answers to your questions above...

 

[DanielE]

Very helpful thank you.

 

[Ntt]

I tend to put a water bowl out, but that is really just to make me feel better rather than anything else. My lad has plenty of moist greens etc, etc as well which he loves. The main thing I guess is to keep an eye on the humidity. If you have a water bowl and the humidity isn't affected then it will do no harm.

 

[Honchess]

Ok I have to get up and go find a couple rocks to build a place where The General can soak up the rays! See ya in a little!