Little intro

[Pilf]

Hello everyone,

I am Pilf, new to this Hobby. I have recently rescued a bearded dragon (Pogona Vitticeps) Male Red apparently of 3 years old. I also recently learned that this boy wasn’t provided with the correct lighting since ever… He can be happy not to have grown handicap or health problem, maybe he does but I don’t see anything wrong with this guy. He is with me for almost 3 weeks now, I have obviously upgraded his enclosure with heat light and a UVB neon tube 60cm. To no surprise he become alive almost instantly, advises given from previous owner: he doesn’t like veggies, only eats crickets and or grasshoppers and very little fruits.
I do not need to state how wrong they were and how little they knew about raising these beautiful animals…

i since then introduce him to various greens, fruits such as lychees, mango, various types of insects and he loves almost everything.

I am glad to say that with no prior knowledge about reptiles, I manage to make one quite happy now with his new living conditions, although it is really not difficult to provide them with the minim vital.

may the moment, the terrarium is pretty basic decoration wise, this will come soon enough, I wanted first to at least meet his living requirements first.

The last pictures are some temps measurements I took this morning to see where I was and I think we are much better feeling now then the low 20C he use to have at the hottest part of the day when he was at his previous owner.

let me know what you think and advises are very welcome obviously.

cheers

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome! Nice-looking dragon.

 

[Sadie]

Hello everyone,

I am Pilf, new to this Hobby. I have recently rescued a bearded dragon (Pogona Vitticeps) Male Red apparently of 3 years old. I also recently learned that this boy wasn’t provided with the correct lighting since ever… He can be happy not to have grown handicap or health problem, maybe he does but I don’t see anything wrong with this guy. He is with me for almost 3 weeks now, I have obviously upgraded his enclosure with heat light and a UVB neon tube 60cm. To no surprise he become alive almost instantly, advises given from previous owner: he doesn’t like veggies, only eats crickets and or grasshoppers and very little fruits.
I do not need to state how wrong they were and how little they knew about raising these beautiful animals…

i since then introduce him to various greens, fruits such as lychees, mango, various types of insects and he loves almost everything.

I am glad to say that with no prior knowledge about reptiles, I manage to make one quite happy now with his new living conditions, although it is really not difficult to provide them with the minim vital.

may the moment, the terrarium is pretty basic decoration wise, this will come soon enough, I wanted first to at least meet his living requirements first. View attachment 31323View attachment 31324View attachment 31325View attachment 31326View attachment 31327
The last pictures are some temps measurements I took this morning to see where I was and I think we are much better feeling now then the low 20C he use to have at the hottest part of the day when he was at his previous owner.

let me know what you think and advises are very welcome obviously.

cheers

Welcome to the forum

You have a good range of temps going how are you getting those temps? You need 2 digital probe thermometers to get actual basking temps-- one of the hot side and one one the cool side and I think I would get one for the middle of the tank as well -- it looks like the 35C is the hottest in the tank -- what are you using for a UVB I cant see it and I am assuming its in the tank ? Does your UVB have a reflector on the fixture?

 

[Pilf]

Welcome to the forum

You have a good range of temps going how are you getting those temps? You need 2 digital probe thermometers to get actual basking temps-- one of the hot side and one one the cool side and I think I would get one for the middle of the tank as well -- it looks like the 35C is the hottest in the tank -- what are you using for a UVB I cant see it and I am assuming its in the tank ? Does your UVB have a reflector on the fixture?

Hi, well I have a small thermometer with a probe that isn’t fixed in the tank, I moved it around the tank this morning for temperature gaging… it’s most certainly not 100% accurate but it gives me a good idea on what I am working with… I think. For the neon tube UVB, I am working with an Exo-terra UVB Neon tube 60cm, 18w, no reflector. I actually saw the trench wide enough for my neon to slide into the top and for the heat lamp, I have a Zoo Red Repti Basking Pot light 60w which seems to do the trick. I may upgrade to a 100w if you guys think it need to be slightly hotter in there… but considering where he come from, that should do for the time being.

I know my set up is not the best but it does the job for the moment.

 

[Pilf]

Hi, and welcome! Nice-looking dragon.

Thank you. I think he look nice too and that’s with no idea what I am talking about

 

[Sadie]

Hi, well I have a small thermometer with a probe that isn’t fixed in the tank, I moved it around the tank this morning for temperature gaging… it’s most certainly not 100% accurate but it gives me a good idea on what I am working with… I think. For the neon tube UVB, I am working with an Exo-terra UVB Neon tube 60cm, 18w, no reflector. I actually saw the trench wide enough for my neon to slide into the top and for the heat lamp, I have a Zoo Red Repti Basking Pot light 60w which seems to do the trick. I may upgrade to a 100w if you guys think it need to be slightly hotter in there… but considering where he come from, that should do for the time being.View attachment 31328
View attachment 31329
View attachment 31330
I know my set up is not the best but it does the job for the moment.

You probe is going to be the most accurate for temps -- however the UVB needs to have a reflector in it -- I recommend you upgrade the UVB to a Arcadia Pro T 5 12% bulb -- the Exo Terra brand is not really a good one and w/ NO reflector on it the dragon is getting little to no UVB rays --- what is the length of the UVB fixture now it looks like a regular standard fixture from a hardware store-- please get a new fixture I recommend a 24" Arcadia they are one of the best on the market --- please do so ASAP-- when you get the UVB please post back on here and I will help you get it set up in the tank --

 

[Pilf]

You probe is going to be the most accurate for temps -- however the UVB needs to have a reflector in it -- I recommend you upgrade the UVB to a Arcadia Pro T 5 12% bulb -- the Exo Terra brand is not really a good one and w/ NO reflector on it the dragon is getting little to no UVB rays --- what is the length of the UVB fixture now it looks like a regular standard fixture from a hardware store-- please get a new fixture I recommend a 24" Arcadia they are one of the best on the market --- please do so ASAP-- when you get the UVB please post back on here and I will help you get it set up in the tank --

Ok, will check on that… I’ll probably need more details on what you think… because I am new to this hobby so I need guidance and proper tech info for me to find the right stuff. I am living in Belgium so you know.

thanks again for your input…

 

[Pilf]

You probe is going to be the most accurate for temps -- however the UVB needs to have a reflector in it -- I recommend you upgrade the UVB to a Arcadia Pro T 5 12% bulb -- the Exo Terra brand is not really a good one and w/ NO reflector on it the dragon is getting little to no UVB rays --- what is the length of the UVB fixture now it looks like a regular standard fixture from a hardware store-- please get a new fixture I recommend a 24" Arcadia they are one of the best on the market --- please do so ASAP-- when you get the UVB please post back on here and I will help you get it set up in the tank

Ok, will check on that… I’ll probably need more details on what you think… because I am new to this hobby so I need guidance and proper tech info for me to find the right stuff. I am living in Belgium so you know.

thanks again for your input…

Ok I found a supplier in France for the kit, we have to be careful ordering online from where the product is coming from as we have to pay import taxes and other fees when it’s outside this nonesense EU… anyway, should be fine with this supplier.

nothing will happen before mid next month unfortunately unless I can source a shop locally who may sell the same.

anyway, will keep you posted.

 

[Sadie]

Ok I found a supplier in France for the kit, we have to be careful ordering online from where the product is coming from as we have to pay import taxes and other fees when it’s outside this nonesense EU… anyway, should be fine with this supplier.

nothing will happen before mid next month unfortunately unless I can source a shop locally who may sell the same.

anyway, will keep you posted.

Are you in winter there or summer? If its summer get him outside for some good UVB till the other one comes in - if you can take him out let him sit on you for 15 min or longer he will get good UVB from direct sun -- do that every day or every other till you get the UVB when it comes in place inside your tank w/ distance approx 12-15 inches directly over head -- that bulb will need to be replaced in approx one year I recommend a month prior to

 

[Pilf]

You probe is going to be the most accurate for temps -- however the UVB needs to have a reflector in it -- I recommend you upgrade the UVB to a Arcadia Pro T 5 12% bulb -- the Exo Terra brand is not really a good one and w/ NO reflector on it the dragon is getting little to no UVB rays --- what is the length of the UVB fixture now it looks like a regular standard fixture from a hardware store-- please get a new fixture I recommend a 24" Arcadia they are one of the best on the market --- please do so ASAP-- when you get the UVB please post back on here and I will help you get it set up in the tank --

I do have a question regarding this UVB light, would you recommend I place a UVB bulb with its fixture/reflector instead of my actual tube until I can provide him with the one you advised? Or is it okayish to live it as it is for another 15/20 days… what would you do?

This is the former UVB fixture I had on one side with a red bulbe in it, which served no purpose whatsoever, then I bought a UVB bulbe: Reptisun 10.0 13watt Desert.

 

[Sadie]

I do have a question regarding this UVB light, would you recommend I place a UVB bulb with its fixture/reflector instead of my actual tube until I can provide him with the one you advised? Or is it okayish to live it as it is for another 15/20 days… what would you do?View attachment 31339
This is the former UVB fixture I had on one side with a red bulbe in it, which served no purpose whatsoever, then I bought a UVB bulbe: Reptisun 10.0 13watt Desert.

Please shut that one off they are notorious for causing all kinds of health issues--- please take him outside if its summer there -- and he should not be that close to any bulb --- distances for basking bulbs should be at least 8"
here is some info on the coils any coil that has CFL's which this one does is NO good

The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia).
UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months.

I would get him outside if I could weather permitting -- if not I still would not use the coil UVB and just wing it till the other one came in --- he may slow down on the eating but as long as hes eating something you will be ok

 

[Pilf]

Thank you very much for these advises… the set up on the picture was the one when I rescued him… the reason also why I wanted to take the lights outside the tank.
Now it is winter here and definitely not proper to get him out and about… he do enjoy my company during the day facing the window… so I’ll do that till then.

It is probably the reason his aim isn’t accurate when hunting… he misses a lot, mind you as I understood from previous owner, he never had correct lighting which will impair his abilities, so as I found out on the net.

Anyway, I am on a mission to make it happen now

 

[BeardedDragonDude]

Welcome.
Nice dragon.

 

[Pilf]

Thank you, hope to learn a lot here, because it is quite complicated to navigate through all the BS that is said here and there, on platform such as YouTube… Everybody seems to be pro but contradict each others opinion on same topics.
Although these “exotic pets” are more and more popular in the past 20 years, we still don’t have great deal of shops around here with experienced people to advise you correctly as opposed to making a quick buck which is unfortunate.

So let’s see.

 

[Sadie]

Thank you, hope to learn a lot here, because it is quite complicated to navigate through all the BS that is said here and there, on platform such as YouTube… Everybody seems to be pro but contradict each others opinion on same topics.
Although these “exotic pets” are more and more popular in the past 20 years, we still don’t have great deal of shops around here with experienced people to advise you correctly as opposed to making a quick buck which is unfortunate.

So let’s see.

Use the long tube fixture for now but not the coil- your better off w/ the long tube

 

[Badwolfe]

If your enclosure is 4ft long then the 24" Arcadia Pro T5 is not really adequate for the UVB lighting. What you need is the Arcadia 39w 12% UVB Pro T5 kit.

The UVB tube needs to cover at least 2/3 of the length of the vivarium otherwise your dragon can only get uvb in a small section of its environment.

The Arcadia Pro T5 comes with its own mount with built in projector and the replaceable tubes are designed to last 12 months, but I like to change mine at 6.

UVB lighting is extremely important to beardies as they come from an environment with high UV levels so its vital to get it right.

You really do need to take into consideration the length of your enclosure because fitting a 24" tube into a 48" space renders 50% of the vivarium useless in terms of UV coverage and forces the dragon to spend most of its time in one area. Beardies can be quite active in terms of movement and you will find with fuller coverage your dragon will be a lot more active across the entire length of its viv.

 

[Pilf]

Hello,

my enclosure is 3feet 9 1/4 more or less… it’s 115cm in length. Currently I have a 60cm tube and it takes just a bit more then half the enclosure…

So you reckon I should go for the 39w instead for this size enclosure so I should end up with a 85cm tube length instead of 60cm.

I didn’t purchase anything yet…

 

[Pilf]

I have created a new thread for everything concerning my dragon:


Thread 'New to Bearded dragon'
http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/threads/new-to-bearded-dragon.26249/

 

[Badwolfe]

Hello,

my enclosure is 3feet 9 1/4 more or less… it’s 115cm in length. Currently I have a 60cm tube and it takes just a bit more then half the enclosure…

So you reckon I should go for the 39w instead for this size enclosure so I should end up with a 85cm tube length instead of 60cm.

I didn’t purchase anything yet…

Yes definitely. The 85cm tube will be far more beneficial than a 60cm in an enclosure that size