New Beardie (and first!)

[aya2649]

Hello! Im new!
I am getting a baby bearded dragon on sunday.
About a month or so old.
Im getting him from a co worker who had a batch of babies.
I have a 20g tank that the little one will be living in for a time.
Im not exactly sure what lights i need?
Or anything else a baby should need.

Currently the baby is being held everyday and she bathes them too. She takes very good care of them so it should be healthy!
Any advice welcome!

 

[PatsyB]

If you look at the bottom of my post here there is a link to general information, it will help you learn the basics. Also, I just put up a thread yesterday on a lighting article, it's under the bearded dragon health category give that a read.

 

[KrissyLeigh]

Hello! Im new!
I am getting a baby bearded dragon on sunday.
About a month or so old.
Im getting him from a co worker who had a batch of babies.
I have a 20g tank that the little one will be living in for a time.
Im not exactly sure what lights i need?
Or anything else a baby should need.

Currently the baby is being held everyday and she bathes them too. She takes very good care of them so it should be healthy!
Any advice welcome!

Congrats! Be sure and post pics!!! See the links PatsyB posted, for sure.

And I don't know how your budget is, but mine is pretty tight so I thought I would share some tips with you I wish someone had shared with me... but if you have the money, by all means go to the pet store and go crazy!!!

Clay pots make really good hides, you can crack them in half for hiding or climbing. Nonadhesive shelf liner is about $10 but it will last forever and it is easily sanitized. Hardware stores have a variety of stones, tiles, and naturalistic bricks that can be used to contruct all sorts of decor, way cheap! Order feeders online!!!! It will be a fraction of the cost as opposed to buying insects at the pet store. As for greens, you can usually buy huge bundles, unchopped, for $1 hidden somewhere in the produce section of grocery stores - walmart is hit or miss, but everywhere else has a pretty good variety. Cat litter bins make good bathing areas i you don't want to use the sink (my sink doesn't have a plug). And, DEPENDING ON LIGHT WATTAGE, you may be able to use a cheap desklamp ($5 at walmart) for the basking area.

Um... that's all that comes to mind. Hope you have fun with the new baby! Post a pic!!!

 

[PatsyB]

You can repurpose lots of household items for your beardie. Cardboard boxes also make great hides. You want to be careful with your light fixtures though. You want to make sure the fixture you use for your heat bulb is rated for the wattage that you need and is made for the type of bulb that you need to use. You don't want to start a fire. For your UVB bulb, if you are using a T8 size bulb, you can get a fixture for $15 at the hardware store and mount it inside your tank. However if you are using a T5 bulb, which is a better bulb, you need to get a fixture that has a reflector that is made for the high output bulb.