New guy

[HDreptiles]

Hi all. I am new here. I have had a beardie for about 2 years now. Got him when he was 3 weeks old. One of my favorite pets easily. Now it is time to get him in a more permanent enclosure. Going to go naturalistic (hopefully) and what better place to start than here.

 

[Germ]

 

[HDreptiles]

Thank you sir. That picture is awesome. Lol.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Welcome to the BDF, HDreptiles We are glad you're here and I look forward to seeing pics of your dragon as well as his new Naturalistic Home! We love pics indeed! lol If you have any questions don't be shy about asking! You will find that the BDF Community is jam-packed with Friendly, Experienced and Passionate Beardie People that are at your disposal and eager to help! Look forward to hearing more from you!
Enjoy Your Evening

 

[HDreptiles]

Thank you. I am till researching at the moment for his new home, but I am going to building the whole thing. No more glass tank.

Say hello to Trebuchet. Yes my dragon is named after a medieval siege engine.
View attachment 2979

Thank you for the welcome Buddah. Also, I love Mt. Mungi. Very nice.

Sent from my phone via my job's wifi, most likely.

 

[Noella]

Can't see him.

 

[HDreptiles]

Ok. I am gonna break out the camera in a sec.

Sent from my phone via my job's wifi, most likely.

 

[Noella]

Ok.

 

[Aleena]

Welcome to BDF, HDreptiles and Trebuchet!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

@HDreptiles..Thanks and glad that you liked Mt Mungi...I think it's great that you are planning to build Trebuchet! If you do you should take plenty of pics or perhaps shot video of your build project and put them up here for everyone to follow;-) Wasn't able to open the pic of Trebuchet. Best thing to do is to set up a Photobucket account then upload your pics to that...then you can copy the image source code that will be on your pic and paste that in your msg here...your pics will then automatically pop up in yourposts;-)
Looking forward to seeing him

 

[HDreptiles]

Thanks all.

@Mungi's Buddah - exactly what I am doing. Lol. Just was lazy and figured I would try from my phone first. Also, I love the stairs on Mt. Mungi. I may have to borrow that look when I do my BG. If you don't mind.

@Noella - Here ya go.

His whole cage. Don't hate, it needs some work. Right now it is a 40b with a UV light and two heat lamps. The new cage is going to be larger. Going for a 46" by 20" footprint (this will fit the shelf I have) with a 24" height. Gonna have some actual substrate, a fake rock BG and some real plants if I can find the info on the area that beardies come from that I am looking for. Some times Google is a bear to work with.

 

[Aleena]

I will say, Trebuchet is a handsome dragon!
Make sure you get digital thermometers that have probes and a clear or bright white heat bulb as well! Bds do not need or want colored light or night light.

 

[HDreptiles]

For sure. I have one of the thermos on there, but the battery died. Need a new one, but I am having trouble finding it. Right now the temps stay pretty stable, but I am going to be putting a lot more thought into the lighting in the new viv. And the new viv will be made out of wood. So, it will hold temps better.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Great looking dragon that Trebuchet fella is
Might want to reconsider the water bowl in his enclosure...Most beardies wont drink from standing water because they dont recognize it as something to drink and especially one that large will raise the humidity up very high in his enclosure..him being a desert dwelling dry climate creature that humidity is not healthy for him.
Aleena is spot on about the stuff she mentioned and all of these changes you could make quickly now and will transfer into your new enclosure.
If you cant replace the battery in the probe thermometer you have they arent expensive to buy..PetSmart has a very good one for 9 bucks..look over in the aquarium section instead of the reptile section to find it..the same thermometer basically over in the reptile section runs 15 bucks..lol..go figure
As far as using the staircase idea from Mt Mungi please feel free to use it..lol..that's why I posted the thread and pics..to hopefully inspire someone else to build
Thanks again for the pics..and Welcome Trebuchet!

 

[HDreptiles]

Great looking dragon that Trebuchet fella is
Might want to reconsider the water bowl in his enclosure...Most beardies wont drink from standing water because they dont recognize it as something to drink and especially one that large will raise the humidity up very high in his enclosure..him being a desert dwelling dry climate creature that humidity is not healthy for him.
Aleena is spot on about the stuff she mentioned and all of these changes you could make quickly now and will transfer into your new enclosure.
If you cant replace the battery in the probe thermometer you have they arent expensive to buy..PetSmart has a very good one for 9 bucks..look over in the aquarium section instead of the reptile section to find it..the same thermometer basically over in the reptile section runs 15 bucks..lol..go figure
As far as using the staircase idea from Mt Mungi please feel free to use it..lol..that's why I posted the thread and pics..to hopefully inspire someone else to build
Thanks again for the pics..and Welcome Trebuchet!

Thank you. The only reason the viv is the way it is now is due to time. Now I am back to having some free time so I am going to start changing things up for the better. As for the battery, I am just going to go to a battery store they have by my house and see if they have it. He is doing well now, but there are still things that can be changed for the better. As for the water bowl, I have not noticed a rise in humidity since I put it in there. But the tank does have a screen lid. It won't be going into the new viv for sure.

Sent from my phone via my job's wifi, most likely.

 

[HDreptiles]

I will say, Trebuchet is a handsome dragon!
Make sure you get digital thermometers that have probes and a clear or bright white heat bulb as well! Bds do not need or want colored light or night light.

Thank you. What are your thoughts on the black heat lamps? Or should I think about heat tape or something? It gets kind of chilly in the room he is in in the winter, so night heat is a must.

Sent from my phone via my job's wifi, most likely.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

@HDreptiles....Actually dragons do better at night when they have no light..I don't believe in using the Black, Blue Or Red and as long as their enclosure doesnt dip below the mid 60's at night then its good. They need to cool off at night to slow their metabolism and get a sound night's rest.
In winter time I use and recommend CHEs Ceramic Heat Emitters(they emit heat but no light) that are suspended from above my tanks and connected to themostats but only as a backup in case the temps were to drop out too low. It's not usually a worry unless the power were to go out but we have a backup generator too on our house. We also keep our house around 72 degrees in the winter. So unless the furnace and the generator both go then we are good.
I'm not a particular fan of heat tape or undertank pads but probably because I have limited experience using them. and it's always been my experience that heat radiated from the top was easier to dial in to the right temp.
I would definitely recommend to have a CHE on standby but as far as night light it's not a good thing to spend your money on.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

@HDreptiles...As to the water bowl in the enclosure...although you might not have noticed the rise in humidity it does raise it screen lid or not. I see the gauge on the back wall up near the top of the basking limb and couldn't be sure from the photo whether it was a thermostat or a humidity gauge..Either way I can tell you that those dial gauges are notoriously inaccurate, hence the recommendation of properly placed digital probe type thermometers for example. Whether you are noticing a raise in humidity or not doesn't change the fact that these dragons are dry climate creatures and therefor humid environments of any level do have adverse effects on them and can actually harm them..I can't control what you do with your dragon and I am certainly happy to hear that the water dish will not be going in his new enclosure, but I am sure that anything you can do especially one that is easy, quick and free that could benefit him greatly you would want to do so I wouldn't wait until his new enclosure is built to remove it..besides removing that now will also give your dragon more room which he will enjoy infinitely better than the water bowl any day

 

[HDreptiles]

@Mungi's Buddah - ok, I read everything you typed, and I have more brain picking to do to you yet (hooray for the stuff you don't see in the books) but as I may be a bit long winded, I am going to have to save the questions for when I am at home on my comp (stupid little phone keyboard) so, until then....

And thank you for the info so far. It is very much appreciated.

Sent from my phone via my job's wifi, most likely.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

@HDreptiles...No prob and anytime! It's what the BDF Community is all about..helping you give the Dragon you love the very best so that the two of you can be together for a long long time to come
Enjoy the rest of your night and I will catch you tomorrow! (and I know all to well the aggravation those phone keyboards can be..lol)