Newbie - bearded dragon set up

[whynot66]

Hi, new to the forum. I plan on getting a beardie. Never kept a reptile I've started getting the stuff together and researching. just looking for some advice. So here we go

I've got a Viv 4x2x2 heat and lighting

My plan is to tile the shelves and the base with probably slate tiles.
And find some kind of backing maybe bark for it to look good.
As a juvenile I think I'll use reptile carpet. Not the stuff that his nails will get caught on (could use a pointer towards this). When older I'd like to add play sand/top soil combo (understanding the risks) I'd like the cool end to be quite deep with a hiding place/tunnel in the substrate.

Basking end temp between 38c - 42c?
Cool end temp between 27c - 31c?

What kind of thermometer? And hydro sensor thingy


I'm going to have all the lights on a timer, on at 8am off at 9-10pm
Maybe heat controlled with a dimming thermo stat. If recommended
My house is warm enough at night normally 19c at least

Food ideally if it's viable I'd like to feed him initially once a day with live food crickets ect. 10 - 15 minutes feeding time powdered with calcium.
Then if it's the right thing once with pellets of some sort. Girl friend won't feed with live food (Need advice here)
then have veggies in there most of the time (need advice here)
And a small water container in the coolest part

I'd like the Viv to look as close to natural as possible so I'd like to have live plants and some rocks and wood.

I believe I need to bath him 3 times a week in shallow water and don't handle too much until he's content.


Please can some one critically analyze my plan and offer any guidance to anything I've missed.

Thanks in advance

 

[MisterD83]

Live plants will increase the humidity of the viv, You can do some artificial plants if you would like, but keep in mind the more you add the more you will have to search through to find left over crickets after feedings.

I don't think I see one, do you have a UVb light in your kit? Also compact and twisty UVb lights are recommended against by many enthusiasts and profresionals, though my beardies always had the compact UVb bulbs with no issues (I could see) once I heard the draw backs I switched anyways.

As for thermometers, I use a zoomed digital, I've seen people on here using other brands and some even have 2 temp probes. I hear the spring thermometers are always 5 degrees F off the actual temperature.

 

[whynot66]

I've got an Arcadia 12% tube thing. Are live plants of the cards? What should the humidity be at?

 

[MisterD83]

Im seeing 40% max humidity, The only water in my beardies' viv is a small water bowl and whats in the greens they eat. beardies come from an Australian desert. I bathe them once to twice a week in luke warm water

 

[whynot66]

Bump bump

 

[diegothediggy]

Ur temps r spot on so well done coz that can b quite difficult. I have a digital thremo with 2 probs 1 for hot end n 1 for cooler it was only around £10 from amazon. If ur house is awake earlyer than 8 id have his/her light cum on a little b4 u get up so he/she dnt get disturbed if u up b4 him/her. If the viv temps dnt drop below 16 c then ur fine u dnt need a dimmer. As for ur girl friend and feeder well wen we first got Diego he was on size 3 hoppers n they didnt bother me but now hes on 4s n there quite a step up in size. So coz i dnt like the bigger hoppers my bf kept an empty carton that the hoppers cum in. Emptied all the dust from the bottom n took out the egg carton so now on the days my bf in wrk n i have to feed Diego he puts around 7-8 hoppers in the empty box so wen it cums to feeding time all i have to do is tqke off the lid n tip the box in. If ahe still a bit nervous of that she can just put the open box on its side in the viv n the live prey will jump out. Im guessing ur from the uk. With tje salad u can get already freah washed mixed salads from any coop asda tesco. They have quite a selection in asda only aroumd £1 a bag just if it had spinich in it pik it out coz it not so gud for them. They say dnt handle for the first couple of weeks but i cudnt no. Diego was 5 month wen we got him n the shop slwe got him from got him out quite regular so he wud scratch at the glass till i got him out. I started with just placing my hand in the viv so he cud c. I wasnt gunna hurt him. With the odd stroke for a couple of days then id handle him in the viv for a couple of days then after that he wud cum straight over to me as soon as i opened the viv so i knew he was happy n settled n that was just after 4 days so each beardie different. Hope ive helped you a bit and looking forward to c ur new little friend.

 

[diegothediggy]

Diego. And his viv u can just c him behind his plant hehe. He like to sleep in the sand.

 

[kidmostwantwd23]

Cool lab

 

[whynot66]

Thanks for the reply, think I'm on track, I've just bought some sealant and some awesome lookin tiles from b & q

I've got OCD with things like this so everything has to be perfect, all I've read in a week is beardie forums and info, everyone has different opinions, I like your sand pit, especially as a sleeping area, have you had it there since day one?

You miss understand, there the heats I'm aiming at, I was just confirming I was right, I've not even started the set up yet. I move house Thursday so starting then, and I'm aiming at bringing a new beardie home the following Thursday, I'd love an orange leatherback or a bright one at least. But my local reptile room doesn't have any right now.


What basking bulb do you buy? Pet shops are a rip off.....

 

[diegothediggy]

Where in the uk u from? Yeh i got sand with his set up the full lot u can c on pic apart from therom tile n plant. It cost me just ova £200. Sorry i thought that was qpt ur twmps where at. Yeh its some times hard to get the baskin area at a gud temp. Yeh he came with sand but he was 5months wen i got him. I found quote a lot of problens with the sand with cleanin it, it gettin stuck in the runs for the door n makes a awful noise. So i swapped to tile but Diego loves a dig n loves to sleep in the sand so i kept the baskin area sand. The bulb is just a nomal house hold bulb from bnq. This a 100 watt i only use a 50 got it just incase i cudnt get temps up

I had to add an extra rock to get the temps rite Tho. But a 50 watt halogen bulb shud do the.trick.
Just a little tip get an extra tile than wot u need incase 1 breaks n.u cnt get the same 1 again and ive not fixed them dwn they just placed in and i used the sand to fill in the gaps so easy to take out n clean monthly n put bak in.

 

[whynot66]

Blackpool, you? Oh yeh I was gonna fix them but of course, I can remove for cleaning,

 

[diegothediggy]

Yeh i was gunna fixthem in 2 till i though wot if 1 breaks n i cnt get it up didnt wanna have 2 get new viv just coz of tile. Widnes just near liverpool.

 

[whynot66]

I bought my Viv setup from Liverpool, some guy bought the setup for £240 and his beardie lived for a month , he didn't even have a thermometer and low uv bulbs the set up was terrible, sold it me for £70 so I've had a cheap start up to now

 

[MisterD83]

Unfortunately petstores do that, they choose the cheapest "necessities" put it all on a caresheet titles what ever critter and when the critter isn't healthy they blame the parent. Both of the nation wide petstores in my area keep bearded dragons too wet and too cold of a basking temp for their size. they also have people heating them at night (suggesting nocturnal bulbs) rather than during the day.

We will help you out the best we can though

 

[whynot66]

Please can some one explain exactly why I need a thermostat? My house is unlikely ever to be too cold, I'm going to have the lights timed, so once I've established the correct temps then why do I need a thermostat?

 

[timbalan]

I dont use one. My temps dont get below 67-68. even this harsh winter we had never dropped his temps

 

[MisterD83]

I don't use one either, the only time I can see needing one is for a ceramic heat emitter if night time temperatures get below 65 degrees F