Newbie

[Momofadragon]

Hey! Just picked up my little guy yesterday! Super excited! He’s adorable and already so well handled. I’m so glad I found this forum!!

 

[Skybug]

Welcome to the forum cute bebe, may we see his/her enclosure? Lighting is so important for a baby , please dont use “coil” uvb bulbs these hurt beardies eyes and offer little to no uvB/uvA, what kind of bugs is the bb enjoying? Crickets roaches and bsfl are the best for overallness in a diet.

 

[iris123]

Hey! Just picked up my little guy yesterday! Super excited! He’s adorable and already so well handled. I’m so glad I found this forum!!

welcome to the forum what's your lighting like and also how is the little guy responding to his new home also what are you feeding him

 

[Momofadragon]

Welcome to the forum cute bebe, may we see his/her enclosure? Lighting is so important for a baby , please dont use “coil” uvb bulbs these hurt beardies eyes and offer little to no uvB/uvA, what kind of bugs is the bb enjoying? Crickets roaches and bsfl are the best for overallness in a diet.

Thank you! Here are some pictures

 

[Momofadragon]

welcome to the forum what's your lighting like and also how is the little guy responding to his new home also what are you feeding him

Thank you! Right now he has tiny crickets, I try to dust with calcium powder and multi vitamin powder. He devours them! Trying fresh, chopped romaine lettuce and raw green beans but he doesn’t seem interested. Here are some pics

 

[Skybug]

Yea that coil uvb needs to go, hes in what a 20 gallon? 30? Thats not gonna last very long (in six months he’ll be bigger than that tank) (you really need a 85gallon-120) i just got a 120gallon 4x2x2 enclosure from zen habitats and im satisfied, and it will be hard to keep a temperature gradient in a smaller enclosure, you have two options since hes a baby get a mvb(mercury vapor bulb) so you dont need to get a whole brand new setup tank,lighting,etc. the first link is what i used for my beardie when she was a baby , it was a quality bulb and i had no problems with them, the second link is really what kind of uvb you need, I recommend getting a CHE as well if your home or state is cold, only run one light if you get the mvb.
Mvb
The proper lighting

 

[Momofadragon]

Yea that coil uvb needs to go, hes in what a 20 gallon? 30? Thats not gonna last very long (in six months he’ll be bigger than that tank) (you really need a 85gallon-120) i just got a 120gallon 4x2x2 enclosure from zen habitats and im satisfied, and it will be hard to keep a temperature gradient in a smaller enclosure, you have two options since hes a baby get a mvb(mercury vapor bulb) so you dont need to get a whole brand new setup tank,lighting,etc. the first link is what i used for my beardie when she was a baby , it was a quality bulb and i had no problems with them, the second link is really what kind of uvb you need, I recommend getting a CHE as well if your home or state is cold, only run one light if you get the mvb.
Mvb
The proper lighting

Ok I will order the mvb bulb. So do I need an additional bulb to go along with the mvb? It says it is a uva and uvb. Also I was going to purchase a much larger tank but I was advised not to while he is so little as it would have been too overwhelming for him. I do plan to get a much larger tank. My house is always at 70 degrees.

 

[Skybug]

The mvb offers heat along with uvb/uva.
just use it alone, do you have a probe thermometer? You need to make shure his temps arnt going above 115f

 

[Skybug]

You’ll have to get different lighting when you get his big enclosure, i used those for about a year and couple months, make shure you change it out after 5-6 months , the uvb runs out and its best to get a new bulb before the expiration date, i change out my uvb at 4 months so I always know its at its strongest.

 

[Momofadragon]

You’ll have to get different lighting when you get his big enclosure, i used those for about a year and couple months, make shure you change it out after 5-6 months , the uvb runs out and its best to get a new bulb before the expiration date, i change out my uvb at 4 months so I always know its at its strongest.

No but I will grab one of those thermometers. So with the big enclosure you use that long bulb?

 

[Skybug]

No but I will grab one of those thermometers. So with the big enclosure you use that long bulb?

Yes, i still use that brand mvb (but in my tokay geckos enclosure) , for a big enclosure you want the uvb to span 60-70% of the enclosure, so theres spots the beardie can escape to if they wanna take a nap. I basically had the same setup as you, except i had my beardie in a 40gal , make shure only the mvb is on in that double houseing, once you get your new enclosure, and the long tubular light, you can go back to using regular basking bulbs in the double hood, you can also get a CHE (ceramic heat emitter ,these bulbs come with a digital probe too) for the double hood (so its not a waste to only have one bulb in it) , like i said above if ur home is cold at night (below 65f) you might want to look into those as well, just a thought.

 

[Skybug]

Heres a couple pictures if im not explaining myself, basically during the day i have the mvb come on, at night time the CHE comes on, geckos need it warm almost all the time so thats why i have one for him but not my beardie, i live in FL so its hot enough at night for my beardie, but we do have our air on, so i worried about my gecko. Definitely get a timer, it’ll save so much hassle turning lights on and off throughout the day.

 

[Skybug]

And heres my beardies lights, for reference, the double dome they sell is honestly a scam, it’s dangerous to house two high out put lights together, corporate does it on purpose, distance is very important with uvb, certain bulbs need to be 5-10 inches (which just isnt possible) where as some uvb (like mine) can be 11-15 inches)

 

[Momofadragon]

Yes, i still use that brand mvb (but in my tokay geckos enclosure) , for a big enclosure you want the uvb to span 60-70% of the enclosure, so theres spots the beardie can escape to if they wanna take a nap. I basically had the same setup as you, except i had my beardie in a 40gal , make shure only the mvb is on in that double houseing, once you get your new enclosure, and the long tubular light, you can go back to using regular basking bulbs in the double hood, you can also get a CHE (ceramic heat emitter ,these bulbs come with a digital probe too) for the double hood (so its not a waste to only have one bulb in it) , like i said above if ur home is cold at night (below 65f) you might want to look into those as well, just a thought.

Thank you! I really appreciate your advice!! I just want my little guy/girl to thrive! Also I found this enclosure on eBay. Can you give me your opinion on it?

DiyCages PVC482424 Horizontal Reptile 48x24x24 inches for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DiyCages PVC482424 Horizontal Reptile 48x24x24 inches at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Skybug]

It looks like a good enclosure, at the very bottom it says the “bulb holders” cant house a che , I assume cause the enclosure is plastic and the bulb holder will overheat and fall out of where it’s screwed into? its also kinda odd they’re selling on ebay? Id try and get an enclosure from a source, incase somethings wrong or you need replacement parts.

 

[Momofadragon]

It looks like a good enclosure, at the very bottom it says the “bulb holders” cant house a che , I assume cause the enclosure is plastic and the bulb holder will overheat and fall out of where it’s screwed into? its also kinda odd they’re selling on ebay? Id try and get an enclosure from a source, incase somethings wrong or you need replacement parts.

I agree. I’ll check out that zen habitats site again. I ordered that mvb already too.

 

[Momofadragon]

And heres my beardies lights, for reference, the double dome they sell is honestly a scam, it’s dangerous to house two high out put lights together, corporate does it on purpose, distance is very important with uvb, certain bulbs need to be 5-10 inches (which just isnt possible) where as some uvb (like mine) can be 11-15 inches) View attachment 26908

I love this setup!! Is this the enclosure you got from zen habitats?? I had no idea about the light spacing either.

 

[Momofadragon]

The mvb offers heat along with uvb/uva.
just use it alone, do you have a probe thermometer? You need to make shure his temps arnt going above 115f

Also right now his tank is at 89.

 

[BeardieLover<3]

Also right now his tank is at 89.

The ambient air temp or his basking spot? The basking spot needs to be 95 to 105℉ for a baby.

 

[Sadie]

Also right now his tank is at 89.

How are you getting that temp? Digital probe? No stick ons please ---- what brand of MVB did you order and what wattage ---those bulbs need to be certain distance and NO obstruction for best UVB etc ------- if you haft to move the MVB up its going to effect the UVB output for effectiveness then it is wise to get another UVB in the tank for optimum UVB ---