Trying to educate my son

[pafireguy]

I come from the world of salt water fish tanks. My son is interested in getting a bearded dragon. I'm trying to teach him that the all in one kits at the best store are probably not the best option for an enclosure. I have learned over the years that most of those items you will want to replace a few months in so its a waste of money.

So now here I find myself trying to educate myself on what the better options are.

Whew good luck to me!

 

[Candybugs]

You want a repti sun uvb. It's long like a fluorescent bulb. No under tank heating. No heat rocks for dragons they don't feel heat from underneath. Ceramic heat bulb for heating. Vegetables are mandatory EVERY day. That's a job in itself at times. Look at food lists. No lettuce or avacdo is an example of why you must know the vegetables. I think alot of us end up with xtra tanks so go big right from the start. No substrates use repti carpet alot of ppl use tile. Calcium and vitamins are mandatory too on a regular basis or they get Mbd. You need uvb and uva lights everyday the calcium and lights all work together the uva is hot and helps digest their food and the uvb absorbs the nutrients in the food. Look up mbd and food lists. Kits are not gonna be efficient in the long run. All of this is for important reasons. Any questions let me know. Dragons are easy peasy once you know what your doing and have a routine. You have to tuck them in at night or they'll sleep standing up against the wall it's sad. Post pics once you get your dragon. We'd love to see your fish tanks too. I just started fish . It's way way more work than I ever thought. So gross. Your son will learn alot from this have fun


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Anthony Radford]

Hello Pafireguy, and welcome to the community! We have a lot of good people here, and a wealth of experience and information collectively.

In response to your inquiry, I posted a lengthy explanation on your other thread :
Doing research for my son, now im confused. Need Help

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=14950&share_fid=44720&share_type=t

Enjoy the baby beardie, you and your family will LOVE it, as they steal your heart SO quick, and they are very loyal pets!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome and you've come to the right place.. a few of us have put together general info in a link that you will find under several of our comments.. lots of info in there that you will need to set up a new home..
look forward to seeing it all once it happens and feel free to ask any questions you have

 

[PatsyB]

Like Candy said and you already know, those all in one kits are crap. The tanks are nice but the stuff that comes with it will most likely have to be all replaced. I know they came out with a a new Bearded dragon Kit, I've seen it at the shows but even that doesn't have what it needs in it.

I like a T5 UVB bulb with the proper fixture. You can set them on top of the mesh tank top and if you have an 18" tall tank, the UVB penetrates almost to the bottom of the tank. You also need a white basking bulb whether it be a reptile basking bulb or a Par 38 halogen flood light. The basking light and the UVB light need to overlap because that's how the body processes calcium. You will need a CHE heat emitter at night only if your temps drop below 65 degrees.

Bearded dragons are a lot more interactive than fish and take every day spot cleaning along with weekly cleaning and monthly deep cleaning (depending on how dirty your beardie is) They also crave attention from us and love to be held and interact with us outside of their tank. They really are the most personable lizards out there.