Baby beardie enclosures

[ThyTempest]

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend and I are finally ready to get our beardies. We are hoping to buy a pair. As long as we get the time off work, we will be going to the Taylor, MI show in a couple of weeks to look around, but we have found some online that we are interested in to. Now that the time is really upon us, we are trying to nail down all of the issues with keeping them. We have a colony of dubias going fairly well already, with 2K turks coming in next week.

Our biggest concern right now is housing them. We found a 75 gallon with a nice stand locally pretty cheap, but after initial contact with the seller, he has not gotten back to me in a few days. I have looked at the DIY Crossfire and Timeless Spirit cages, and both look nice, and I can probably get all the tools I need. Any more DIY write ups would be great. I'll stop rambling and just fire off my questions..

Assuming we get 2 baby beardies...

Is it ok to start them off in a big enclosure? 4x2x2 or 4x2x18"?

Can they be housed together for a while, say anywhere from 3-6 months before they need to be separated?

Should I go with separate heat/UV or combined with an MVB.

Does anyone have an idea how much custom built cages cost at shows?

Reptile carpet swapping or tile, and if tile what type is preferred?

Feel free to mention anything you think I may be forgetting.

Thanks

[Beardedragon]

MY first advice is not to get two, they need to be housed seperately. They are very solitary and do not like other beardies. Granted it can work out, its mostly with experianced owners. Alot of dominace and eating issues can occur.

Secondly, Ceremic tile! It makes cleaning a breeze and you never have to replace it. Crickets and roaches love to hide under reptile carpet making it a pain to have.

Crossfire dragons DIY is a really good cage ( The guy who made it is also awesome, old friend of mine ) Just remember tallness is not an issue because they are floor space needing creatures who get to fat to climb well

One MVB bulb will be fine, what kind are you looking into buying?

Just remember to keep the cage very simple, a beardie can get lost in such a big cage. Keep us updated on them!

[ThyTempest]

Well, we think we picked out our babies, we are calling the breeder tonight. We may have access to a free/rediculously cheap 90 gallon tank w/ a stand, as well as a 75 that is for sale locally for a decent price. Custom 48x18x19 enclosures pre-made at a show are 170. At this point, I think I am going to build crossfire enclosures for both of them eventually. We have to make some phone calls, but the person with the 90 gallon just got bit by a copperhead, so that may take a while. The plan right now is try and split the 90, 75 or Crossfire into halves for the time being while we work on getting the others built.

With that said, we will build two of them. Because of the recent issues with powersun, we were going to order Megaray MVBs. Will this be suitable even for baby beardies in a crossfire enclosure?

Also, as for tile, I have heard we want something somewhat rough for traction and to wear their nails down. Any types in particular?

Thanks for all the help.

[ThyTempest]

We found a peice of melamine for 75% off yesterday, so we have one enclosure pretty much ready to build. We picked out some tile and bought enough for both of the enclosures. I think we are going to use the 100watt Megaray MVB's, one in each enclosure. I am thinking that will hold temps where we need them, but if we need another bulb at the cool side, that wont be hard to do.

[ThyTempest]

Is the tile usually used alone or with a grout or other sealant? Also, looking at the Crossfire enclosure, I am wondering if it would be better to try and alter it a bit to put the MVB in a dome fixture to help keep the heat and maybe raise it up to the top? Also, the fluorescent fixture will probably just be omitted since we dont plan on using it.

[ThyTempest]

We decided on our beardies and will hopefully be getting the rest of the stuff to build the enclosure tomorrow. I am still a little worried about how the fixture sits and if it should be changed to house an MVB in the Crossfire enclosure. Here is a link http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/. I am worried about the distance being fixed with an MVB. If I cut a hole in the top, it becomes a pain to make it bug proof, but then I could raise and lower the MVB as needed. I could really use some advice here. Thanks

[Beardedragon]

Is the tile usually used alone or with a grout or other sealant? Also, looking at the Crossfire enclosure, I am wondering if it would be better to try and alter it a bit to put the MVB in a dome fixture to help keep the heat and maybe raise it up to the top? Also, the fluorescent fixture will probably just be omitted since we dont plan on using it.

The tile is just used alone so you can remove if needed to make the tank a little lighter or to clean. Tweek the cage how ever you like so it works also

We decided on our beardies and will hopefully be getting the rest of the stuff to build the enclosure tomorrow. I am still a little worried about how the fixture sits and if it should be changed to house an MVB in the Crossfire enclosure. Here is a link http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/. I am worried about the distance being fixed with an MVB. If I cut a hole in the top, it becomes a pain to make it bug proof, but then I could raise and lower the MVB as needed. I could really use some advice here. Thanks

Hmm, im not the best builder so I cant help you to much on this, but remember not only can you move the light fixture up and down but if needed you can raise the basking platform up and down as well with different sized ones.

[ThyTempest]

I thought about be able to move the platform after I posted. We ordered a 100w Megaray. I am guessing by the time we get a fixture in the bulb is going to be about 6 inches down from the top of the tank, giving us about 18 inches to play with. I think this will be okay, with being able to go as far away as 18 inches with the basking platform just being a spot on the floor up to the minimum distance for the bulb...12 inches?

Also, we are considering glass, sorry if I already mentioned it. Does anyone know what type, thickness etc we need? I was looking at standard single pane and it looked way too flimsy. We are calling a glass company tomorrow for different estimates, etc, but if I know what I need ahead of time it would help.

[Beardedragon]

I thought about be able to move the platform after I posted. We ordered a 100w Megaray. I am guessing by the time we get a fixture in the bulb is going to be about 6 inches down from the top of the tank, giving us about 18 inches to play with. I think this will be okay, with being able to go as far away as 18 inches with the basking platform just being a spot on the floor up to the minimum distance for the bulb...12 inches?

Also, we are considering glass, sorry if I already mentioned it. Does anyone know what type, thickness etc we need? I was looking at standard single pane and it looked way too flimsy. We are calling a glass company tomorrow for different estimates, etc, but if I know what I need ahead of time it would help.

Get thick glass, I have horrible luck with flimsy glass and always end up breaking it or cracking it some how