Use of Light?

We are thinking of getting a baby bearded dragon and I want to go over this list of equipment we have for our use.

20g Long Tank

Paper Towel for Substrate

Food Dish for Veggies

Logs for Basking (What other cage accessories do we need?)


As for the light, I know dragons need UVB, right? Now, I have this light that I was using for a salt water tank. Its a 75w T5 High Output Nova Extreme aquarium light. I have no use for it anymore and I was wondering if it could serve as the bearded dragon's day light fixture? If not then I will get a normal UVB lamp.

Anything else I will need. I have calcium powder for dusting crickets. What kind of veggies will they eat? Other kinds of feeder insect?

Does anyone have an answer to my questions?

A lot of this seems to be basic questions that are all answered in a Bearded Dragon Care sheet.

If you just mean about the light, why not look up the specs on each one and see if they match up? They only last for something like 6 months anyways... how long have you used it for?

I wouldn't use it unless you had a uv measure to see how much the output is. id get this:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...-uv-heat-bulb/

Best kind of uvb (mvb) out there other than Mercury bulbs. It also provides heat and lasts a year instead of six months. Your beardies colors also will be better.


Don't forget your cal/vit supplements. What size beardie are you getting?

We are thinking of getting a baby bearded dragon and I want to go over this list of equipment we have for our use.

20g Long Tank:
Fine for a baby, but you'll eventually have to upgrade to something bigger.

Paper Towel for Substrate:
Good (we use ceramic tile)

Food Dish for Veggies:
Good

Logs for Basking (What other cage accessories do we need?)
As long as the log comes within 6-8 inches of the light source, that'll work fine.


As for the light, I know dragons need UVB, right? Now, I have this light that I was using for a salt water tank. Its a 75w T5 High Output Nova Extreme aquarium light. I have no use for it anymore and I was wondering if it could serve as the bearded dragon's day light fixture? If not then I will get a normal UVB lamp:
You will need something that has UVB/UVA lighting. We use the Reptisun 5.0. The bulb should just about cover the entire length of the tank. You'll also need a basking light that'll keep the temp around 100 degrees in the basking area. The ambient air in the tank should be in the mid 80's, and then drop to the low 70's at night. We have both of our lights connected to a timer that shuts off at 8:00pm and on at 8:00 am.

Anything else I will need. I have calcium powder for dusting crickets. What kind of veggies will they eat? Other kinds of feeder insect?
Our bearded dragon is very stubborn when it comes to eating its veggies, he seems to like leafy greens the best (avoid lettuce as there is no nutritional value in it) Crickets are by far the cheapest, but we also feed our beardie wax worms and phoenix works from time to time.

You'll also need a water bowl, and some thermometers. I'd suggest some feeding tongs to hand feed the crickets, because you dont want to just dump a bunch of crickets in there and let them roam free.

Here is a good CARE SHEET that bp.net offers.

Good luck :gj:

Funky- You may need to upgrade your repti glo. If im correct a 5 is only 5% uvb, they need at least 7%.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Funky- You may need to upgrade your repti glo. If im correct a 5 is only 5% uvb, they need at least 7%.

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Sorry, I meant Repti Sun 5.0 (It's one of the 2 bulbs reccomended on this sites care sheet)

This is the bulbs description:
"Contains the highest amounts of both UVB and UVA wavelengths (according to an independent laboratory spectral analysis.) The UVB wavelength helps to prevent or reverse Metabolic Bone Disease in green iguanas as well as other species of lizards in captivity. Strengthens and improves shell growth on all captive turtles and tortoises"

So the Repti Sun 5.0 should be good right :confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Funky#2

Sorry, I meant Repti Sun 5.0 (It's one of the 2 bulbs reccomended on this sites care sheet)

This is the bulbs description:
"Contains the highest amounts of both UVB and UVA wavelengths (according to an independent laboratory spectral analysis.) The UVB wavelength helps to prevent or reverse Metabolic Bone Disease in green iguanas as well as other species of lizards in captivity. Strengthens and improves shell growth on all captive turtles and tortoises"

So the Repti Sun 5.0 should be good right :confused:

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Is it a twisty bulb or a fluorescent your using? I'll get back to you after I make sure if it is good or not through my other bd forums.

Reptisun 5.0 is ok.. Reptisun 10.0 is better thats what I use in all mine.. I have also used the repti glo 8.0 but in reality if you look at the uv guide that has all the test results of the lights its not better than the reptisun. so i would stick with the reptisun florescents.. Not the twist bulb.
Heres a good site too. I order my lights from here. they have good prices on supplies. been using them a couple years now. http://www.petmountain.com

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Is it a twisty bulb or a fluorescent your using? I'll get back to you after I make sure if it is good or not through my other bd forums.

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It's fluorescent :cool:

THIS IS WHAT WE USE

I use a 110qt plastic tub(sterilite) with the lid off, a 36" flourescent fixture that holds a ReptiSun 10.0, a 65watt flood lamp in a ceramic clamp lamp on one side pointed down to a rock(holds temps of 110-115), and newspaper substrate.

Don't waste your money buying the "reptile" heat lamps. They are crap and don't last long at all. A 45W flood lamp at WalMart or Home Depot is less than $5 and lasts forever.

Or buy an MVB bulb from www.reptileuv.com

I would recommend not buying a baby, and instead getting an established sub-adult who is already eating part veggies and part insects.

Also, crickets are disgusting and STINK. They carry parasites like pinworms and coccidia. Roaches are a MUCH cleaner, much meatier feeder. Plus, they don't stink and breed like no tomorrow(and they live a much longer life). Silkworms are a good staple too.

You can find alot of the care equipment at WalMart or Home Depot. Don't waste your money at the pet stores... A ceramic clamp lamp is only $7 at WalMart, same at HD. Tiles are cheap, newspaper is free, GE flood bulbs are cheap and effective(monitor breeders use these).

Remember the digital thermometer and a TIMER! I plug both my heat lamp and my UVB bulb into the same timer and have it stay on for 14 hours and off for 10.

So for a single sub-adult to adult bearded dragon, I would need a 110 quart tub (lid off won't be a problem if I have the dragon in the animal room), 36" florescent fixture with a ReptiSun 10.0 for uvb, 65w flood lamp for heat, tile/newspaper, sunning rock, and food dishes (for veggies). And I would spray the lizard down how often since I have heard most dragons do not drink out of a dish?

What kind of roach is good for bearded dragons?

Yes, mist the dragon a few times a day to let him drink... OR give him a bath everyother day and mist once on the odd days.

Roachs-

Dubias are good, discoids are great as well but they both cost a good bit to get started. Lobsters produce well but they can climb and are annoying( from experiance, do not get them.) Lateriosessdsdsdfsg( the red ones) - Very fast though. All in all if you can understand that stick with either Dubia or discoid.

I have the reptisun 10.0 for UVA/UVB

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtrem...nframeset.html
Also that is a great site as far as feeding goes. Very informative.

Hope this helps you!!!

Thanks for the information. I will start looking for the supplies I'll need for a bearded dragon. I have no intention on getting one now. Maybe by the next show or maybe I'll get one as a present to myself for the holidays. I want to make sure I have everything right and set up correctly before even bringing one home.

What kind of colors are there? I know I've seen a few interesting ones at shows. Do the colors have names? (Like the ball pythons do?)

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Thanks for the information. I will start looking for the supplies I'll need for a bearded dragon. I have no intention on getting one now. Maybe by the next show or maybe I'll get one as a present to myself for the holidays. I want to make sure I have everything right and set up correctly before even bringing one home.

What kind of colors are there? I know I've seen a few interesting ones at shows. Do the colors have names? (Like the ball pythons do?)

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There are too many colors to really say. Most colors are made up ones because everybreeder stuck his or his madeup name on it. Also color in beardies is very random, two high yellow beardies bred together can still make ugly ones, and a high yellow to a grey one will make slightly yellow babys. There are a few known colors though, theres silkies(STAY AWAY) trans, smoothies, hypo clear nails, and lucys( white ones, stay away from these also) and maybe a few more that I have forgotten

So am I better just picking out a "normal" one? I'm going to be on the lookout for a 110qt tub, but I was wondering if I could just use the 20L tank I have while the dragon is young and move it to the tub when it outgrows the tank.