Quote Originally Posted by Cheesenugget View Post
Yea your big name pet stores will usually carry sizes up to a breeder and no more.

How big is your girl? Most adult beardies would reach a size where a 4 foot tank would be more beneficial. Mine is about 18-20" and he is a male, so I picked up a ReptiHabitat 75 gallon tank from a local reptile store. You won't find these terrariums at PetSmart, etc. A small female may work in a tank like yours. I use the same one for my male corn snake.

You can also use a 75 gallon aquarium, which is about 4 foot long and 18" wide/deep. Lots of beardie keepers use these tanks, especially picked up from ads for free or at deep discounts.

Anyways the main reason for the proper size is to allow proper temp gradient. Your lizard will move back and forth throughout the day to warm and cool off. Cool end should be about 77-80F. If the tank is too small, and the lizard too big, she might have trouble moving far away to cool off. So check your temps.

I would suggest adding hammocks, like the long hammock sold by Amazon for about $20. Beardies are semi-arboreal so she will enjoy some climbing as well as getting closer to the UVB light.

I hate carpet. Had them, cleaning is a butt, and you know they are messy poopers. I use tiles for mine. Easy to clean and helps keep nails short.

Your main concern with beardies is Metabolic Bone Disease. Meaning, make sure your temps are good, your UVB lighting is replaced every 6-8 months and strong enough to go through the mesh lid, and supplement food with D3. The symptoms are subtle and the disease progresses slowly, but the damage is permanent.
She is in a 36x18x18 which opens from the top but I plan on getting her a front opening one. She’s a mature female who is quite large. I hate the carpet too but I’m too scared of impaction as much first BD died of either impaction or the wasting disease so I kind of have a big fear now. I wanted to give her slate as it was a nice way to keep everything warmer and looking natural while also keeper her nails down because she scratches me a lot. I have a uvb on the left side and a basking lamp on the right with a green hammock that she spends most of her time in underneath it. Her water and food dish are on the left side as well. She seems like she wants out more but with her nails it isn’t as easy for me due to my job, she also tries to escape to places I can get her a lot or is dangerous for her. That’s part of the reason I want to make her a naturalistic enclosure so she can feel more at home in it and have more to do besides run around a box. I thought I found the perfect thing with the slate but someone pointed out that it could get extremely hot for her.