what do i need??

[lilmissrazz]

Hey peoplez
Just went to the tender centre and found a 3ft retro buffet type fing... its like a big tank thats not water tight lol anyways..... can you guys help me... i wanna set it up for a beardie and was wondering what type of heating equiptment ill need and lighting..... like do you need heat cords & ceramic heaters or what??? so this will be my first DIY enclosure so be patient and gentle lol thanks guys

[PhilK]

You can use alot of different heatng? Lamps, cords, mats, ceramic heaters... I don't keep lizards but I'm pretty sure beardies need UV.. Someone else will know more

[lilmissrazz]

Yea i knew they needed UV..... thanks Philk, just dont know what source is the best for heating
oh and also would like to know wattage should i be looking at for heating and lighting?? what temps should the hot & cool ends be?? Do i need some kind of night light and night heater doo dad?? lol

[minusone]

i just have a 75w globe for heating and a uv light

[lilmissrazz]

will that be enuff for that size enclosure minus one?? just a normal 75watt light blub?? what kind of uv do u use?? and do u have ur lights caged or anything?? is sand a good substrate or should i get some fake grass stuff or just go news paper

[Miss B]

Yep, you'll need both heat and UV light for your beardie.

Our tank is 4.5 foot long by 2 foot wide and 2 foot tall.

For heat, we use a Philips Spot One R80 100w bulb purchased from Bunnings for around $3.30 - it's much cheaper than a specific reptile lamp but does the job just as well. This is connected to a Microclimate B1 dimming thermostat.

For UV, we use an Exo Terra Repti-Glo 10.0 UVB bulb. Our UV bulb is right next to the heat lamp, above the basking spot. If you prefer to use a 'tube' style UV, the NEC T10 blacklight is meant to be really good.

Both the heat and UV light are on a timer which turns them on for 13 hours per day and off overnight.

We don't bother to cage either of our lights and have had no problems - the beardies are happy to sit underneath and bask, I have never seen them attempt to jump at or touch the lights. As far as substrate is concerned, sand is not good for young beardies but might be ok for older beardies. I personally prefer astroturf as it looks nice and is very easy to keep clean.

I'll try to find photos of my setup tonight.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your project

[Chris1]

i use the reflector globes from coles, 2x60 watts side by side so the girls can share a basking area. tehy cost about $2.35.

when they were little i used light cages and they liked to hang off them (they had a rock wall backing to climb in that tank otherwise i doubt they could have reached them),...in this tank they cant really get to the lights so theres no cage.

washed playsand from bunnings is ok fro adults, a non ingestible substrate is better for young dragons.

heres a pic of the lights n stuff....UV is in the middle and that branch goes under it so tehy can get close enough. (its a repti glo

[minusone]

my enclosure is 60cm x 35cm

i use clean sand from bunnings, some fake plats, some large brannches and pebbles
i have the heat lamp right above a large rock (for basking) and some piping up the other end for a cool area.
uv light I got at an electrical place. i don't know the name, but it fits in a regular light fitting (bayonet).

you don't want to heat the wentire enclosure, coz they need a cool spot to hide

[minusone]

ha, ok, the veterens got in before me. lol.

i'm very new to this too, but seem to be doing the right thing so far. still have a happy healthy beardy

[lilmissrazz]

Oh ok so the exo repti or reptic glo dont fit into a standard bayonet??

[Chris1]

u can get compacts, but they're crap, dont waste ur money. teh tubes are much better.

[lilmissrazz]

sorry comapacts chris what are these?? tubes?? lol sorry im pretty new 2 all this

[lilmissrazz]

what kind of base is best for these kinds of lights?? the repti glo and exo doo dads?? how often do u need 2 change the UV lights?? i think i read somewhere its like every 4-6 months?? do i need a thermostat??

[lilmissrazz]

someone come help me shop lol ill even let u pay for some of it ;-D

[Chris1]

compacts look like the power saving globes and fit into a normal light fitting, but their UV output is really weak within a month.

Tubes are like the fluro in the pic i posted and they have a pretty good UVB output for around 6 months.