Help with Bearded dragon enclosure

[Jimmy93]

Hi guys my names James

in a couple months im going to be getting my first central bearded dragon and i need help with what i need in the enclosure, mainly what i should use for a surface as i was going to use red sand but have read and been told that it is bad as they can eat it and that can case stomach problems.

Thanks James

 

[rio_rat]

hey james, yeah im very very scared of most substrates lol, its not very pretty but i use newspaper- easy to change, no problems (for me thus far) and cheap ive heard horror stories of impaction about just about everything else..

 

[giggle]

I use black aquarium rock The secret is, if you are concerned about impaction feed in a separate container I feed mine in a big tub from crazy clarks but am converting the bottom shelf into a feeding room soon. The feeding room will be tiled. I did this out of necessity at first as I had a female beardie with special needs (she has since been assisted to beardie heaven due to complications)... she required a soft but firm substrate and anything I could use for her was unsuitable for feeding on. I used to use reptile bark for her. Its a good chance to handle your beardie and you dont lose crickets in your enclosure either. Its a win win idea. As for feeding greens to a fussy beardie, you can put a large tile in under the bowl if you need to leave greens for them. Mine typically eat their vege from my hand

If you feed out of the enclosure then you can use pretty much anything. Newspaper is often not recommended due to the inks rubbing off onto your beardie.

 

[tazzy]

Hey mate, i recently got my first 2 beardies and had them on red sand. they're pretty clumsy feeders and often missed the crickets and got a mouthfull of sand that they chomped away on. After a couple of days i couldnt get them to eat and they weren't pooping. I assumed it was the sand and took it out straight away. Problem solved!!

I've now gone with artificial grass substrate. Got it from clarke rubber and i got enough to do 2 floors on my 4 foot fish tank, so while I wash one I still have one for the tank. cost 16 bucks for the 2! cheap and looks good,cant go wrong!

 

[David275]

G'day mate,

I've got my Western Bearded Dragons on red desert sand and have since i got them (2008 ) I've found it to be very good, it sets harder on top and allows for digging if wanted. I have never had a problem with impaction and is easy to clean and remove faeces. I do though, feed my dragons by putting crickets in a plastic container and the container in the lizard cage, unless i feel like hand feeding. I used to let the crickets go in the tank and the lizards would catch them but crickets used to get away and hide in the tank, but there was still no problem with impaction. I feed fruit and vegies in a plastic lid or hand feed.

 

[Jimmy93]

Thanks so much everyone for the replys

i will probly end up using the artificial grass as its cheap and i have a clarke rubber just around the corner

also what type of lights do i need i know i need a heat lamp and an ultraviolet light is there anything else ? and what would you pick a heat rock or a heat mat ? sorry for all the questions i just want my beardie to have a good life

Thanks James

 

[David275]

Alot of people don't like heat rocks but i use one in conjuntion with my heat lamp. Heat rocks don't give off heat within the enclosure where as a heat mat does but with my light you don't need additional heat, it's there for heating their belly to aid digestion. One of my lizards will always sit on the heat rock after a meal and has never had any problems with burns or anything, like people think.

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

I wouldn't recommend heat rocks either, having said that we often have heated sections of the floor especially in multiple baty enclosures. We dont use substrates either, instead we have artificial rock as the floor. If you have any specific questions pm me.

 

[David275]

I'm sorry but it might be a misunderstanding but Just Plain Nuts you mentioned that you wouldn't use heat rocks either, and if by either your refering to my response, i do recomend heat rocks (as long as you have another heat source).

 

[jemvarova]

i have a 4 ft enclosure by 2 ft high... 2 vents on one side, none on the other. Originally I had the heat lamp (150W in winter, 100W in summer) on the vent side, but found it wasn't heating the basking rock enough. The vents must be big enough that they let enough heat out. I've also got a mesh top. that doesn't help with heat either. Eventually tried it on the other side and it was fine (in terms of temp).

Soon after though, my beardie got a chest infection. The vet said he needed a bit more heat, so I bought a fairly tall basking rock and placed it next to the smaller one I already had. Haven't had problems since and he happily sits on both rocks.

I have a bit of carpet on the floor of my enclosure. No problems with impaction, easy enough to clean... The only issue I have is crickets/worms crawling under it on occaision (not often)... But if you cut the carpet to the right size, it shouldn't be a problem

 

[Grogshla]

I'm sorry but it might be a misunderstanding but Just Plain Nuts you mentioned that you wouldn't use heat rocks either, and if by either your refering to my response, i do recomend heat rocks (as long as you have another heat source).

never use heat rocks for a dragon. They sense heat from the top of them not the bottom and they can burn themselves very badly. Just use basking lamp. This normally heats up his tile that is under the basking area and he can lie on that when the lights go out as it stays warm for a little while.

 

[giggle]

I don't buy this 'cant sense heat from bellow' thing... I think its a myth. Otherwise they would burn themselves on rocks, sand, roads in the wild... and it doesn't explain why you see them tip toe over hot surfaces! I use heat rocks in conjunction with an attached thermostat. They certainly can feel the heat from the rock otherwise they wouldn't use it rather than sitting on some other random rock in their enclosure. I think the only good arguement for not using them is that the thermostat in them does not have a read out or a settings control. Which is why I attach another thermostat to them.
If you use one, don't put it anywhere near your primary heat source (do not put under lights) and you should also have a separate basking light/heat source. They like to sit on the hot rock just after eating and then use the basking light for any other time.

 

[Tinky]

I use lino on the floor of my enclosure. Rock texture looks good. When dragons poop it is easily cleaned. Can also be removed for more intensive cleaning if required.

Pretty well all of the litrature that I have read advises against heat rocks and heat cords for dragons, so I am going to say to think really really hard before you decide to go with this option, (nothing against them as such, and use for my pythons, but not my dragons).

You know your dragon is happy when they have climbed onto their basking rock and are sitting their with their mouth open and their eyes closed.

 

[Chris1]

agreed with heat rocks being bad, ive read too many horror stories abotu them and there are better alternatives, dragons like a well lit environment so bright lights for heat are the way to go.

in regards to loose substrates, once ur dragon is older play sand from bunnings is fine, its only for the first 8 months or so that its really reommended to not use loose substrates, newspaper, lino, paper towels, just anythign they cant accidentally swallow.

 

[Jimmy93]

so if i have a basking light and a uvb would that be enough lighting and heat to keep my beardy happy or will i need more ?

 

[David275]

Everyone seems to have it out for heat rocks because of all those so called injuries. You do realsise that there are different brands of heat rocks, some probably better than others, and if there were some kinks in their design don't you think they would have been figured out and changed by now otherwise they wouldn't be fit for sale.
As i said before one of my lizards loves it and after every meal instead of getting right under the basking light she will sit on the heat rock or just press her belly on the edge of the rock.
My reptile dealer who runs a well known West Australian reptile shop was the one to recomend the heat rock and told me don't believe everything you hear.

And by the way Grogshla, i completely agree with Giggle that what you said as a myth. You even said that your lizard sits on a tile when the lights go out because it stays warm through the night - why would your lizard lay on a tile to keep warm if he can't feel the warmth with his belly like you said?

 

[jemvarova]

Jimmy,

That's all i've got. A basking light (100W-150W, depending on season) and a 10% UVB. Just make sure the basking area is hot enough... If you have a tall enclosure and a small rock, it may not heat up enough.

Jem

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

We use a ledge on our artificial rock wall with a halogen directly pointed onto it , this simulates the wild as much as possible because you get the radient heat from above plus the rock is quite hot too.

 

[crocodile_dan]

Bearded dragons along with other species of lizards have a parietal eye (third eye) located on their head, which senses heat along with light and dark. this is why lamps are preferable over underneath heat sources, as dragons use this sense to help thermoregulate. This is why a bright heat lamp is recommended as the parietal eye is designed to regulate heat from a basking perspective. Obviously they do have nerve receptors over their body which is why they can feel heat through their belly but if you don't provide a lamp the dragon may feel like it is not at the optimum temperature as the sensation message via the third eye is not receiving the heat stimuli, which is when they animal can stay on top of the heat source longer than necessary. So yes they can feel heat through their body but they rely on their parietal eye as a receptor for thermoregulation. I believe Beardies are adapted to bask in the sun, which is why I choose lamps but I'm not saying heat rocks are bad.

 

[David275]

Just to clarify if you're wonderering, i do use a heat lamp, and i thoroughly recomend using heat lamps as a primary heat source. But i do also have a heat rock for additional warmth.