beardie setup

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snakegirlie

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setup all ready for my bearded dragon im gettin tomorrow. only pretty basic at the moment, when he gets older im gonna turn it in to a dessert theme.
vuzybybu.jpg
 
Is that a UV light in there? Or are you you running a MVB?
Also, get rid of the newspaper for either fake grass or sand. Most people will tell you sand, but we've always started our babies on fake grass, then move them onto sand when they're a little bigger. You don't have to use the expensive reptile sand; playsand from Bunnings is fine, and a whole lot cheaper.
 
Is that a UV light in there? Or are you you running a MVB?
Also, get rid of the newspaper for either fake grass or sand. Most people will tell you sand, but we've always started our babies on fake grass, then move them onto sand when they're a little bigger. You don't have to use the expensive reptile sand; playsand from Bunnings is fine, and a whole lot cheaper.

its a uv. and thanks for the tip :)
 
I personally would avoid using sand for hatchlings since impaction is a pretty common occurrence in young beardies. Newspaper is a safer & more maintainable alternative, the only draw backs are the dirty little feet it'll give your Beardie & the lack of traction it provides. Using butchers paper will get rid of the dirty feet but offer no more traction than newspaper.

I recently stumbled across this product which looks nicer than the options above & is still very easily maintained - Exo Terra : Sand Mat / Desert Terrarium Substrate

Providing a couple of hides, one at the hot end & one at the cooler end is not a bad idea though without hides they just tend to make themselves comfortable next to a rock or in a corner somewhere. Just be watchful they don't decide to hide all through the day as has been noted with some Beardies.
 
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I personally would avoid using sand for hatchlings since impaction is a pretty common occurrence in young beardies. Newspaper is a safer & more maintainable alternative, the only draw backs are the dirty little feet it'll give your Beardie & the lack of traction it provides. Using butchers paper will get rid of the dirty feet but offer no more traction than newspaper.

I recently stumbled across this product which looks nicer than the options above & is still very easily maintained - Exo Terra : Sand Mat / Desert Terrarium Substrate

Providing a couple of hides, one at the hot end & one at the cooler end is not a bad idea though without hides they just tend to make themselves comfortable next to a rock or in a corner somewhere. Just be watchful they don't decide to hide all through the day as has been noted with some Beardies.

i was gonna just keep it newspaper until it was big enough for sand and i will be getting a few hides for it :)
 
Paper of any kind can cause problems with their claws. Personally I agree with the sand and babies, but use the fake grass and provide plenty of rocksto climb on. 6 months is a good age to swap to sand.

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In the photo it looks like you have a uvb tube sitting on top of the enclosure. If this is the case it will be doing nothing to benefit your new beardy if it is sitting on mesh or glass. Try to get it on the inside of tank so there is nothing blocking the rays. Also, sand (washed screened playsand) is a good natural type substrate and as long as your temps are right and your husbandry practices are up to scratch, you wont have any issues. I have raised hundreds of hatchies on the stuff from day one with not one issue.
 
Make sure he's got a couple hides one down the warmer end and one down the cooler end I find works best for hatchies. And don't forget about calcium. And like others have mentioned that UVB might not be doing alot being that high and ontop of the mesh.


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Just make sure the UV is inside the tank, and not through mesh or glass. Won't be enough if it is.
 
Great looking set-up, but like others have said, you need to sort out your uv.
It's brilliant that you've created basking areas where the lizard can get to with 6" of the bulb, but it really shouldn't be on top of the mesh. The majority of the goodness will be lost as it is right now.
 
It looks like the top of your tank is mesh. Having the heat on top means it is less efficient (more heat loss). The UV is more important to be inside the tank. We have a mesh tank for one of our pythons. To fit a ceramic fitting, we put two layers of silver heat tape on top of the mesh around the fitting for extra support. With a python, we had to also fit a cage, which the tape helped to support as well. With a beardie you won't need the cage.
Using a ceramic fitting means you will need to fit a spiral or compact UV globe. An Exo Terra UVB150 26w would be perfect for your beardie.
 
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or you could just cut a hole in the mesh that is just a fraction bigger than the light fitting.
Q.did you know that mesh can cut UV rays by up to 95%
 
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It looks like the top of your tank is mesh. Having the heat on top means it is less efficient (more heat loss). The UV is more important to be inside the tank. We have a mesh tank for one of our pythons. To fit a ceramic fitting, we put two layers of silver heat tape on top of the mesh around the fitting for extra support. With a python, we had to also fit a cage, which the tape helped to support as well. With a beardie you won't need the cage.
Using a ceramic fitting means you will need to fit a spiral or compact UV globe. An Exo Terra UVB150 26w would be perfect for your beardie.

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with this advice. Spiral or compact bulbs are totally inferior to tube lights, but if you must use one, please use it with a reflector. Without a reflector, these bulbs are almost totally ineffective. Due to the design, light is emitted all the way round the bulb, and in on itself, rendering much of the produced light useless. Even with a reflector, the usable range is only 6", they are not very powerful.

Stick with the light you have, but somehow modify the lid so the light is beneath the mesh. If you make this adjustment now, it really will save you a lot of heart-ache in the future.

Good luck, you have a very lucky dragon.
 
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