Bearded Dragon Tank..Size?????

[GP212]

Hello. I am new to this stuff. We (me and my kids) are planning on purchasing a Bearded dragon as soon as they get some in at the pet store. I have been doing my research on habitat but I am still unsure on the size of tank that I should get. Is 36x18x18 good(50 gallon). The have one that size at the pet store with sliding doors at the front. Or should I go for the 65 gal which actually is cheaper but has no doors on the front(I thought that they were a nice option). And I just saw a 100 gallon in the paper which won't hold water so it is cheap. 72x20x20 .Too big?? What if we were to end up with two BDs some day? How big would the tank have to be?
Just wnat to do the right thing the first time.

Thanks!!
GP212

[drewlowe]

With beardies the BIGGER the better. For 1 beardie IMO i would suggest at least a 55 gallon or a 4x2x2 would be better though. If you can get the 100 gallon i say go for it, your future beardie will love you for all that space. 2 beardies minimum 75 gallon.

You can house 2 beardies together but make sure they are either Male & female or 2 females. Males tend to fight so you don't want to house 2 males together. Sometimes females will fight (it's rare), if you house a pair together watch for the male being over aggressive or stress on the female from the male wanting to breed, and don't house a male and female together unless the female is over 18 months old (so they don't breed to soon).

If you have any other questions feel free to ask, there are plenty of people that can help out, and welcome to ssnakess.

Jamie

[GP212]

Thankyou so much for your reply!!!!!I think that I might get that tank.
Well if I do get the 6 foot long 100 gallon tank will I need a 6 foot long UV light?
And will if be hard to keep the temperatures up?

thanks again!!!

[Big Mike]

Good advice from Drewlowe, as usual.

One thing I might suggest is to find a better place to get your beardie from than the pet store. There are some good pet stores out there, but most big pet stores are notorious for high prices, poor advice and poor animals. I see that you are in Ontario...I think there may be a show & sale coming up somewhere. That would be an ideal place to get a beardie and talk to people who can give some really good first-hand advice. Not to mention that your kids (& you) would have a ton of fun at the show.

If you can't do that, there are lots of breeders and people selling beardies who can probably give you a much better price than the pet store.

Oh, and Welcome to the site :cool:

[GP212]

Hey Jamie I was just checkin out your profile and I see that it is your birthday. Happy birthday dude!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is my sons birthday today as well. The BD is for him

[Big Mike]

You wont need a full length UV light. If you are going with the tube, 3-4 feet should be OK.

As long as the tank is in a room that's not too cold...you really only have to worry about the temp of the basking spot. So the size of the tank won't matter (heat wise). Just that you have an appropriate basking spot.

[GP212]

Thanks Mike.

The price at this store is $115 Canadian of course taxes included. That is for a "baby". When they get them.
How do I find out about a show?
And how do I find a breeder that I know is any good?

Thanks again you guys

Glenn0

[drewlowe]

Thanks Big mike, you made me blush LOL

GP212- Thanks, it's actually 1 month off, EKKK to imagine i'm going to be 25 in exactly one month. Happy B-day to your son!!!

I'm with big mike on the flouresent fixture i would get one that is 3 or 4 feet (probly the 4 foot one). Make sure you use either ZooMed 5.0 or Exo Terra 5.0 they are the best uvb bulbs on the market IMO. "if" you opt for the 100 gallon i would set up 2 basking spots on each end, and have the middle as the "cool" side (specially if you get 2 beardies). I would pick up a digital themometer at walmart for around 10-15 bucks so you know for sure what the temps are. They should have a basking spot between 100-115 (beardies are all different). You may have to play around with different wattages to get the desired temp you want. You should set the enclosure up in advance to getting your beardie that way you know everything is "just fine".

Beardies make a wonderfull addition, i absolutly love mine!!!

[Big Mike]

Port Credit Pets show...April 18 http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41209

Check the list of exhibitors, I'm sure there will some beardie breeders. If not, just try a google search.

$115 for a normal beardie baby is way too much. For that much you should be able to get a good color morph. A regular beardie baby at a show should be less than $50. The shows that I have been to, usually have lots of beardies so the selection is great.

[GP212]

Sorry Jamie. I don't know what I was thinkin. It is April isn't it. Wishful thinkin I guess.
Thanks for all of the help!!!!!!!!

Glenn

[drewlowe]

Originally posted by GP212
Sorry Jamie. I don't know what I was thinkin. It is April isn't it. Wishful thinkin I guess.
Thanks for all of the help!!!!!!!!

Glenn

No worries, Your just early that's all. ;)

Your welcome, anytime we can help we try.

[striko_69]

Hey
I suggest getting the bearded dragon manual by phillipe de vosjoli, it is the best retile book series ever, and will answer every question for you

[chryseis]

hey Glenn,
I sent you a private message. I breed bearded dragons, and I have 2 unrelated clutches of babies that are ready to hatch any week now. I'm from Ontario as well. Check your private messages, or e-mail me at squan3@uwo.ca and we'll go from there
thanks
Steve

[Bearded AL]

Hiya GP212 like Big Mike said getting a baby beardie from a breeder is the way to go IMO and from talking to her and seeing her beardies I would talk to Iculizard as well as any other of the breeders right here on Ssnakess. Getting a beardie from a breeder is always better and most will always have the information and answer any question you have. Hope you have fun with your soon to be addition they are get to have .

[Linds]

I wouldn't bother getting a fluorescent UV tube light for your beardies. They are pretty much worthless, they give off very little UV (24 hours is the equivalent of 5 minutes of natural sunlight :rolleyes: ), the UV light doesn't reach much more than 12" from the bulb, is further depleted by any screen (I think only 30% comes through). The only bulbs that output any significant levels of UV are the Powersun basking lights.

[GP212]

Thanks Linds.

I was just at the pet store tonite lookin at prices.Still trying to figure out my setup. I saw the Powersun bulbs that you mentioned. They are $90!! WOW! How long do they last?

I guess that I should clarify first that I want to do what ever it takes to have the "correct" enviroment for our "yet to be purchased" Bearded Dragon. But I am not rich.

Anyways, if these bulbs are the way to go then so be it.
So, not sure if I have mentioned, I have a 6 foot long tank. From what I have learned I was going to have a basking uvb light at each end with a 4 foot flourescent in the middle. Should I bother putting a uvb tube in it? I mean they are $50 bucks and if it isn't "needed". But again if it is...

ok, substrates. I have read all of the arguments against using sand. I think that I will be using this coconut husk stuff. Any thoughts? How deep? I guess that you need to replace it often. How often?

[Big Mike]

Linds knows her stuff, but from what I've seen...most people use the fluorescent UVB bulbs for UVB.

The Mercury vapour bulbs are expensive but are supposedly pretty good. I have heard that they don't last very long but they usually have a warranty...so you can bring it back...but how often do you want to have to do that.

I like using regular bulbs for heat. They are cheap and easy to replace. It's easy to just chance the wattage of the bulbs to adjust the temp of the basking spot as well.

The UVB tubes are also expensive and should be replaced every 6-12 months whether they are burned out or not.

I use the coconut substrate and it's great. I buy it in big compressed blocks and expand it in water before using it. It can be spot cleaned for a while before it needs to be replaced. It is resistant to mold & mildew so if you keep the feces & food cleaned out...it's pretty good.

I like to use about 2-3 inches but they like to dig so more would not hurt. For your tank, I'd say that two of the small bricks would be a good amount (the stuff expands quite a lot). I bought a really big block and just cut pieces off as I need to expand it...it's cheaper but it's a messy job (hard to cut).