Pic. Any comments appreciated.

bailey · 12-19-04, 04:13 PM

This is Earnhardt basking in his tank. The main point of this pic is to show the enclosure so I can get everyone's opinions. Thanks for your replies!

beanersmysav · 12-19-04, 07:44 PM

looks good just wondering where the water is

ChristinaM · 12-19-04, 07:52 PM

I can't tell from the pic but, a couple thoughts:
1. How close is the UV to his basking spot? About 6" is preferable

2. Looks great. Nice, simple, easy to clean..... good job.

chas*e · 12-19-04, 08:40 PM

Easy too clean and lots of room to play

bailey · 12-19-04, 11:09 PM

The basking spot is about 7-8 inches away. I can raise the basking spot if necessary. I don't use a water bowl. I mist him. The water bowl was raising humidity. This is my first crack at keeping lizards but so far I think it's going well. Thanks for all comments!!

Slannesh · 12-20-04, 12:25 AM

About half the caresheets i've read say it's unnecessary to give Beardies water 24/7. Misting or offering water once a week or so seems to be the norm on those sheets... the other half say to leave fresh water daily.

If it was me i'd probably leave a smallish waters dish on the cool side but that's just me. I'm sure either method works just fine. They do get a lot of moisture from the veggies they eat.

concept3 · 12-20-04, 12:40 AM

I used to have water dishes in with my beardies and They never ever touched them/ Now Everyonce in a while I bathe them and if they are thirsty they drink then.

bailey · 12-20-04, 12:49 AM

I bathe him twice a week.

concept3 · 12-20-04, 12:57 AM

your fine than dont worry about a dish.

atw · 12-20-04, 06:20 AM

Add some sand. Impaction is paranoia if it is not a hatchling. You can get children's play sand at Home Depot that is great for beardies and very cheap.

ChristinaM · 12-20-04, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by atw
Add some sand. Impaction is paranoia if it is not a hatchling. You can get children's play sand at Home Depot that is great for beardies and very cheap.

I am strongly disagreeing on this one, and hope the original poster disregards it as well.

Many studies have been done, showing adult dragons with sand impacting organs. Sand is DEFINATELY NOT recommended for any juvie dragon, and even adults do better without it.

Personally, I use bran for both juvie's and adults.

If you are curious on sand impaction, there's some very informative posts in this forum..... just use the search feature, and search for impaction. Some very qualified people have posted excellent posts on this topic.

As for the water topic: misting is fine, bathing is fine....there is no need to have a water dish unless your dragons likes to drink out of one..... misting the daily salad is very sufficient water for a dragon

marisa · 12-20-04, 01:41 PM

I have a question and a comment about the set up....

I have had one beardie but I have always been under the impression that a WHITE basking light is better than a red one. I actually got a red one for sun loving baskers light beardies/iguanas etc with my first beardie, and when switched to white he seemed to bask more often and looked healthier.

Any truth to that? If so maybe that's a change you could make to your enclosure.

Marisa

RepTylE · 12-20-04, 02:09 PM

Am I just not seeing the UV light in the pic? I haven't kept beardies yet but I thought that UV was crucial.
Maybe it just isn't showing up in the pic.

bidden · 12-20-04, 02:43 PM

I also do not see a UVB light?

the white bulbs do make a difference, the brighter light is more a placebo. they think it's the sun, gives them somthing to look at when basking. If you have a bright enought UVB bulb it doesn't really make a difference if you have a red or white heat bulb. White bulbs are usually cheaper because you can use your run of the mill 50w halogen flood lamp from home depot for $5 instead of a $15-20 "reptile basking bulb" exactly the same thing.

also, water is not needed 24/7. they will just play in it more than drink it, then it gets dirty and when they do drink it, they are drinking dirty water. if you bath weekly, and feed fresh veggies dailey no constant water is needed.

bailey · 12-20-04, 10:11 PM

there is a uvb light i promise and i've changed the red bulb to a white. also i'm keeping the paper towels and not using sand. seems to be working much better for my beardie and for me. Thanks for the posting!!!