Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I have only one beardie and he is in a 10 gal, but I want to know he'r comfortable.

So, 20L or 40B?
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)

A 10 gallon is never the right size as it does not give proper temperature separation to allow for thermoregulation. The proper size for an adult is 2 foot wide by 4 foot long. I start mine in 20 Long (12 x 30 x 12 High) but they only stay in it till they are 2 months old and then I move them to 30 Breeders. A 30 Breeder is the same floor space (36 x 18) as a 40 breeder. The difference is a 40 is 18" tall and a 30 is 12" tall.

I would recommend that at this point you skip the 20L and go straight to the 40 Breeder. Just remember that with the 40 B you should be using a Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 UVB since the tank is 18" tall and the light must pass through a fine screen.

I agree with BDlvr......Should be 40b...i also say a 10g is to small for a beardie!

a 40 would be the better way to go, but still isnt the best. an adult dragon should be in a cage thats 4 feet long, 18 inches high and about 2 feet deep. of course the bigger the living space the better, but the main reason for such a large cage for them is temperature control. its hard to get a cool and hot side of a cage in smaller cages. cages are easy to make out of melamine, or even old entertainment centers. you can find alot of help the cage section of the forums
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Beach Beardies

2.4. bearded dragons
1.0. Turquoise x Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

Yes that is true as well. ALthough, honestly i have a 40 breeder for both my beardies and they are about 1.5years old and i have no problems regulating temps at all ever. My room also stays at 80-90 degrees all day and at night is always about 70/75, as everything i own is in my room, and all heating elements run day and night, so i never have drastic changes in temps or anything of the sort. Just need a thermometer to regulate temps, that's all.

Well he is only about 8 inches from nose to end of tail. I was told leav him in the smaller setup so he wouldn't have a problem finding/catching crickets.

I'm going to move him over to a 20L on Friday, gonna get the tank for 20 bucks, figured cant hurt for a little while.

I have decided I will try and find an old bedroom set dresser and try to refurbish it, and convert it to a way big tank for him/her and then add one or 2 more beardies.
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)

One more thing. What do you all recommend as far as lighting and heating for the 20L?

How strong of a UVB buld would I need? should I get a UTH, and a heat lamp?
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)

A 20l is 12" tall so a Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 would be fine. Don't bother with the UTH. A 60 0r 100 watt bulb will be fine depending on distance. Just be sure to get a therometer with a separate probe so that you can get the basking spot temp. right.

Make sure that if you decide to put any other beardies in it they are quarenttined for 60-120 days at least before introduced to eachother, and watch because females in breeding season can get very fiesty! I personally wouldn't house 2 of any herp together, only for breeding which is usually only a couple days together anyways. Depending on what is breeding.

i dont recommend UTHs at all for any reason. beardies dont need their bellys heated like other herps. UTHs can actually get too hot and burn the bellys of beardies. stick with a heat lamp and use a household soft white bulb, play with the wattages to get your desired temps
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Beach Beardies

2.4. bearded dragons
1.0. Turquoise x Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

No household bulbs, they don't have any UVA OR UVB needed for dragons!

So no UTH. Got it, I can spend the 30 bucks on something else.

So, I'm going to set it up with the 20Long, and a 24inch UVB light and 100watt Repti Sun bulb for heat and UVA. At night I'm going to go w/ a 75watt moonlight blue/purple bulb.

I'm feeding a staple of Rep Cal Juve Bearded Dragon food, and crickets dusted daily w/ Rep Cal Phosphorus Free Calcium w/ Vit. D3.

And using fresh greens and pineapples, but not much.
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)

Household bulbs emit UVA light and are fine. Things like the Zoo Med Daylight bulb is just a regular bulb with blue glass for five times the price. Also all fluorescent tubes put out UVA even the non reptile ones.

Although in a 20L you may be better suited to use a spot light to get the basking temp you want. Clamp Lamps with Type A Bulbs (lamp style) don't push the heat very far away. Houshold bulbs work well with combination hoods.

Right, i can just turn here and ask 5 people 2 being 65 years old. I think they know what they are talking about. I think you need to check your facts, If uva was in the household bulbs, we would all be dead by like 60 from skin cancer.

Thanks both of you, and let's play nice. LOL

Anyway, here's a link I found while hunting for the truth, give it a look see: http://www.anapsid.org/liteheat.html
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)