Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'd like to start off by saying I have the best wife in the world who actually suggested I get a bearded dragon AND that I keep it as the showpiece of our living room.

So, I'm planning to build a cage for a bearded dragon. I haven't decided, but it will either be 2'X4' or 18"X5'. I'm leaning toward the longer, narrower one. Anyway, the main question I have is about lighting. From all of the info I can gather, I THINK it might be best to go with a 48" strip light with a UVB tube. But, which bulbs should I use? Is one 10.0 enough? Is two 5.0's a better option? What if I get a double flourescent fixture, put in one reptisun 10.0 and one normal bulb? And then of course a heat lamp. Would that be a decent setup? I know the flourescents have to be changed every six month. I use a mercury vapor lamp on my egyptian tortoise, but it seems like that might not be the best option for a long tank. What do you experts think?
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0.10.0 Ball Pythons
0.1.0 Leopard Geckos
0.0.1 Egyptian Tortoise

I have one suggestion and it doesn't necessarily answer your lighting question although I'll give you my opinion later. First, I would suggest a long tank that is also wide. How deep are you planning the tank to be? I suggest 2' for a adult beardie. When I had a long narrow tank my previous dragon didn't have much space to turn around in. His tail always seemed half curled. I promised with my new dragon I'd definetely go with a much deeper tank as well as a tank that was long enough for him to stretch out in.

For your lighting situation you had a few good ideas that would all work. I'm sure the 10.0 running the whole length of the tank will definetely work w/ a heat lamp for a basking spot. If I remember correctly the 10.0 is rated to emit UVB 20" from the bulb but the closer you get the better. With my previous dragon I used a Mercury vapor bulb and 5.0 together. The MVB was the main basking spot and I used a double fixture with a 5.0 and regular flueroscent for additional lighting and UVB. All your ideas will work.

Hopefully this gives you a lil to think about but my main advice is to definetely think about a nice tank that is long and deep enough.
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kill 'em with kindness

Just to give ya a idea of the size cage I'm planning once my baby dragon gets some size It will be a 60" long and 24" deep, Melamine tank...I'm not sure what the measurements are for a 75 gallon tank but I think I've heard that that is a good tank size for a adult beardie with a 50 gallon being the smallest tank for a grown adult.
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kill 'em with kindness

i would go with at least 4 feet long by 2 feet deep and 18 inches high AT LEAST. bigger is always better. the height can be adjusted higher as well. most do 24 inches and have a basking platform to get their dragon higher to the UVB.

as far as lighting, i use a reptisun 10.0 tube bulb running entire lenght of cage, as well as a normal Aquarium florescent you can get at home depot. this is for added light. ive found just a UVB bulb did not provide enough actual light and my dragons kept sleeping throughout the day. with the added light it fixed the problem.

for heat i use basic house bulbs. wattages may vary. some of my cages a 60 watt is fine, some needed up to 120 watt.
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Beach Beardies

2.2. bearded dragons
1.1. Sugar Gliders
0.2. Felines *queen athena and missy*

Beach Beardie I'd like to see a pic. of your set up.

Well, to answer eminart's questions.

I love a 5' cage. The extra foot really helps with good temperature separation. But I think 18" just isn't wide enough unless you have no cage furniture. Once you put a hide log or something in, 18" just doesn't leave much width left. So if I had to choose I'd have to say go with 4 x 2. Also keep in mind that the minimum recommended floor space for an adult bearded dragon is 8 sq. ft. (4 x 2) and that a 5' x 18" is only 7.5 sq. ft.

I have MVB bulbs and am disenchanted with them. I'd go with the regular fluorescent tubes. A Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 gives penetration to 20". A Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 gives penetration to 12". So two 5.0's would be worthless if your dragon is over 12" from the bulbs.

In my terrariums, I have Zoo Med 10.0 bulbs running the entire length of the cage. I agree with Beach Beardie that in the winter the cages seem awfully dark. But, keep in mind that The tanks have a dark rainforest type background. When I built my new cage I installed three 3' strip lights in a 5 by 3 1/2 Melamine enclosure. When I put 3 bulbs in, the cage seems blindingly bright. The reason is that the white Melamine just has a lot of reflection. I therefore only use 2 of the fixtures which is 6 foot of bulbs in a very wide 5' cage. The Dachiu's only use (1) 3' fixture with a homemade reflector in their 4' by 3' enclosures and they seem plenty bright. There cages are white Melamine also. According to testing the Zoo Med's are good for a year. I split the difference and change mine every 9 months.

Thanks everyone. That makes everything a little more clear. I think I will go with a wider enclosure. I may still do the 5ft long one, but I'll make it wider than 18" if I do. A 4'X2' would probably be the most cost efficient though, since most building materials come in 4'X8' sheets. There would be a lot less waste.

Thanks again!
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0.10.0 Ball Pythons
0.1.0 Leopard Geckos
0.0.1 Egyptian Tortoise

Yes you're right about the waste. But actually if you do 5' x 2' verses 4' it will only need one extra sheet of Melamine (if that's what you're gonna use) so it only costs $25 extra for a 5' verses a 4'.

5'x2' is a great size to use for a single adult dragon. Gives them plenty of space to move around and you have the room to put in a large wide basking spot to give the best range of temps for your dragon to choose from. This is the size I used for my first bearded dragon and the same size i plan to use for my current bearded dragon.

In my first bearded dragon cage I used a 4' double florscent tube fixture. I placed a 8.0 (didn't have 10's at the time) and a full spectrum green house type bulb for the light. This seemed to work great, especially when the first tank I had was natural wood color, not white. My new tank I will be using white painted wood (will get pics of the new setup once I finish building it). I decided not to use malamine because of the weight and it does cost more. But i am starting to think the extra work and time, is starting to make it not as worthwhile to build light. Then again it could mostly be due to the fact I have little room to build in, sigh.

Anyway, I posted mostly to show off my old tank. My new tank is of similar design. Now if I can only find a piece of driftwood like the one I used to have....

Now here is the cage all setup and with Splatt my old bearded dragon...I still miss her...sigh.

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PHLdyPayne