Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, my set up is complete. They're eating veggies like any little critter will (Nibble, but they are trying them), and eating lots and lots of crickets. Both have shed since I got them two weeks ago (Their old owners had five in a 20L (thirty inches long) tank, and were feeding crickets every other day and the person they got them from was feeding them crickets twice a week, and inconsistently. They're three or so inches long from nose to base of tail, and each have 180" to vcvall their own in their habitat (I'm going to seperate at the first sign of aggression) They're also nibbling on some of that prepared food from zilla, but I offer that just for variety. Their basking spot is a steady 100-110 daytime, and the temp goes down to about 75-80 at night.

I actually have two questions:
One, is there any dimmer set up that is ridiculously easy? Their basking spot has gotten up to 113, and I can't be turning the heat on and off constantly -- I'm not here all day everyday! But I'm also electronically inept. So is there a thermostat system that dims the lights that's easy? I read on this forum that the dimming system is better. I'll do the on/off system if I have to, if it's one I can actually do. But if there's a simple way to set this up, I would love suggestions.

My other question may seem dumb, but I've honestly not seen any information anywhere on this sumbject. The tank stand I have has enough room for a small-ish television underneath the tank. I never listen to TV on a very loud setting, and there isn't a lot of background noise in my room. Would occaisional TV noise from underneath the tank stress my beardies out too much? I'm not a night owl, so it would be off by abut nine or ten, and not on all the time--Mostly to watch a movie occaissionally and maybe play a video game or two. I'm not much of a TV person, but I'd like to have one.

Thanks for any help!

setup sounds fine but probably best to separate the dragons as soon as you can get another suitable cage setup, before you see aggression.

As for the temps getting a little hotter, its not a real concern. 113F isn't a dangerous temperature for the basking spot to get (assuming this is surface temp and not ambient) as long as there is a cooler place for dragons to retreat to in the cage (cool end, lower part of basking area etc)

I never really seen a need to use a dimmer or thermostat with basking lights. If your cage gets really hot fast, then probably better off just using a lower wattage bulb.

Basking temps between 100-120F is fine, just keep in mind to make sure they have a cooler area to move to if they need to cool down. Bearded dragons are better able to determine what they need temperature wise than we can, which is why it is stressed to provide a temperature gradient.

As for the TV underneath...i don't think it will be a problem, but it will depend on your dragons... if they stop eating completely or freak out when the TV is on, then they are not likely to enjoy it. I would think bass sounds would be a greater concern because of the vibrations. Also keep in mind TV's produce heat and that may throw your temps off too.
-----
PHLdyPayne

I use Helix proportional thermostats on all my setups. They dim the lights not turn them on/off. A few other manufacturers also make proportional thermostats.

The down sides are cost. The Helix is about $130. Your also cannot directly control the basking spot temp. because if you put the probe there and the animal laid on it the temp. would be inaccurate and overheat the animal and cage. So you have to put the probe near the basking spot and then find the right bulb that gives the right basking spot temp. when the ambient is at the setting.

The positive side is safety. The bulbs are full on to warm the tank in the am but as the house heats up in the afternoon the bulbs are dimmed appropriately.

Simplest dimmer is made by Zoo Med. Plug their dimmer into the wall, plug your lights into the dimmer and then a slide switch dims them.

Yeah, I was never really intending to take two, but as you can probably see from the description of their previous set up, taking two was probably the best thing for them. Their previous owners weren't at fault, and are still trying to find homes for two of the three they have left, but I could afford to care for two and it helped the other three get better care. So I sort of unexpectedly adopted two when I had planned for one. the one dragon I was supposed to get was going to be a "classroom pet" in my father's classroom while I was getting ready to move out. I have two set ups, they're slightly different but all the essentials are there, but one is the weekly set up the other is the weekend setup. I know they need seperated, but we aren't allowed into the school on the weekends to feed, and I have no place right now for two set ups. Is there anything else I can do? I'd love suggestions. as awful as this sounds, would a ten gallon tank be enough for two days a week? I'm trying to keep the moing stress down to a minimum, so I'm hesitating on that. Right now with a 20L they have 180 square inches each to claim as territory, and I have read that is enough for babies.

Also, those temperatures are spot temps. I can't seem to get an accurate ambient temp, but the cool side is about eighty (I may get an on/off timer for the light on the cool end and just do an hour on/hour off thing to keep it cool but not below seventy-five daytime, which is what hapens if I just shut it off.

At night I just leave the under tank heater on, and right now (I turned their light off about an hour and a half ago) the temperature in one spot is about 89. The cool side has nothing so I'm estimating at seventy-five (I'm going to check in a minute...takes a few minutes for the spot thermometer to give me a number)

Thanks so much for your help!

The cool side should be room temp. or as close as possible to it. So don't put a heat lamp at all there. Don't give any nighttime heat. Room temp is fine down to about 60. They need this cooler temp. to slow their metabolism and sleep correctly.

Sorry but a 10 gal. is too small for even one baby. It is too small to give temperature separation which is necessary for thermo regulation. I would search craigslist.org for used items. Maybe you'll get lucky and someone will have larger accommodations they no longer have a need for.

Thank's what I was thinking, actually, about the ten gal. But I wanted to double check.

Thanks for your help!

I have my dragons underneath or beside my tv, I like looking at them while I watch tv...

My little girl was stressed for about 2 weeks when I moved her in, my tv is on 75% of the time, and it may have been the sound that kept her stressed, however now she is fine, and I would assume used to noises...

My other 2 never even showed stress at all, and they live in the same area around the tv.

try turning up the sound slowly as to not startle the dragon with a sudden loud sound...?

But I think the TV is the only suitable place to put your dragons.
I do not think they are so interesting I can sit and watch a dragon cage for an hour.
But if I am watching TV, they are always in my periferal vision, so I can turn attention to them, when they ARE interesting...
I need to figure out how to get my Baal Python around my TV now,