Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Built a cage for my first baby, 24x24x50, shelf at one end, 2 clamp lights mounted on top 50w halogen flood for basking and 26w repti glo 10.0 for UV,but this was 4-5 years ago and aas I just ìnherited`2 more brats I am trying to update my knowledge (old age plays hell with memory)What is the general rule of thumb for cage sizes*requirments, and what lighting as well..would like any non-pet alternatives you can offer in the lighting department as I know alot of the time you are paying for the *PET* packaging not a different product. Should mention that I own 3 clamp style lamps and only 1 strip so need the bulb ideas for both styles. Sorry this is so long but am trying not to forget any pertinent information.

Elaine

With the above dimensions - do you mean 50inches long, by 24 wide? Im assuming that you do - but just in case, wanted to clarify..

The cage size you have is perfectly acceptable for one dragon, adult. The other adult should have the same sized cage - if you built the first one you may find it easiest to build a second one. Or you can purchase a tank - something the equivilant of a 75gallon or larger is sufficient.

How old are the dragons you got? If they are already adults and have lived together their whole lives with no issues - and are (of course) both female, then you can potentially house them together, but you will want to build a much larger tank. Probably another foot or so in length and twice as wide? You esstentially want to at least double the floor space.

If they are babies or juvies then they shouldnt be housed together at this age anyway - its never recomended to house young dragons together as they stress each other out, compete for basking spots and food. Also, if you dont know the sex of the dragons you will be in for trouble in the future if they turn out to be male/female or male/male. If they are babies you could effectively section the tank you have now in half for a cople months while you build or buy another tank.

As far as lighting/heating goes - you want a basking spot of 105-115degrees. YOu can use regular house hold bulbs for this - or halogen, really anything that gives off heat and light. I have always just used household bulbs or varying wattages because its cheaper.

As you know, UVB is important. The repti-sun 10.0 fluorescent is still considered the best fluorescent variety and it would work well with the fixture you already have.

The other option is to use a mercury vapor bulb - which gives off both heat and light, the mega-ray is one of the best varieties of this, and can be purchased from www.reptileuv.com. These bulbs fit into the clamp lamp/dome fixture setup - not the strip.

Hope this helps!
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1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

Everything you used in the past still work now so you don't have to change anything.

Basking light bulb can come from any store, flood styles work well in spreading heat and light over a wide basking area. Unfortunately UVB lights still have to come from a pet store or online source.
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PHLdyPayne

yes the original cage is 50" long, I have a tank that is 13Wx18Tx36L that I hope will do for the juv female for now (I know it is too narrow for long) and I may use it for the adult male's permanent cage, only because he is small and missing a few toes(came from a vet tech I know when he was "given" to the clinic)so he doesn't do a whole lot of climbing so a second level with a ramp is about all he can manage. Will be building a new permanent home for the female as time and $$ allow, so for now the male will have to deal with his 12Wx15Hx25L tank, which is much better than the 10Wx12Hx20L he was in at the clinic. Never planned on having more than 1 dragon maybe 2 so this is a definate push on finances & space. As for using house bulbs for basking can anyone offer watttage sizes needed as I am unsure what to use and the darling 4 legged furry child decided to use my thermometer as a chew toy and as cash is tight to non-existent replacement is not an option right now.

Elaine

It is impossible to know what is the best wattage of light for your tanks. To be honest if your finances are so tight you can't afford a $8 digital thermometer, it probably be best to not get new dragons. Feeding and housing them properly will cost more, especially when the female is older. That cage you want to keep the male in now and after you move the female, is still too small. minimum cage size is 4'x2' of floor space. Even if your male is only 16" long he still needs more space than a 3' long cage. It may do for a few months but not as a life time cage. Same with the female sub adult (if housed in there alone).

But right now you need at least a 75 watt bulb to provide basking temperatures and a UVB bulb, for both cages (the tube/strip uvb lights are typically cheaper, just make sure they are close enough to the top of the basking area to provide optimal UVB exposure). Get the digital thermometer or borrow one if a friend has some. Keep it well out of reach of 4 legged furry and chewing critters, and for good measure, make sure they don't chew any electrical devices either..power strips, cords etc.)

It is important to have the digital thermometer with probe or even a temp gun to measure basking spot temps and cool side temps. If these temperatures are too high or too low than it can harm, even kill your dragon. Also, the design of the cage, your normal house room temperature and other factors can effect how hot any given wattage of bulb gets a basking spot. A 125 watt flood style bulb works great to keep my dragon's basking spot temps at 115F in mid area of the basking spot but it may cook your dragon completely.

IN my case I have a 5'x2'x2' home made cage which has screen doors in the front. The top is solid except for a hole I had to put in to get the power cord for the double florescent shop light fixture I have inside (I use one full spectrum tube and one repti-glo 8.0 UVB bulb in the double fixture..I like the extra light this provides the cage for the entire length of the cage (the fixture is 4 feet long). For the basking spot I have a 125 Watt flood light bulb.

When my dragon was younger I kept her in basically a 20 gallon long sterlite container (clear) with the same watt bulb but this worked because the container was open topped and the bulb wasn't as close to the top of the basking spot as it was in a clamp light fixture..so the temps were in the same range but more heat escaped from the top of the cage. But I needed to check temperatures in the spring as my apartment doesn't have heat controls and when the main boiler is on, it can get as hot as 80F in my apartment, especially when a spring day was exceptionally warm..which resulted in the small cage getting far too hot, even in the cool end..so I would have to switch bulbs to a lower wattage. (75 watt for the most part)

Bearded dragons need to have a hot spot of at least 95F but better to have a range from 95F-120F available so the dragon can choose what temp he wants to bask in. They also need a cooler section so they can get out of the heat and cool down..during the day this should be no higher than 80F (low to mid 70's is best). At night it is fine for this to drop to your normal room temperature, even as low as the low 60's F. If basking temperatures are too low, your dragon won't thrive. IF temperatures are too hot in the basking area they may not even go near it (though if the floor temperature around the basking spot is in a good range, should be fine) and if the cool end is too hot as well, your dragon is at risk of dying from heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Thus why it is important to have an accurate thermometer to measure basking spot temperatures and cool end temperatures.

Three bulb wattages to try would be 75, 100 and 125 wattage bulbs. Unfortunately the more 'energy efficient' bulbs tend to not produce what you need, heat. Light is good but need it to give off heat as well. Thus the more energy efficient bulbs and the compact bulbs, are not good as a heat source, unless they are used in conjunction with a ceramic heat emitter. (also you do need good to high light intensity..these are animals used to living in relatively open semi arid to light forested areas in the wild with plenty of sun exposure)
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PHLdyPayne

Perhaps I "mis-spoke". It is only that there is no extra cash NOW. I am WELL aware how much the upkeep will be as these are not my first lizards or only pets. If you notice I said I inherited them so there was no money budgeted for any cash outlays - lights thermometers etc, As for keeping furry things away from electrical things . . DUH. Thank you for the wattage info as that was what I was looking for - a starting point.

Elaine