Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay i plan on buying a beardie in the upcoming 2 weeks, ive come up with some plans. the cage is 68 inches wide and 30 inches tall and has a depth of 24 inches.it equals out to 211 gallons.

also suggestions on substrate???? i would like to use sand to give a natural vibe to it. not calci sand but play sand. i dont think i will feed the beardie in the enclosure. so is their still a possible problem of impaction? if not sand i was thinking maybe large pea sized gravel????

thanks in advance for help
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CHONG188

a 200 gal enclosure would be more than sufficient, one very spoiled beardie! this would be more than adequate for and adult, but a juvi would be lost in there.

susbtrate wise, play sand is fine for adults unless they are messy eaters. babies & small juvis should be on shelf liner or paper towel, in like a 20 gal to start with. i would not recommend pea sized gravel, if accidentally swallowed it certainly cause complications.

what are your plans for uvb supply? recall that fluorescent tubes are only good up to 10" from source. you should be considering mercury vapour for larger distances in big tanks. they also give out good light and heat.
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Ross

0.1 Bearded Dragon (Fuego, spent the last 10 months thinking she was a he!)
2.1 Roommates (require more cleaning up after than the dragon)

well this cage isnt really that tall so i think i will hang a 48" zoo med reptisun 5.0 or some new Uvb 48" fleurescent bulb that came out in the petland over here, its 8.0 and claims to be used specifically for desert animals, not sure who makes it i think its exo-terra, anyways i will hang it down 6-8 inches so with a highered basking spot they should easily be able to reap the benefits of this bulb......correct me if im wrong tho thanks
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CHONG188

I totally agree on cage size. If you get a small BD just make a cardboard divider so you can partition the cage and then slowly enlarge it as he grows.

As for MVB, it is my experience that MVB do not put out the amount of heat that a halogen or even a tungston spot bulb produce. The newer bulbs are puting out more UV and less heat from my understanding (not first hand experience) for a lot of info on UV lighting go to
Link

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Bennett

Home of the Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com