Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK..I have a 135gallon tank...(72"long x 18"wide x 25" tall)...from wat I understand this will be PLENTY big enough for a adult...the thing is could I put 2 in there without a big risk? I want to raise him/her from a baby, would there be any problem with starting a baby out in such a big tank. As for lighting...do those flood-light-type uvb/a bulbs work as well as the 4' ones.... They say they do heat and UVB/A...mind you this tank is rather tall and I want to make sure that they will get the proper light about halfway down the tank where the basking spot will be...They do not need a waterdish from what I gather...just a mist 2 times a day and they should be OK. Is there anything else that I am missing or do I have it covered?

Damn...there is nothing I can put in this tank ...every I ask about any kind of reptile says the tank is WAY to big for it....does anyone know anything I could put in here for lige...

you can do it with out buying a smaller tank. the danger is that the animal will not find the food.....maybe hand feed, or feed them in a rubbermaid container.

the hight of a tank is never a problem because they LOVE to climb and/or bask in the highest point anywany. So get a big stick or large piece of cork.

with a tank that big you could climb in yourself and be with your pet. maybe make a small pond in one corner for bathing/swimming....waterfall or something
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

What about doing 2 in the tank....would that work ok?....I dont know how I would be able to do it though....I didnt think you could sex them when they are that small...dont you have to wait until atleast 3 months.

Babies get along fine, even the same sex. If later it seems they are both males,or both females, they probably should not be in the same tank. You could put them in together for now, just untill you find out what sex they are. If you want two in the same tank, and dont want them to fight each other, you might want to expect them to breed with each other sooner or later.
Happy thanksgiving
Florida Bearded Dragons

Actually thats what I was hoping for..a breeding pair...as for lighting... I know I need a full spectrum bulb..if I buy a 48" model could I put it into one of those 48" shop lights you buy at Home Depot...the reason I ask is thats what I am planning to use for lighing... I could fit 2 bulbs in one fixture...a 48" reptisun 5.0 and what other one would anyone suggest

I suggest getting the Repti-Sun 10.0's. That's a very high tank, and the repti-sun 10.0's are able to throw the uvb much further then the 5.0's. Maybe get a dual fixture at home depot, and buy 1 bright white regular fluorescent bulb, and order a repti-sun 10.0 on line. I'd suggest getting a Mega Ray sb as well. The Mega Ray is a mercury vapor bulb so it provides both uvb/uva as well as heat. it would be a good bulb to put right over the basking spot for heat, and high uvb. The mercury vapor bulbs such as the mega ray brand are able to throw uvb much further down into the cage, and they screw into a regular incandescent fixture or dome light.

You can order the mega ray at www.reptileuv.com. The repti-sun 10.0 can be ordered on line from quite a few different places www.bigappleherp.com is one of them.

Dragons can be sexed at a pretty young age. I can sex them at just a few weeks old pretty accurately. if you got two females you'd have a better chance at keeping them together. Keeping a male and female together is not a good idea. The male once mature will over breed the female, and this can really be a bad situation for a female. Housing males together can be done as babies... Once mature, males start getting aggressive with each other. Male dragons are territorial, and the submissive one male or female will suffer.

You could buy young dragons and just section off the larger cage. As they grow, and their hunting skills sharpen you can give them more, and more room.

Good luck either way. dragons are awesome reptiles, and really fun to care for.
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Mystical-Dragons Web Site
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well i'm not a big fan of flourescent tubes anymore. mostly because they are a rip off. you buy them one day and they can put out UVB to about 10 inches from the bulb. the next week, the UVB only reaches about 8....by the second month your beardie has to be sitting on the freakin light buld to get any UVB....and you just pissed away $40 on that light when you should have bought a MERCURY VAPOR....which actually contains UVB.

But that is just my opinion...
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

>>Actually thats what I was hoping for..a breeding pair...as for lighting... I know I need a full spectrum bulb..if I buy a 48" model could I put it into one of those 48" shop lights you buy at Home Depot...the reason I ask is thats what I am planning to use for lighing... I could fit 2 bulbs in one fixture...a 48" reptisun 5.0 and what other one would anyone suggest
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

I was going to buy one of those flourecent lights this week, thanks for the warning.
Florida Bearded Dragons

For an adult bearded dragon or two, maybe even three, that tank is fine. However, such a large tank is harder on baby dragons. I suggest dividing the tank in a third for baby dragon(s). This way you can make the smaller area bigger as the dragon grows.
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PHLdyPayne

Thats what i had just said. Almost to the exact words.of course its much too big for babies, but for adults , its perfect.