# Beardie Newbie advice.....Equipment!



## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

Hey all.

I was due to get a couple of geckos, but I've changed my mind and I'm due to get a beardie 

I have the following equipment -

4ft x 2 ft Vivarium (Please see attached pic)









Habistat Heat Mat - (47x11 inches)
Extro Terra Feeding Dish - Medium
Large Grape Vine
Digital Thermometer
Komodo feeding tongs
Large Komodo water bowl
Some trailing plants
10l Cork Granules substrate
Large Pro Rep Hide
Large Trixie Jesper Corner House (Which I guess will be far too small for a beardie haha)


Now I need some advice on what I need to complete my setup?

I know I need to get a spot lamp, but I'm not sure which one to get!?!? As you can see from the pic of my vivarium, It has a large hole, so what fitting would you suggest?

I've also read that I need to get a UV strip lamp, so was looking to get the Arcadia T5 controller (29-34W) and the Arcadia D5 34inch lamp.

Is there anything else?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but any help would be awesome 

Thanks in advance

Chris


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

Times may have changed but from when I had a beardie hardly anyone used heatmats. You need to ditch the heat mat and get a spot lamp as you suggested with some sort of dimmer stat so you can control the temperature. You definately need a UV strip. As i'm wrting this i'm feeling like you haven't done much research?


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## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

I've done a fair bit, but I need what I've said confirming?

I've read that they absorb heat from above, but I had the heatmat due to looking at getting geckos so included this in the equipment list!


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

Oog3ck0oO said:


> I've done a fair bit, but I need what I've said confirming?
> 
> I've read that they absorb heat from above, but I had the heatmat due to looking at getting geckos so included this in the equipment list!


 
Fair enough, don't think i'm having a snipe at you by the way. I just think people need to make sure they have read loads of care sheets before buying a pet and make sure the set up is fully functioning first because it take a while to get the temps right. I wasn't having a go at you: victory: 

I'll have a quick look and see if i can get some links for the equipment you'll need.


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

oh and it may not be wise to leave the tank where it is in the picture, the tv and xbox may stress the beardie out. At the very least move the xbox. I once had a crestie which became really ill which I believe to be due to the vibrations from my xbox and noise from my tv. (the tank was right next to it)


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## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

I haven't got it sitting in a shoe box waiting to go in to the viv haha!

I'm asking here as it seems a really useful tool for doing said 'research' 

I would just like to use the experts advice on here to help me create the best set-up possible


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

*HEATING REQUIREMENTS:*
Beardys seem to like it best at 100-110f under the spotlight, with a gradient of 80-90f in the centre and 70-75f at the cool end. It is absolutely vital that you have a gradient, if you do not have somewhere for your animal to cool down it will eventually die of heat exhaustion, due to not be able to regulate their own body temperature, known as thermoregulation. The have no way of controlling their own body temperature other than by sitting under a direct source of heat radiation and then being able to move away from it when they need to cool down a touch.
I have heard people putting heat mats down the ‘cool’ end of the viv, this is really not necessary, they will only go and lay down that end if they are too hot or if they wish to sleep or to hibernate(see brumination). The adult Beardy has a liking for half burying itself in the substrate at night, ( for security?)and to be cool, this way, you will not ever have to turn off your thermostat, the animals will thermo regulate themselves entirely, without the need for you to have a ‘night time’ drop on the thermostat, though if your room only drops to between 70-80f you could happily turn of the spot at night.
I prefer to use an incandescent heat source for my hotspot, I use a blue daylight bulb or a white light bulb, there is some research to indicate that either of these types of light blend with the UV and create a more natural sunlight effect. The other reason is simple; I cannot see if a ceramic is on visually and that bothers me, if an incandescent has blown, I can see it immediately. I match the size of the bulb to the viv, in the 6' viv there is a 250 watt white spotlight, i have found that 100-150 watt par spotlights work very well.
*THERE IS NO PLACE IN A BEARDY TANK FOR HEAT MATS, THEY ARE LETHAL!!*​It is very important that when you set your hotspot up to check the temperature, I put a stick on thermometer under the spot, one in the middle if the viv and one down the cool end. I now have also purchased several digital ones with probes which are very useful for periodically checking.
In order to achieve a steady and safe temperature a good quality thermostat should be used, I recommend Habistat or Algarde thermostats ‘others’ that I have tried have let me down, those two haven’t. If you use a light bulb, to get the best life out of them I would recommend the use of dimming thermostats, they are kinder on the bulbs and your eye, the light goes off suddenly with a normal temp stat, and believe me if you have several of them going at once it will look like a disco! Having said that if its all you can afford, they work effectively. If you use a ceramic the best thermostat to use is a pulse proportional which keeps the constant temperature by ‘pulsing’ electricity through it, it is very efficient and cheap to run, all my snake enclosures run off pulse proportionals as I use heat cables.
I also have 4 inch deep vents running all the way across the back of the vivariums to allow good ventilation for the lizards, the warm are is regularly replaced this way and does not become stagnated. 
*LIGHTING:*
All diurnal lizards require UV light from the sun, in order to produce vitamin d3 which they require to metabolise calcium, the single most important element that a lizard requires. I have heard people say that they have maintained Bearded Dragons on liquid d3 drops and calcium supplements, I know someone who did, the animals I believe suffered from too much as it is very difficult to gauge an accurate liquid dose, all his animals die young from liver and kidney failure and a lot of them are also infertile, so I do not recommend this practise. Your dragon will need a minimum of a 5.0 UV tube, there are 8.0 on the market these days, but my animals have done well with 5.0 so I don’t feel the need to change them at this moment in time. What a lot of people do wrong is to put the tube too high, UV from these tubes only penetrates a maximum of about 12” so it is important to have them at a level where the animals can get the most benefit from it. My animals can climb onto it a lie on it if they so wish, they know when they need UV and will deliberately spend several hours a day lying under or on it, Uv tubes should be changed yearly at the minimum, what I have in some of my vivariums is two starter units and run my first tube for a year then add a second one, when the first one then reaches 18 months I replace it, thus hopefully getting the maximum I can expect from each tube.
The length of time you have your UV on depends on the time of the year, winter I have them on for 8 hours a day, summer they are on for 14 hours, this can also serve to ‘cycle’ your animals to winter and summer thus helping to convince them that it is spring and time to mate as you gradually increase your light levels up from 8 to 14 hours over a few weeks


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

copied and pasted from first care sheet that came up


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## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

P.S. it's going on a chest of drawers, but on the floor for the meantime as going to have to shift the room around to accommodate 

and thanks for that info. Very useful;


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

Heat Bulb: Probably want the 100w or 75w
Basking Spot Lamp

Heat bulb fitting: make sure it's wide enough to cover the hole
Ceramic Reflector Clamp Lamp

Dimming Thermostat:
Dimming Thermostat

UV light fitting:
Fluorscent Bulb Ballast

UV light: make sure you get one to run the whole length of the viv. 
Repti Glo 10.0

You can find cheaper ones, these are just examples.


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

I would suggest you do a google sear for bearded dragon care sheets and read at least 5 to get a good understanding of the care requirements.


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## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

For the heat bulb, What kind of equipment would you suggest?

I've looked at the http://www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk/zoo-med-lamp-stand-standard-50-97cm-x-20-38cm-lf-20.html

WOuld that work well with the large hole that I have in the top of the viv?


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## Lew (May 31, 2009)

if it's big enough to cover the hole, yeah


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## Electric Ant (May 16, 2012)

As a total noob and as this is a list for beginners can I suggest adding the following to the list:

-Get at least two viv thermometers as it helps with working out where to put your temp probe and whether the gradient is ok. I will be getting a second one as soon as.
-A timer switch so the UV and heat lamp can be switched on and off at a regular interval.I picked up an inexpensive pair of timers from Homebase.
-Dog poo bags to make spot cleaning easier....I'm sure I will learn to love my dragon poo and all but in the meantime these are handy .......


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## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

I invested in the following last night after some research-

Arcadia T5 controller with an 22inch Arcadia T5 - D3 bulb

Zoo med lamp stand which will hold the Zoo med deep dome combo light with x 1 100w spot bulb (day) and x 1 100 ceramic (for night)

Habitat dimming thermostat to regulate the spot Lao and ceramic temperature!


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## Tyke2002 (Mar 16, 2012)

Pet insurance incase it's not well  doesn't really count as equipment though


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## KENT REPTILE RESCUE (May 11, 2012)

Oog3ck0oO said:


> Hey all.
> 
> I was due to get a couple of geckos, but I've changed my mind and I'm due to get a beardie
> 
> ...


dont worry about a heat mat just get a 100w basking spot light and get a dimmer stat i use this on all my beardie vivs work great have a thermometer next to the stat sensor and a thermometer at the other end of the viv so you can see the temps on the hot end and the cold end 
you must have a uv tube that runs the full lengh of the viv and for beardies must have a min of 10%uvb and 33% uva you dont need to heat viv at night unless your home drops below 20 beardies need a day and night so use timers have lights on for a min of 12hrs a day and let it all shut down for night 
substrate i would reconmend astro turf as easy to wash or desert sand would not use bark ground walnut or paper pellets they can be ingested when feeding heat rocks are a no no i also use r.o water or bottled water to eliminate chlorine from tap water 
you will find beardies poo and smell this is normal dont bleach viv use a reptile safe disinfectant 
anything you need to ask feel free but i reconmend reading up either books or net


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## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

Thanks for that 

R.E. Night time heating, I've gone down the ceramic bulb route, would you say this is a good idea? I've also invested in a 2nd thermometer to monitor temperatures at the cooler end!

I'm going to send the heat mat back


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## Electric Ant (May 16, 2012)

KENT REPTILE RESCUE said:


> anything you need to ask feel free but i reconmend reading up either books or net


I might just take you up on that offer!! The problem is you can read a lot of contradictory information on the net and you don't know what is genuine. 

Thanks for the advice. I was a bit alarmed by the poo but at least she is doing her business.

My day heat source is a ceramic and she's sitting under it gaping at me so I presume I got the temp right. I haven't had any heat on at night so far (only had her two days) and she just put herself to bed in the corner when the lights went out. I presume an advantage of a ceramic is you can have it on at night if the temps get too low?


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## Electric Ant (May 16, 2012)

Tyke2002 said:


> Pet insurance incase it's not well  doesn't really count as equipment though


I've just checked the Money Saving Expert website and got a quote from Exotic Direct for insuring one Beardie

Death, Theft, Fire, Weather Perils & £1,000 Veterinary Fees £12.37 per month for 10 months or a single payment by Credit/Debit card of £123.66. 
Covers....
For loss by fire, proven theft, lightning, storm or wind (?!).
For death as a result of an accident or illness.
For veterinary fees for an accident, illness, up to £1,000 per policy year.
An excess of £35 in respect of veterinary treatment, (a larger excess may apply to certain treatments).
An excess of 10% of the sum insured in respect of each and every fire and/or theft claim.

Money Saving Expert also recommend some instant access saving accounts if you want to set money aside instead of getting insurance. I think that is what I will do as max vet fees of £1,000 (less XS) doesn't seem much coverage.


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## Oog3ck0oO (May 7, 2012)

Hiya Ant.

The ceramic bulb emits heat without any light Also= You can sleep away without light shining in your face )


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## KENT REPTILE RESCUE (May 11, 2012)

oog3ck0oo said:


> thanks for that
> 
> r.e. Night time heating, i've gone down the ceramic bulb route, would you say this is a good idea? I've also invested in a 2nd thermometer to monitor temperatures at the cooler end!
> 
> I'm going to send the heat mat back


ceramic is fine just keep eye on temp as if it fails you wont know where as with a spot it fails you can see it


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## KENT REPTILE RESCUE (May 11, 2012)

electric ant said:


> i might just take you up on that offer!! The problem is you can read a lot of contradictory information on the net and you don't know what is genuine.
> 
> Thanks for the advice. I was a bit alarmed by the poo but at least she is doing her business.
> 
> My day heat source is a ceramic and she's sitting under it gaping at me so i presume i got the temp right. I haven't had any heat on at night so far (only had her two days) and she just put herself to bed in the corner when the lights went out. I presume an advantage of a ceramic is you can have it on at night if the temps get too low?


mine poo for england lol


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