# help on bearded dragon cage



## Chrisd (Jun 1, 2008)

hello i need help on how i should make my cage habitat would you give me info


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## ToxicSiren (Aug 8, 2008)

What would you like to know? Heating n lighting or furnishings? x


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi mate, 

Here's my info sheet,


I had my viv up and running for about a month before I got my chap, so you should give yourself time to let the viv settle in. You want a 4x2x2 viv, You will need a spot light for heat, The trick here is to get the lowest watt bulb that will get the temps you want with the dimmer stat on or near it’s max setting, this will keep the bulb bright and stop the stat from kicking in, the reason for this is beardies are sun worshipers, they like it bright, do not be tempted to use, ceramic, moonlight, or red/infra red bulbs. You want to place the spot light holder dead centre of the ceiling and a quarter of the way along, what you are looking to do is create a basking area of around 115f at one end, this should give you a temp. Of around 80f at the other end. 

You shouldn't need any heat at night as long as the temp. Doesn’t drop below 60f for any length of time. If the temps do drop below that in your home then you might think of putting in another ceramic holder with a ceramic heater in at the cool end to come on at night, if you do this you will need a second stat, or if you think this might be needed in the future you could get a day/night dimmer stat now, they're about a tenner more than a normal stat.

Ok, if you're still awake we'll continue, place the probe for the stat about a quarter way along the viv from the cool end, against the back wall, and about an inch off the substrate, if you are having night heat as well on a day/night stat then this will do for both heat sources, if you are going to use a second stat, (for the ceramic on it's own, use a pulse stat), then run the probe along side the other one. Place a digital thermometer in the basking spot, (use the probe as the temp will heat the L.E.D too much and it will become unreadable), turn on your spot, (should be on a timer to come on for 11~12 hours a day), and adjust the dial on the stat until you get your temps right. Tip here is to set the stat to its max and leave it all day, if it can't get hot enough then put a bigger bulb in, but not so big as to have the dimmer stat permanently dimming the bulb. If it gets too hot turn down the dial 1/8 of a turn, and then leave it until the same time the next day. Keep adjusting until its holding around 115f; this might take a few days of playing around.

Now the UV. If you can, get the Reptisun 10.0%; otherwise go for the Arcadia 12%. You will need a 36" tube with the necessary starter, also fit a reflector as this doubles the UV output. Place The tube dead centre about 2/3 the way up off the floor on the back wall, place wood, rocks, anything he can climb on to get to within a couple of inches of the tube, don't worry if he can touch it, it won't harm him. I have wood placed in the middle and the hot end of the viv, this gives him the choice of where he can get his UV, and I think this is over looked by a lot of people.

Have a small water bowl in the cool end to keep humidity down.












This is the cool end.











This is the hot end.














This is my view on substrate,


The $64,000 question...Again. At the end of the day it's your choice, as far as I know there is no scientific paper to suggest, tile, paper and lino are any better than, sand, wood, carpet. etc.

Or is there...?

As for me I use sand. The benefits are, good stability, kinder on feet and joints up to the shoulders and lets them dig. The only problem is, it needs changing about every 6 months to keep it fresh, some will say impaction is a problem but I can't see it, if we're talking about fit, healthy dragons, kept properly without constipated guts already, to be honest I don't think they are that clumsy, after all they've been living in arid conditions for 25,000,000 years, I think they might have adapted to their surroundings by now.

As for the rest, I think you can get too tied down with the whole impaction thing, and go overboard, I believe that all, and I mean all, other substrates can do more harm than good, if a beardie can get impaction from sand, then he can get it from woodchip and paper too (at least two topics recently on the subject), and both these have other problems too imo.

So that leaves hard surfaces, lino, tiles. Problems are; slippery, can't dig, bad body posture, long claws, so bad foot and toe posture. For rough surfaces miss out the long claws and slippery. Imo of course. 

Now this could lead to joint and bone problems later in life, any vets here?

To be honest it's a mine field, tread carefully.


Jay


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## Antw23uk (Jan 12, 2009)

i like your viv Jay and care sheet is cool.

To the poster! .. the fact you call it a 'cage' means your not ready for a reptile. Go research : victory:


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

cage or viv
tank or aquarium
flippers or fins
mask or goggles

sounds like a song.

just look after whatever you buy.

If its a beaded dragon and you want to call it the loch ness monster just go for it.

care sheet above is spot on. i would go for 14 hrs on and 10 off but it shouldnt make a huge diff.

water is not absolutely necessary if they are eating plenty of gut loaded insects and greens. but some do enjoy a drink.


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## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Antw23uk said:


> i like your viv Jay and care sheet is cool.
> 
> To the poster! .. the fact you call it a 'cage' means your not ready for a reptile. Go research : victory:


Thanks, glad you liked it.:2thumb:



Paul B said:


> cage or viv
> tank or aquarium
> flippers or fins
> mask or goggles
> ...


If you're getting one of these, then I would invest in some venomous animal training. :lol2:
Hi Paul, You're right on the time thing, I will change it to say "14 hours in the summer, down to 10 hours in the winter", what do you think?


Jay


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## memobli (Mar 15, 2011)

Hi Jay, great pics and info!!!! i have just brought a 4x2x2 viv after keeping my Beardies in a converted fish tank. After reading your info and comparing it to the shop info that i get all my supplies from i am worried now :eek4:, the shop told me to use black bulbs as main heat source for day/night temps, and also to fit the UV tube at the top of the viv at the front of the tank, nothing about using a reflector or putting the tube closer to them, at the moment i am using 2 100watt black bulbs and am struggling to reach temps above 95F at the basking end, do i need to go and get a white bulb/s rather than the black bulbs that are above 200 watts to get the temps up. i am measuring the temps with a digital thermometer about 4" of the ground, the cooler end temps are 84F, some help off of anyone would be great as i want what's best for my beardies.

p.s. love this site


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## awh (Aug 20, 2008)

hi instead of buying reptile basking lights go to focus or B&Q and buy household reflector bulbs they do the same job but are a quarter of the price buy yourself a 100watt bulb 

i use 100 watt during the winter and 60 watt or 75 watt (if i can get them 75w that is )during the summer as the dimmer stat turns the 100w down to low during the summer 
my vivs are 4 x 2 x 2


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## memobli (Mar 15, 2011)

hi awh , thanks for the input, i will go to home-base as my local one and pick up some 100w bulbs today, after looking at the pics of other set ups they all have the UV quite low down so in ur opinion what height should i have my tube at?


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