# Bearded Dragon - Startup Kit Advise Needed!



## hannay (Sep 25, 2010)

hello all.

I'm looking to get a young bearded dragon

I've found the vivarium, but am getting a bit confused to all the other bits that need to go in.

The "starter" kits don't seem to be recommended, and I'm happy to spend money where it is needed.

I'm trying to get all my gear from Net Pet Shop as they will deliver free to the Isle of Man.

I'm going to base around the Vivexotic EX48.

I've seen the Habistat Day/Night Pulse-proportional Thermostat recommended too.

Can you guys recommend:
Heating - thinking ceramic would be best, but what wattage for a 4x2x2 tank? and what holder?

Lighting - i believe this is just for the day time and is switched off at night by the dimmer in the thermostat, is that right?

UVB - looking at the arcadia D3 12% - that ok? and what fittings do i need for it?

How is all this set up? Does the UVB, ceramic heater and light all go off at night? how do i keep beardie warm enough at night if so? or is it just the light and uvb that goes off, with the ceramic heater staying on?


Thanks in advance :2thumb:


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## nooney165 (Mar 28, 2010)

hannay said:


> hello all.
> 
> I'm looking to get a young bearded dragon
> 
> ...


i would use a spot bulb on a stat and a 10%uvb turn both off at night

list of equipment 

1 viv (size depends how old) 
1 uvb tube 10% 
1 uv starter 
1 light fitting 
1 clear heat bulb (again depends what size viv you get)
1 dimming stat
2 digital thermometers (one for each side)
1 basking rock 
1 climbing branch (so the beardie will be able to get 4-6 inch close to the uvb)
1 hide
1 water bowl
and some decorations 
for substate use news paper or kitchen roll much easyer to clean and safe for the dragon 

hope i havent missed anything out 

you will find all that here Equipment Classifieds - Reptile Forums

and i would get a beardie off a breeder you can look on here you can get hatchlings for about £20 Lizard Classifieds - Reptile Forums

and have alook on care sheets on here you will find anythink you need to no about care and that 

hope this helps :2thumb:


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## leemancity (Sep 19, 2010)

hannay said:


> hello all.
> 
> I'm looking to get a young bearded dragon
> 
> ...


you should only turn off the uv tube do not turn off the heat bulb you really only change the settings of a night if you wish to breed etc but to start off keep it simple keep the heat steady and please do not use a bulb holder on an angle use a straight down holder.
The angle holders are one of my blood boiling topics, in my opinion straight down holders give your pet the option of controling their body heat at one end of the viv for heat/basking and the cooler end for cooling i have found in several cases if you use an angled holder the heat is pushed across the viv with no cool spots.
this is just my opion other members may disagree but take in all the facts and make your own decision also ask your local pet store and look at there set up you never see angled heat lamps in a pet store.
beardies are great lizards and are fun to watch.
happy hunting and please keep us posted on your progress


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## Ambersnake (Jun 6, 2010)

Good advise from the reponses so far! For lighting I use 2 bulbs, 1 75watt which comes on automatically at 7a.m and off at 8.30pm and a second 45 watt which comes on for apprx 3 hours around midday to provide a 'high noon' temperature peak! Uvb I use a reptisun 10% 36inch with reflector! These alone keep the temperature perfect, however I also used a Microclimate 350w Ahs heater which is thermostatic and also has built in pulse proportional technology! (recommended) which regulates the night time temperatures!


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Few mixed responses so far.

1 - the 12.0 is better than a 10.0
2 - you *don't* leave the heat bulb on all night and only turn it down if you want to breed !!


A lot of the starter kits are a bit crap and give you stuff you don't always need it can often be cheaper to buy the bits seperately.

4x2x2 viv is the commonly recommended size.
Heat bulb, standard house hold spotlight is the best option as they're cheap to buy. 
Dimmer stat for the heat bulb. 
12.0 (or 10.0) UVB tube almost the full length of the viv.
UV starter unit
Digital thermometers

They're the essentials, anything else after that is for the insides really, food / small water bowl; climbing / basking rocks etc.

Try and get the beardie to be around 8inches from the UVB to get the benefit from it. Using a reflector increases the range of the UVB.

They don't need any additional night time heating unless it drops to below about 15c regularly at night, and then they just need some background heat to bring it to around 18c.
You definately *don't* want to keep a heat bulb on all night especially if it's a spot light. This would be like trying to sleep on a sunbed everynight; they come from Australia not Narnia. It gets cold and dark at night just like over here.


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## hannay (Sep 25, 2010)

thanks for the responses so far - really appriciated


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## hannay (Sep 25, 2010)

do the UVBs come with all required fixings?


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

nope, you'll need to get a start for it. Arcadia are the most popular ones; they come in different wattages but the wattage is determined by the length of tube.


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## loulou87 (Sep 10, 2010)

you need- 

a viv- 3 ft minimum for one beardie
a bulb holder (you can get one in B and Q for cheap! the same as you would use in your house
a spotlight- i use 100W bulb and it works really well in a 3ft viv
a uv STRIP light (please dont buy compact they are completely useless and affect dragons eyes) at least 10%
a starter/holder for UV
a thermomstat
decorations for viv- if you have a baby dont create anywhere for them to hide. 
substrate- nothing Loose EVER. a baby or an adult can become impacted, no need to put a risk there. plenty of other options around, try kitchen towel, drawer liner, lino, slate, tiles (non finished)
2xprobe thermometers

you set your viv up

by fitting the spotlight in one corner (in the holder of course!) i put mine in the right hand side 

By fitting the uv fitting and bulb, overlap the uv and spotlight slightly as your beardie will be basking most the time and you want him to have the benefit of UV

put the thermomstat probe in the cooler side of the viv- opposite side to spotlight.

connect your heatbulb to your thermomstat

set your thermomstat- i have a 3ft viv and set thermostat to 82 and it works to 80ish in the cooler end and 103-105 basking. i have a 100w bulb. 

add substrate. 

add decorations- you want your beardie to be able to get 6-8inches from UV

set up thermometers- 1 at basking point and one at cool end of viv

wait for an hour to check temps. you want them to be 80 cool end and 100-105 basking. If you have a baby you need to have 110-115 basking. 

if your temps are incorrect adjust thermomstat, you may need to move basking area/decs up/down to get them right. 

once you have done all this and the viv is stable THEN buy a beardie and take him/her home to its lovely well prepared viv. 

a few things to keep in mind

you turn everything off at night- as long as the temps dont go below 60F they will be fine. they need to distinguish between day and night, in Oz it gets really cold and we should try to replicate that. 

with regard to ceramic heat bulbs you dont need them- it costs alot and not necessary. 

dont use loose substrate

dont buy two! they dont appreciate company

if you want to give your beardie a bath, use luke warm water up to elbows and give them a flannel to sit on- makes them feel secure. 

when your berdie sheds they turn a white/grey colour, they can shed each body part at a time as its stressful. that means it takes a while- dont help them to shed by pulling it off- it would be like me picking at your flaky sunburn  - you can give them a bath and any difficult shed use a babie toothbrushe and rub them with that gently. 

never feed them anything bigger than the space between their eyes- as a staple there is locusts, roaches and crickets. 

never feed avacado, onion, mushroom, rubarb- they can eat quite a lot else- take a look at the food chart on here its fab! Babies are fussy but always provide fresh salad everyday

Timers are great- you dont have to get up super early!!- beardies need 1 hour of uv before they eat to get them ready. and 2 hours at night to digest anything eaten after last meal. 

generally pet shops have no idea what they are talking about!! if in doubt do a post and someone will try help you- never listen to pets at home!

Finally- give your beardie lots of cuddles they love that lots- the first time they fall asleep on you- you'll fall in love! 

I think i listed about all i can think of


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## loulou87 (Sep 10, 2010)

Meko said:


> You definately *don't* want to keep a heat bulb on all night especially if it's a spot light. This would be like trying to sleep on a sunbed everynight; they come from Australia not Narnia. It gets cold and dark at night just like over here.


:lol2:


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## nooney165 (Mar 28, 2010)

Meko said:


> You definately *don't* want to keep a heat bulb on all night especially if it's a spot light. This would be like trying to sleep on a sunbed everynight; they come from Australia not Narnia. It gets cold and dark at night just like over here.


 thank god someone has backed me up :2thumb:


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