# Bearded Dragon advice please



## Leenie (Jan 24, 2012)

Hi im hoping to get some views and advice on my bearded dragon set up, I was bought one as a 'suprise' from a close friend of mine just before xmas, completely out of the blue just because i had shown interest in them before, dont get me wrong I love him to bits now but was completely unprepared and slightly annoyed to be handed a Beardie in a fish tank with wood chippings on the floor and a household light fitting dangling in it and told to 'enjoy'! I then went to pets at home in that same hour and panic bought everything they recommended which cost me a fortune (not good the week before xmas!) anyways in january i bought him a new viv and started kitting it out properley, unfortunatly i have found so much different advice on the web and got completely different advice from every pet shop ive been in that now im worried ive not got it quite right.
So here is a run down of my set up and il try to include pictures as i go along, am new to this forum or any other forum so if i make a mistake sorry!








Ok still unsure of the sex of my Beardie so he/she is either called Clarice or Neo lol, more commonly called 'crispy bum' lol im estamating 4 and a half months old maybe 5?








The viv measures 3ft long, 20inch deep and 22inch high, solid wood, sliding glass doors at the front, vents at the back and a hole i cut in the top for the heat lamp with wire mesh.
I have used calci sand for maybe 75% of the bottom seperated by a low wall with reptile carpet on the other side which is where i feed him.
Im using a 100watt Powersun bulb mounted on the top of the lid in a reflector dome, shining through the wire mesh in the lid.








I also have a exo terra 10.0 reptiglo tube light mounted underside of the lid diagonally across 75% of the viv, but the powersun and tube light do not overlap.








I have a ceramic heater which is set to a thermostat at night time incase temp falls below 16*.
I have built the background and basking spots and ledges from poly and grout,which are painted and matt varnished with sand to make them more rough. there is also logs for climbing and a large water dish that crispy bum likes to sit in.
Now here are the temps:
Basking spot under uvb Powersun reaches 39* and is 14inches from bulb with a log close by if he wants to climb up a extra few inches.
Floor area of warm side is 33 degrees and cool side is 22 degrees.
The Repti glo 10.0 tube light is 24inch has a reflector behind it, is 18 inches from floor and 12 inches from a ledge.
I didnt think this was close enough to him to be doin the job hence me getting the powersun bulb, but now my question is, is there now too much uv in the viv as he closes his eyes quite abit?? or is that normal?? also he doesnt seen very active, mostly just sits on basking spot with eyes shut. does run about an climb but soon just goes back to where he was. 
He's had 2 sheds since ive had him, i spray him with warm water every few days an he sits in his water dish sometimes, i have also bathed him when hes been shedding.








I feed him twice a day as many crickets or locusts he will eat before he walks away, and sometimes put small mealworms in his veg bowl to encourage him, he gets Greens, grated carrot, some peas and ive tried some other stuff, including raspberries, grape, mango abit of banana and strawberries. He eats his veggies with not really much problem, some days he will some he doesnt. I also spray veg with water.
Bugs are dusted in calcium powder every other day and nutrobal 2 or 3 times a week.
Lights are set to a timer, shuts off at 9pm and back on at 9am.
So its the light and heat thats really worrying me, would he be more adventurous if whole viv was warmer? is there to much uv light? any advice appriciated as i really dont wana be doing anything wrong.


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## scottinnes (May 23, 2011)

just keep the basking spot at between 40-45c and cool end around 27-30 and have a uv10 strip lamp youl probably see them in pets at home theres all different lengths of them depending the size of the vivarium


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## rodgerthealien (May 1, 2011)

You seem to be doing everything really well, the set up looks fantastic! And he/she has got a lovely belly on them.



Leenie said:


> I didnt think this was close enough to him to be doin the job hence me getting the powersun bulb, but now my question is, is there now too much uv in the viv as he closes his eyes quite abit?? or is that normal?? also he doesnt seen very active, mostly just sits on basking spot with eyes shut. does run about an climb but soon just goes back to where he was.


If he/she has their eyes closed an unusual amount it could be that the Powersun bulb is irritating his eyes because of the amount of direct uv. Then again it is a normal beardie habit to sit under the basking lamp with their eyes closed and mouth wide open. But if you have the reptiglo uv tube it should be sufficient on its own.

In regards to the temperatures they seem okay but just watch what your beardie is doing and that should tell you better than giving you a specific temperature. So, if all he does is sits under the basking lamp it might mean its a bit cold in the tank, and if he only sits on the cooler side it might be too warm. Just fiddle around with temperatures till he seems happy.

Just make sure there is a nice temperature gradient so he can control his temp if he needs to cool down etc, you also might wanna switch to a 14/10 hour day so he gets more sunlight.

Honestly dont worry, its not an exact science and your beardie will let you know what he needs, your doing fine! :2thumb:


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

He looks like a very happy beardie to me!

Better to ask questions than to stumble around if you're not sure. I do a couple of things differently to you, but that doesn't make you wrong!

Your viv looks bigger than you say, but if it is 3ft long, it's going to be a bit small for an adult beardie. A lot of people keep them in 3ft vivs for life, but the recommendation is 4ft min. Sorry - I don't suppose you wanted to hear that!


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## Leenie (Jan 24, 2012)

Thanks for all your help so glad to hear im doin some things right! It is a 3ft, will look to gettin a bigger one when hes bigger, where ive got to keep him at the moment just wouldnt fit a 4ft unfortunatly. But i wont see him cramped so will defo size up when the time comes.


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## tracey_H_ (Jan 28, 2011)

Welcome to beardie ownership and the forum! He's stunning,looks just like mine.And love the name crispy bum lol! Dont be afraid to ask,theres some wonderfull experienced keepers on here,who are always happy to help.


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## Leenie (Jan 24, 2012)

How much should i be feeding him? He seems to be gettin abit fat and lazy lol


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## scottinnes (May 23, 2011)

i feed mine around 30 crickets a day medium 1s and sometimes locusts to if u take him out now and again let him run about hell lose the fat


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