Beardie item q's

[Mechanical8Dragon]

So Christmas is now right around the corner and I'm planning on getting my BF a tank and all the items for his beardie that he's been wanting. However, I'm not sure what KIND of things to get (well I know the kind of things, but not like, what brands, watts, etc.) so I ask for your help yes!

I know I do NOT want to use repticarpet (bleh). I've heard of people using kitchen cabinet liners, tiles, and paper towels, etc. I'd rather not use any kind of paper products though, It's too loose and flimsy and I feel the beardie would easily dig it up and make a mess out of it all. Tiles would be nice but I don't have a tile cutter to really make them fit in the tank should one be too big @_@. Not sure about the cabinet liners.

It would be REALLY cool if I could somehow make a tank for the beardie with the actual stuff in their enviroment. Loose substrate isn't the best thing, I know, and I know in the wild they're on like hard clay-type surfaces. Any way to replicate that??



But anyways, mainly just what kind of uvb lamps ya'll use, the other light sources, lamps, etc. I've read that Megaray is a really good brand, but from what I can find they just have floodlights, and from my reading your UV lights should span the length of the enclosure? What wattage do ya use for the heat lights?

[Last_Creature]

All I know is for substrate a thin lair of a sand/soil mix is really good and make sure to feed in a large dish so they don't accidentally eat substrate.
Adults need a minimum of 70 gallon but the bugger the better

[perkyjawa]

Zoo med excavator clay is a type of natural substrate that hardens to a rock-like firmness while still looking dusty and sandy!

[Mechanical8Dragon]

Oooo interesting!
and yes i plan to make sure it's fed in either a tall bowl or out of the enclosure.

[Last_Creature]

Yeah excivator clay is really good but re-softens anytime I gets wet and takes up to a week to dry which can be a bit if a pain but if you're up to a natural look where you can create burrows and maybe leave a bare patch (no clay)to put substrate in so he can dig by himself if he wants and like holders for the food/water dish etc...then it's great! But again it softens back into a moldable clay if it gets wet

[Mechanical8Dragon]

ah i see, well outside of beardie poo and bits of water splashes, I don't see how it'll get much more wet outside of that P: hehe I'llhave to see if I can find some

[perkyjawa]

DBDpet.com sells it for like 12 bucks for a ten pound bag I believe, whereas in my local pet store that size retails for $35.

There's also a coupon code (ALPHA5 is the code) for an extra 5% off your order. They have a lot of neat supplies on there for reptiles

[Mechanical8Dragon]

i found a 10lb bag on amazon for 10$

now I'm trying to find some good-reviewed reliable controls. I figure that I'll just stick to a canopy light fixture that's long enough to fit almost the whole enclosure that is duel-socketed so I can put it a full spectrum tube light, and a UVB tube light and then for his/her basking spot I'll just use a ceramic heat emitter? They seem to be able to produce good heat, but I'm unsure what wattage I'll need @_@ I'll also need reliable controls to regulate the heat output, so if anyone knows of a good thermostat let me know.

also what % of UVB should the light be? It will sit on top of the mesh screen so I assume higher than one that would be mounted IN the tank, since the mesh screen interferes a bit with the output.