Bearded dragon - vivvarium size?
Dear Yahoo Answerers, I bought my first beardie about a month ago. I took a long time to decide whether or not it was right to preserve such an animal as a pet because of the restricted room provided by a viv.
I bought the biggest viv I could find - it is 4ft by 2ft by 2ft. Do you know what this equates to in gallons? I have be told by 2 independent reptile shops that this is sufficient for a fully grown beardie.
However I am a firm believer that the more space the better. When fully grown this viv will still not allow him to get a good range of terrain and exercise.
Which lead me to think that I may try to build my own viv: I was tempted contained by the first place but heard that getting glass cut for the front doors is difficult.
So I'm just looking to accumulate opinions. Is my viv okay size-wise? Have any of you built your own viv? What size do you have?
INFO: single dragon, 4ft by 2ft by 2ft. Decorated with rocks, wood bought from reptile shops and FALSE vines hanging from ceiling (since we added these he spends most of his time climbing up the vine, and he sleeps there!)
Thanks for any advice, info, opinion.
I'm very pleased to hear of someone else who thinks that the more space the better - too normally it seems that people are more interested in squeezing them into as small an hutch as possible for conveniences sake.
I also have a 4 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot enclosure (internal measurement) for my male beardie who is hitting 17 inches long atm, he's 5 month mature.
I know what you mean about it looking a little small, but to be honest, my beardie doesn't run around exceptionally much at all and doesn't make use of most of the space he has.
I do catch him out frequently though where he has the run of the apartment.
When i have the opportunity i will be trying to upgrade my work area to a 6 foot maybe, but if you can get him out and agree to him on the floor i think a 4 foot is perfectly acceptable.
Glass should be straightforward enough to get - just ask at an aquarium builder.
I propose you wait until your beardie fills his enclosure more up to that time you worry about it too much - they do become much less helpful as they get older.
If you hold the room and the finances to build a huge viv, go for it. You'll soon find that smaller 4x2x2 housing your second dragon! lol Because when you have an vacate viv hanging around, you just gotta fill it!
Anyway, the 4x2 is a flawless size for a full grown dragon, especially if that dragon gets some external play time as well.
Answers: The viv size u have i seen as the minimum for a happy beardie, folks often keep beardies in a smaller enclsoure (generally contained by the US where a 40 gal breeder (around 3x1.5x1.5) is seen as a good size for a beardie which is instrument to small) i the UK its seen as the minimum size u should really house an adult beardie in. but the too big myth (where those say but it wont be able to find food and it will get stressed which contained by most of the keepers i know experience is (attemps to find polite way of wording it ) rubbish ) largely runs writhe on here sometimes to the point people
your tanks specs are: UK gallons 99.66 US gallons 119.69
by the sounds of it u have a apposite viv (altho it maybe be a bit cold this would be why the beardie spends its time as high as it can but it could just approaching climbing) howeva, im also a believe of the "bigger the better" way of thinking. ive never built any of my own viv's (im terrible at DIY) but from what ive heard whether your ok with a drill and can get wood and glass cut to size later its pretty simple really.
better places to ask about this would be Http://www.reptileforums.co.uk or http://www.vivariumforum.com/community/ plenty of people who build there own viv's and would know how to give u better adivce than me on that.
but your viv as it stand seems good and is a honest size for a happy bearded dragon. but do what u think is best for your pet.
i have to ten month old beardies and they both live surrounded by a 16 gallon tank, although it looks suffiencent space for them now i may have to consider purchasing a larger container when they get fully grown, but for one yours sounds fine
the size of your tank is plenty sufficient. ive seen around 50 gal breeding tank for breardies.
btw- your tank size is 105 US gal, 396 liters, and 87 Imp. gals
Large enclosures are best for Bearded Dragons so they can aver their body temperature. Depending on the size of the Bearded Dragon you obtain, there is a giant chance you will have to purchase a larger vivarium as the Bearded Dragon grows and matures.
As a rough guideline, we recommend the following sized vivariums for housing two Bearded Dragons together:
x2/3 Babies: 10-20mm (3-5”) Use 24x15x15”
x2/3 Juveniles: 180-255mm (7-10”) Use 36x24x24
x2 Sub/Adults: 330-610mm (13-24”) Use 48x24x24
You should provide a bask area with a daytime temperature between 35-43C (95-110F) the cool fall of the vivarium should be in the range of 26-30C (80-85F). During the night the heat should drop no lower than 16C (60F), most house temperatures don’t drop below this, but if yours does, use a heat mat on the heat up side of the vivarium. UV light must be used to help Bearded Dragons obtain the Vitamin D-3 they require. Do not use a UV frothy with a percentage any lower then 5%.
Hope this helps and fitting luck.
