Reptile Lover’s Thread!!

[Gigachad poultry]

ah okay i understand a bit better know! thanks! i was doing a bit of 2am research on bearded dragons as one does at 2am in the morning and i saw that bearded dragons will eat other tiny tiny baby bearded dragons and other small lizards or small baby birds like the button quail native to where they live or basically any living thing big enough to fit into their mouth. So that made me wonder if feeding tiny a small baby garden skink here and there or maybe a frozen pinky mice in case if the pet store is out of crickets or meal worms. im actually getting a breeding setup for various kinds of insects like crickets, super worms, wax worms, horn worms, and silk worms! i think giving his bug side of his diet more variety might be good for him! im also growing lots of plants for him so i can cut the cost of veg\greens as the prices in the stores are rising.

I hope to also have enough money to make him a vivarium type setup like in this photo! his setup seems a bit depressing so im going to give it an upgrade!
View attachment 3678886
View attachment 3678887

his bioactive substrate would allow me to add in a bit of clay so he can make burrows and the background will be made from foam so i can hopefully make him an awesome looking burrow area for him to hide!

from the reasearch i've done im sure he will love a burrow and the ability to dig. in the wild they will make dens under logs

in substrate

and im sure he will love the enrichment from this!

 

[Gigachad poultry]

i need an opinion! i've been looking at terrariums and im wondering if a wooden terrarium is safe for a dessert bioactive setup? the substrate will be made of sand, dessert soil, clay, and it will have spring tails. in also planning on having lots of rocks with a foam background so is it okay when paired with wood? here is a photo, its 100cm by 50cm

 

[Qwerty3159]

I’m sure he’ll love it!

I’m sure you’ve been researching different methods of making the foam background, but if I may add a piece of advice from personal experience. Avoid the spray foam -> silicone -> substrate method of making the background for the beardie. Heavy lizards with large claws have absolutely shredded those backgrounds on me before. I think grout is now an accepted/suggested medium to put over the foam, and it leaves a nice rocky texture.

 

[Qwerty3159]

i need an opinion! i've been looking at terrariums and im wondering if a wooden terrarium is safe for a dessert bioactive setup? the substrate will be made of sand, dessert soil, clay, and it will have spring tails. in also planning on having lots of rocks with a foam background so is it okay when paired with wood? here is a photo, its 100cm by 50cmView attachment 3679044

I think a wooden terrarium with proper sealant would be fine. However, since that appears to be made of particle board or something similar I wonder if it would be possible at all to get a good coat of sealant into it. Any moisture that accesses the particle board will quickly ruin it. Obviously a desert terrarium will not be loaded with water, but there will always be some moisture in the substrate to keep your cleanup crew alive, not to mention from the dragon’s feces.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

I’m sure he’ll love it!

I’m sure you’ve been researching different methods of making the foam background, but if I may add a piece of advice from personal experience. Avoid the spray foam -> silicone -> substrate method of making the background for the beardie. Heavy lizards with large claws have absolutely shredded those backgrounds on me before. I think grout is now an accepted/suggested medium to put over the foam, and it leaves a nice rocky texture.

awesome thanks for the advice! i think i will use grout to put over the foam and add in some red sand\rocks to give it a more natural feel to where he'd live in the wild.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

I think a wooden terrarium with proper sealant would be fine. However, since that appears to be made of particle board or something similar I wonder if it would be possible at all to get a good coat of sealant into it. Any moisture that accesses the particle board will quickly ruin it. Obviously a desert terrarium will not be loaded with water, but there will always be some moisture in the substrate to keep your cleanup crew alive, not to mention from the dragon’s feces.

okay, i definitely have some sealant and im hopeful this will work out and i will get him a nice bioactive setup, he seems to sleep a lot recently and im not too sure why, like he gets up and goes to his heat lamp and eats when i feed him but he kinda just sleeps all day. i hope giving him a better setup will make him more lively!

 

[Qwerty3159]

okay, i definitely have some sealant and im hopeful this will work out and i will get him a nice bioactive setup, he seems to sleep a lot recently and im not too sure why, like he gets up and goes to his heat lamp and eats when i feed him but he kinda just sleeps all day. i hope giving him a better setup will make him more lively!

What kind of equipment are you using to measure the temps and humidity? Maybe it is too cold in the cage.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

What kind of equipment are you using to measure the temps and humidity? Maybe it is too cold in the cage.

i have been using a heat gun to check around his setup to make sure its at the right temps, i have a de-humidifier in my room as i know its not safe for bearded dragons to have lots of humidity. Is that safe?

 

[Qwerty3159]

i have been using a heat gun to check around his setup to make sure its at the right temps, i have a de-humidifier in my room as i know its not safe for bearded dragons to have lots of humidity. Is that safe?

Yes! Infrared heat gun is the best tool I can think of.

The only other thing I’d recommend is a decent digital hygrometer. AcuRite is a good brand.

You may or may not know this, but all of those analogue temperature and humidity gauges they sell at the pet store are garbage.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I’m planning to do a bioactive for my new gecko as well.