This is simply a guide based on what GEORGIA BEARDED DRAGONS™ actually uses or has used in the past for our own enclosures and does not mean that this is the only correct way to create an enclosure set-up. There are a wide range of styles, methods and supplies that can be used for creating a proper bearded dragon enclosure. Depending on the type of enclosure you select the heating and lighting needs will vary and wattage of basking bulbs will vary. Basking temps must be established based on your home room temperature and possibly the time of year. To see what the basking temps should be see our Dragon Care Manual page. We have listed some of these supplies that are top in their respective categories.

We choose to use glass reptile terrariums and custom made melamine cages of varying sizes for our bearded dragons. We use Semi-Clear Sterlite bins placed on table tops to house our youngest hatchlings and young juveniles until they are sold or moved into a glass terrarium enclosure or melamine cage. Using the Semi-Clear Sterlite bins allows us easy access and the convienence and opportunity to provide our "hands-on" method of interacting and raising our bearded dragons.

We personally interact with our bearded dragons daily. With the "hands-on" care we provide we consider our dragons "pet-ready" for our customers. Because we interact with and handle our dragons routinely they become accustomed to human contact and handling. We feel this helps our dragons transition into a family setting more smoothly and with less stress.
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.CUSTOM BUILT MELAMINE CAGES (See photo gallery for pictures)
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These cages can be seen on our "Photo Gallery" page of our website. We have them built in two sizes. The outside dimensions are 4 foot x 25" deep x 20" high for our four foot cages with a 24" flourescent strip light on one side and a socket on the other side for the basking bulb. Because the melamine cages hold heat so well we use a 30 watt or 50 watt basking bulb depending on the cage temps and location of the cage since they are stackabe. Cages that are on top will use a lower wattage bulb, since heat rises, and the cages on the bottom will get a different wattage bulb since it is cooler on the floor level. The outside dimensions for our three foot cages are 3 foot x 25" deep x 20" high with a 24" flourescent strip light on one side placed at a diagonial position and a socket on the other side for the basking bulb. Because these cages hold heat so well we use a 30 watt basking bulb. We use high UVB output flourescent bulbs with a rating of 8.0 or 10.0 made especially for desert dwelling reptiles. These enclosures have front entry sliding glass doors which make them much easier to access for cleaning and they maintain a good warm interior environment for your dragons. We use a 30 watt and 50 watt basking bulb for these enclosures and find that this maintains an appropriate climate for desert dwelling reptiles. This type of enclosure holds heat very well and allows you to use a lower wattage basking bulb than a standard glass tank with a screen lid, which allows heat to escape out of the top of the tank and requires higher wattage bulbs to maintain proper basking temperatures. The added benefit of using a solid non-reflective surface such as melamine is that your dragon is not bothered by reflections that he would have in an all glass enclosure.
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TEN GALLON GLASS TANK WITH LID

This size tank is best used for hatchlings and up to a six week old dragon - depending on the individual dragon's rate of growth

* No substrate materials should be used because of the risk of ingestion
* Bottom of tank should be lined with "white" paper towels with no colored print or designs on them or newpaper
* Basking site should be available - either a flat piece of cork bark log, driftwood, or sand-blasted grapevine limb placed at an angle in the cage. The basking site location must allow your dragon the ability to get within several inches of the basking bulb and UVB source
* 5.5" ceramic base dome light fixture that will accept up to a 75-watt bulb
* 75-watt ExoTerra Sun Glo Neodymium Daylight Basking Bulb (The ExoTerra Neodymium bulbs allow you to view your reptiles in the best lighting. The Neodymium bulbs produce a crisp clean "white" light instead of the "gold tone" lighting that other incandescent bulbs give off that can visually dull-out the appearance of your reptile's coloration and patterning when viewing them under the "gold-tone" lighting.) Place your 75-watt basking bulb in the 5.5" dome light fixture and over the basking site.
* 8.5" ceramic base dome light fixture
* 20-watt ESU Reptile brand Desert 7.0 Super Coil flourescent bulb
This bulb fits in a standard socket - place in the 8.5" ceramic base dome light fixture - because of the length of this bulb it will not fit in the 5.5" ceramic base dome light fixtures so the 8.5" size should be used
* The basking site should be setup in a way that allows both light fixtures the best ability to be located side by side over the basking site so your dragon can receive both the heat from the basking bulb and the UVB from the flourescent Super Coil bulb while he or she is sitting on the basking site
* Food dish - Deli-cup lid, flat plate or small shallow dish that will allow
your small dragon the ability to access his/her food easily and see it easily
* A water dish is optional depending on if you are going to mist your dragon
daily and if you are providing "moisture rich" greens and vegetables in your dragon's diet, which you should be doing even if you are misting your dragon. Moisture rich vegetables can be grated squash and/or grated zuchinni
* The back and sides of the tank should have a "wallpaper" style covering on the outside of the glass to provide your dragon with a secure and private living environment. You can use the tank backgrounds that are available at most pet stores or you can go to your local WalMart or office supply store and purchase a package of Card Stock grade paper that is available in various neutral colors. We use both methods for our tanks - but prefer the Card Stock paper because many of the tank backgrounds that have logs in their picture will cause your dragon to want to "access or climb" the logs pictured and your dragon doesn't realize these are not real. There is a desert scene wallpaper available from many of the pet stores or Petsmart. Based on our own experience the desert scene is preferable over the ones with logs and greenery.
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TWENTY GALLON LONG GLASS TANK WITH LID

This size tank is best used for a 2-5 month old dragon - depending on the individual dragon's rate of growth

* No substrate materials should be used on dragons under 4 months of age because of the risk of ingestion of the substrate. Once your dragon reaches the 4 month age and is eating larger crickets you can switch your dragon over to a sand substrate or newpaper. We recommend non-silica based play sand or Zoo Med Repti-Sand which is ultra fine and has no additives or dyes and is all natural. Do not use Calci-Sand or Vita-Sand as you do not want your dragon to eat the sand. All supplements should come from dusting your crickets with calcium and a multivitamin not from being in their sand.
* Bottom of tank should be lined with either unprinted newspaper large end rolls are usually available at most newspaper printers and usually very cheap, regular newspaper and/or "white" paper towels with no colored print or designs on them unless your dragon has reached the appropriate size to be switched over to a sand substrate
* Basking site should be available - either a flat piece of cork bark log placed at an angle like a ramp or driftwood or a flat river rock. By the time your dragon reaches the 3-6 month old size the sandblasted grapevine limbs will be to small for your dragon to comfortably sit on for basking. The basking site location should allow your dragon the ability to get within several inches of the basking bulb and UVB source. You can also use a a flat river rock which can be purchased at a landscaping store and will provide a sufficient basking site when placed under the UVB light and basking light. The river rock will absorb heat and provide a nice basking site for your dragon.
* Food dish - Deli-cup lid, flat plate or small shallow dish that will allow your small dragon the ability to access his/her food easily and see it.
* A water dish is optional depending on if you are going to mist your dragon daily and/or soak him/her in mild warm water a couple of times a week and if you are providing "moisture rich" greens and vegetables in your dragon's diet (which you should be doing) such as grated yellow squash or grated zuchinni
* A medium to large half round log hide to give your dragon a "private hiding place" and as an additional place to sit when your dragon is not basking. Half round log hides are also great as a stabilizer for the base of the cork bark ramp basking log to keep it from sliding down in the cage. (FOR AN EXAMPLE SEE PHOTO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE)
* The back and sides of the tank should have a "wallpaper" style covering on the outside of the glass to provide your dragon with a secure and private living environment. You can use the tank backgrounds that are available at most pet stores or you can go to your local WalMart or office supply store and purchase a package of Card Stock grade paper that is available in various neutral colors. We use both methods for our tanks - but prefer the Card Stock paper because many of the tank backgrounds will cause your dragon to want to "access or climb" the logs or greenery pictured on these backgrounds and your dragon doesn't realize these are not real. From our experience the best store bought "wallpaper" background for a dragon tank has a desert scene. This will not irritate your dragon like the ones with logs pictured on them, these cause the dragon to want to climb a log that is really not there.

* THERE ARE SEVERAL OPTIONS THAT WE CAN RECOMMEND FOR LIGHTING/HEATING FOR 20 GALLON LONG TANKS (Each is listed below)

In addition to the options we have listed there are several "Hood style" lighting/heating setups that can be used that utilize the flourescent tube style bulbs. (We have these listed as an option below.) Just be sure that your basking light points downward and that you use a "Desert" UVB bulb for your flourescent lighting as they have a higher amount of UVB that is best for desert dwelling reptiles and best for bearded dragons. Many of these "Desert" tube style bulbs will have a rating of 8.0 or 10.0 for UVB.

OPTION #1 FOR LIGHTING /HEATING
* Two - 8.5" ceramic base dome light fixtures
* 100-watt ExoTerra Sun Glo Neodymium Daylight Basking Bulb (The ExoTerra Neodymium bulbs allow you to view your reptiles in the best lighting. The Neodymium bulbs produce a crisp clean "white" lighting instead of the "gold tone" lighting that other incandescent bulbs give off that can visually dull-out the appearance of your reptile's coloration and patterning when viewing them under the "gold-tone" lighting.)
* 20-watt ESU Reptile brand Desert 7.0 Super Coil flourescent bulb that fits in a standard socket - because of the length of this bulb it will not fit in a 5.5" ceramic base dome light fixtures so the 8.5" size should be used
* The basking site should be setup in a way that allows both light fixtures the best ability to be located side by side over the basking site so your dragon can receive both the heat from the basking bulb and the UVB from the fluorescent Super Coil bulb while sitting on the basking site

OPTION #2 FOR LIGHTING/HEATING
* 10" ceramic base "deep well" dome light fixture
* TRex brand Active UVHeat Mercury Vapor Bulb 100-watt Flood (not the Spot) (This bulb looks like a flood light you see on a home for outdoors but is designed for the needs of your reptiles.) This bulb is an "all-in-one bulb" that produces UVA/UVB and heat for basking. Be sure to use the "deep well dome" as other domes are to shallow for the Flood style bulb and it will extend beyond the debth of regular domes found in most pet stores. These bulbs and domes can be ordered through LLL Reptile and Supply found on our links webpage.

OPTION #3 FOR LIGHTING/HEATING: If you prefer "hood style" the Zoo Med Slider Reptile Hood is one of the best designs we have seen on the market - although it is not cheap. You can use other brand of hoods for your flourescent bulbs including some that have a screw in fixture for a basking bulb. Just be sure that the screw in fixture in the hood you select has the basking bulb mounted so it faces DOWN and NOT sideways. We have seem some hoods on the market that have the screw in fixtures that go sideways. You do not want your basking bulb mounted sideways, it will not do it's job.

* ZooMed brand Slider Reptile Hood (available in 24", 30", 36", 48" and 72")
The Zoo Med Slider Reptile Hood comes in a black lacquer finish. It has 2-3 vertically mounted porcelain base fixtures that accomodates basking spot bulbs, and ceramic heat emitters, or night lighting or infrared heat bulbs, and one fixture for fluorescent tube style bulbs. This hood slides for easy tank access and has a secure "nolift" position. It has multiple switches for independent light selection, built-in aluminum light/heat reflector shield and a 3-prong receptical mounted internally. This is not a cheap hood set-up but it is by far the most efficient and easiest to have on your cage instead of having multiple electical fixtures
* 100-watt ExoTerra Sun Glo Neodymium Daylight Basking Bulb (The ExoTerra Neodymium bulbs allow you to view your reptiles in the best lighting. The Neodymium bulbs produce a crisp clean "white" lighting instead of the "gold tone" lighting that other incandescent bulbs give off that can visually dull-out the appearance of your reptile's coloration and patterning.)
* A "Desert" UVB tube style bulb for your fluorescent lighting as they have a higher amount of UVB output that is best for desert dwelling reptiles and best for bearded dragons. Many of these "Desert" bulbs are sold as 8.0 or 10.0 ratings.
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40 GALLON BREEDER OR 50 GALLON BREEDER REPTILE GLASS TANK WITH LID

This size tank is best used for a 5 month to adult age dragons - depending on the individual dragon's rate of growth and the number of dragons being housed. This is an ideal size for housing a pair of adult dragons.

* There are several options we use as a substrate for dragons of this age
* A non-silica based sand substrate such as play sand can be used once your dragon has reached this age. We have used and recommend ZooMed's Repti-Sand mixing the desert red with the white for a good light terra cotta coloration that gives contrast to calcium dusted crickets which will become white once they are dusted. It is not a good idea to use a strictly white sand and have your dragon trying to hunt white crickets on a white substrate. They can easily ingest the sand substrate if they can't see the prey they are trying to eat. We also recommend NOT TO USE a sand substrate that has additives such as dyes or calci-sand. Dyed sands will discolor your dragon over a period of time. Sands with calcium added such as Calci-Sand or Vita Sand are a NO-NO. Your dragon should receive all dietary supplements through it's food sources or nutritional supplements given when dusting your crickets. They should not eat sand so therefore they should not have calcium or vitamins in their sand.
* Other substrate options are the bottom of the tank can be lined with unprinted newspaper (large end rolls are usually available at most newspaper printers and usually very cheap as they are wanting to get rid of them)or regular newspaper
* Basking site should be available - either a flat piece of cork bark log placed at an angle like a ramp or driftwood or a flat river rock which absorbs heat and makes a nice basking site when placed in the basking end of your tank and gets nice and warm. By the time your dragon reaches the 4 month old size the sandblasted grapevine limbs will be to small for your dragon to comfortably sit on for basking. The basking site location should allow your dragon the ability to get within several inches of the basking bulb and UVB source although using a flat river rock under the UVA/UVB source works well too as it absorbs heat.
* Food dish - flat plate, small shallow dish or small crock style bowl that will allow your dragon the ability to access his/her food easily
* A water dish is optional depending on if you are going to mist your dragon daily and/or soak him or her in mild warm water a couple of times a week and if you are providing "moisture rich" greens and vegetables in your dragon's diet (Which you should be doing)such as grated yellow squash or grated zuchinni
* A large half round log hide to give your dragon a "private hiding place" and as an additional place to prop when your dragon is not basking. Half round log hides are also great as a stabilizer for the base of the cork bark ramp basking log to keep it from sliding down in the cage. (FOR AN EXAMPLE SEE PHOTO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE)
* The back and sides of the tank should have a "wallpaper" style covering on the outside of the glass to provide your dragon with a secure and private living environment. You can use the tank backgrounds that are available at most pet stores or you can go to your local WalMart or office supply store and purchase a package of Card Stock grade paper that is available in neutral colors. We use both methods for our tanks - but prefer the Card Stock paper because many of the tank backgrounds will cause your dragon to want to "access or climb" the logs or greenery pictured on these backgrounds and your dragon doesn't realize these are not real. If you are going to use a background purchased at a pet store there is one made that has a desert scene on it. We have used this in the past and it does not distract the dragons like the ones with logs on them.

* THERE ARE SEVERAL OPTIONS THAT WE CAN RECOMMEND FOR LIGHTING/HEATING FOR 40 GALLON BREEDER AND 50 GALLON TANKS (Each is listed below)

In addition to the options we have listed there are several "Hood style" lighting/heating setups that can be used that utilize the fluorescent tube style bulbs.(We have these listed as an option below.) Just be sure that your basking light points downward and that you use a "Desert" UVB bulb for your fluorescent lighting as they have a higher amount of UVB that is best for desert dwelling reptiles and best for bearded dragons. Many of these "Desert" tube style bulbs are sold as 8.0 or 10.0 ratings.

OPTION #1 FOR LIGHTING /HEATING
* Two - 8.5" ceramic base dome light fixtures
* 100-watt ExoTerra Sun Glo Neodymium Daylight Basking Bulb (The ExoTerra Neodymium bulbs allow you to view your reptiles in the best lighting. The Neodymium bulbs produce a crisp clean "white" lighting instead of the "gold tone" lighting that other incandescent bulbs give off that can visually dull-out the appearance of your reptile's coloration and patterning when viewing them under the "gold-tone" lighting.)
* 20-watt ESU Reptile brand Desert 7.0 Super Coil fluorescent bulb. These bulbs fit in a standard socket - because of the length of these bulbs they will not fit in the 5.5" ceramic base dome light fixtures so the 8.5" size should be used
* The basking site should be setup in a way that allows both light fixtures the best ability to be located side by side over the basking site so your dragon can receive both the heat from the basking bulb and the UVA/UVB from the fluorescent Super Coil bulb while sitting on the basking site

OPTION #2 FOR LIGHTING/HEATING
* 10" ceramic base "deep well" dome light fixture
* TRex brand Active UVHeat Mercury Vapor Bulb 100-watt Flood (not the Spot) (This bulb looks like a flood light you see on a home for outdoors but is designed for the needs of your reptiles.) This bulb is an "all-in-one bulb" that produces UVA/UVB and heat for basking. Be sure to use the "deep well dome" as other domes are to shallow for the Flood style bulb and it will extend beyond the debth of regular domes found in most pet stores. These bulbs and domes can be ordered through LLL Reptile and Supply found on our links webpage.

OPTION #3 FOR LIGHTING/HEATING If you prefer "hood style" the Zoo Med Slider Reptile Hood is one of the best designs we have seen on the market - although it is not cheap. You can use other brand of hoods for your flourescent bulbs including some that have a screw in fixture for a basking bulb. Just be sure that the screw in fixture in the hood you select has the basking bulb mounted so it faces DOWN and NOT sideways. We have seem some hoods on the market that have the screw in fixtures that go sideways. You do not want your basking bulb mounted sideways, it will not do it's job.

* ZooMed brand Slider Reptile Hood (available in 24", 30", 36", 48" and 72")
The Zoo Med Slider Reptile Hood comes in a black lacquer finish. It has 2-3 vertically mounted porcelain base fixtures that accomodates basking spot bulbs, and ceramic heat emitters, or night lighting or infrared heat bulbs, and one fixture for fluorescent tube style bulbs. This hood slides for easy tank access and has a secure "nolift" position. It has multiple switches for independent light selection, built-in aluminum light/heat reflector shield and a 3-prong receptical mounted internally. This is not a cheap hood set-up but it is by far the most efficient and easiest to have on your cage instead of having multiple electical fixtures
* 100-watt ExoTerra Sun Glo Neodymium Daylight Basking Bulb (The ExoTerra Neodymium bulbs allow you to view your reptiles in the best lighting. The Neodymium bulbs produce a crisp clean "white" lighting instead of the "gold tone" lighting that other incandescent bulbs give off that can visually dull-out the appearance of your reptile's coloration and patterning.)
* A "Desert" UVB tube style bulb for your fluorescent lighting as they have a higher amount of UVB output that is best for desert dwelling reptiles and best for bearded dragons. Many of these "Desert" bulbs are sold as 8.0 or 10.0 ratings.

PLEASE NOTE: THAT WHEN USING A 40 OR 50 GALLON BREEDER TANK TO CHECK YOUR BASKING SITE TEMPERATURES WITH A DIGITAL READING THERMOMETER WHICH YOU CAN PURCHASE AT A RETAIL STORE SUCH AS WALMART. THESE DIGITAL THERMOMETERS HAVE AN EXTERNAL PROBE THAT YOU CAN PLACE AT DIFFERENT SITES IN YOUR TANK TO GET PROPER TEMP READINGS. YOUR BASKING SITE TEMPS ON THE HOT END OF YOUR TANK SHOULD BE BETWEEN 100-110 DEGREES (depending on the location you are testing on the hot end - either at floor level or top level) WHILE THE COOLER END OF YOUR TANK SHOULD BE BETWEEN 80-85 DEGREES. DEPENDING ON YOUR HOME TEMPERATURES YOUR TANK TEMPS MAY NOT REACH THE APPROPRIATE TEMPERATURE AND YOU MAY NEED TO SWITCH TO A HIGHER WATTAGE BASKING BULB. ESPECIALLY IF YOUR TANK IS LOCATED UNDER AN AIR CONDITIONING VENT OR NEAR A WINDOW THAT ALLOWS COOLER AIR AROUND THE TANK IN THE WINTER TIME. JUST KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CAGE TEMPS AND HOW YOUR DRAGON IS REACTING DURING BASKING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

You can order many of these supplies through LLL Reptile and Supply out of California and have them shipped. See our links page on our website to contact them. Buying your supplies on line WILL BE MUCH CHEAPER than going to a pet store which has a high retail markup.
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FOR PHOTOS OF SOME OF OUR CAGE SET-UPS SEE OUR WEBPAGE TITLED "Photo Gallery". We have several photos of some of our 40 gallon breeder and 50 gallon tanks. These photos will show examples of cages with unprinted newspaper as well as cages with a sand substrate. We also have photos showing our custom made stackable cages made from melamine with sliding glass doors in the front. You can make these melamine cages with supplies purchased at a Home Depot or Lowes building supply store or custom order them from CustomCages.com.

We hope this list has been helpful. We recommend you copy and print the section that applies to the size tank you will be using. This will come in very handy as you go out and shop for your reptile supplies. You can also order many of these supplies through on-line internet reptile suppliers such as LLL Reptile and Supply out of California which is listed on our "links" web-page, as well as Big Apple Herptelogical out of New York which is also listed on our "links" page. Ordering your supplies on line will usually allow you to purchase your supplies AT A MUCH CHEAPER PRICE than retail pet stores. See our LINKS Webpage as well as our REPTILE VET, FOOD, SUPPLIES Webpage.

The photo shown on this page is a 50 gallon breeder tank utilizing an all in-one Mercury Vapor "Flood" bulb that produces UVA and UVB housed in a 10" deep well dome. It is shown housing three six month old subadult dragons. A 50 gallon breeder tank is designed to hold one pair of adults for breeding or just one for personal enjoyment and companionship. We no longer use glass terrariums but they are fine for private bearded dragons owners. We have switched over to melamine cages that are 4 foot long, 24" deep and 20" high and three foot long, 24" deep and 20" high. We needed the larger space to house a breeding trio, an adult male with a pair of females.

SINCERELY

GEORGIA BEARDED DRAGONS™