is this setup ok for my baby dragon?

[jackwu10]

hey guys, i am very new to this reptile world..
i bought myself a baby dragon a month ago, and i am trying to do the best for it.
i went to few pet shops and seek for advice, and this is how the setup is..
i personally didnt setup the lighting part, i left it for those ppl who works in pet store, cos they said they can install it for me.
the initial setup: just the heat lighting, and calcium sand.. but somehow i think the sand is affecting draon's eye.. it got to the stage i have to clean its eye 3 times a day,
there's fluid keep on coming out her eyes, and along with sand, when it dry, it close the dragon's eye complete..





then this is second setup, i change the sand to corn, i think she likes it more, cos now her eyes are back to normal, and see things perfectly. i took advice from other pet shop,
change heating bulb to a tube, this stage, she looks more happier.


she likes it!


add little plants..

but today when i went to get more crickets from the pet shop, the other guy told me, i must install heat bulb, otherwise the dragon wont grow? so when i got home, i put it back on.
i am bit concern about the heat lighting, i think it's kinda low, and already create very hot environment inside the cage?



i tried to look for the glass cage, so i cant put heating bulb over the top of cage, but they simply too expensive and too big.. but i am planning to get it when this dragon grow bigger.
so is this setup ok? anything i need to change?

[bitis keeper]

Rather put you're beardie on newspapper.Im not sure if this is true,but sand can be hazardous to you're baby beardie.

[it_bit_me]

There is a string of bad lights in SA that caused sore eyes with beardies. The sand would double the problem only cause it reflects light not cause its dry.
Have a look at the size of your cage. Apart from it being low it is awfully small for such intense light.

[snake kid]

I agree with using newspaper. I would try and get a longer cage for a beardie with a hot and cold side. The hot side reaching temps of up to 35C and the cold side 25C.

[_THEO_]

what are the temps in the cage? That basking spot seems very hot and it looks like the beardie is hot in the cool side too.

[jackwu10]

it's kinda hot, so ye, i turned the basket light off for now, guess i only turn it on every few hour.

ok thx guys, i will look for a bigger cage, anyone know's the price range? right now this one i got is about 45cm by 30cm, i think i will look for a glass tank, like the one for fishes.
anyone got idea where's the best place?

base at sandton area.

[it_bit_me]

Glass tanks are not lekker. They have to build you a top and ventilation is not good. Your wood tank is a good one ( R200 -R300) but you should get a proper size that'll last till his big.

Go to the reptile show.

[_THEO_]

For now I think you should try finding a smaller basking spot. Go to a good hardware store and get a 20w spot.

[Shaun P]

That corn cob is a No, No. If he ingests any you are going to have problems. I have been using dune sand with all my dragon hatchlings every year, with no problems at all, as it is really fine. And the guys are correct that cage is far to small to get a reasonable temperature gradient. Wooden enclosures are much better than glass tanks.
I agree with Theo, try a lower wattage bulb for now.

[mania]

I have to agree with Shaun P, no to corn cob for baby beardies. One of the places i worked at, we lost a couple of baby beardies and always noticed corn cob stuck in there throats or they had hard bellys which we assumed was from the corn cob. Astro turf also sucks because the beardies would get there claws stuck quite often trying to chase crickets.

[VenomPassion]

Like the others said,no corn cob.
You should invest in a thermostat,takes a lot of stress of the keeper as well as the animal.

Good luck mate.

[Bushviper]

I think that UV globe you are using is dodgy. What make and type do you have?

You can also just buy and identical cage and put it next door to this one. Screw them together and cut out a big hole in the sides and your cage is now twice the size. This way you can have enough heat in the one cage and a cooler spot in the other cage.

[jackwu10]

hey guys, thx for all the feedback, so today i added an little extention for my tin tin :P
it's quite a frustrating process, but result isnt so bad..
i simply added a smaller box next to existing one, white cover is plastic perforated mate, so this part of box is cooler than left hand side.
i also get rid of corn cobs, and replaces it back with sand.
i will check for few more days, and hope tintin's eye wont go weird again.







------------- edit------------

tintin's starting to peel skin off now it's growing up!

[snake kid]

The enclosure looks awsome, I like the good ventilation you have that will keep it nice and cool. I still don't know about the sand but wait and see, if it doesn't affect him it will be nice because I like natural enclosures.

[Bushviper]

Leave his UV light off for a few days and then see if he still has the eye problems. If he does not then your light is poor quality. If he does then look at changing the sand.