Will a 40-gallon tank be enough for my growing bearded dragon?

He's about due for an upgrade now. These guys require a lot of space, so it's best to provide as much as possible. The requirement is that they have enough room to have a hiding place on both sides of the enclosure with enough room for basking in the middle. If you can achieve this, then that would be best. For more information about caring for your Bearded Dragon, I recommend you visit the website at the link below. This has good/well-supported information from experts in the field. http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html I hope that helps and all is well with Clyde.

Choose the largest cage your space and budget will allow. At minimum, a 55 gallon enclosure should be considered. Acceptable substrates include slate, reptile carpet, decomposed granite or large gravel. Yes, setting up a bio-active environment for beardies is possible. It will take a bit of research and effort to get it right.

Congratulations on your new addition! The tank is sufficient for a juvenile, however you will likely need a larger one when Sonora is fully grown. Make sure Sonora can get into and out of the bowl easily to prevent drowning. Place thermometers in the enclosure to monitor temperature. You will need 3. One at the cool side, one on the warm side and one for the basking spot. Hygrometers can also be used to monitor humidity. You can review care information at the link below. http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

Make sure his cage is large enough. A 20 gallon tank will be sufficient for now (if that's what you have) but as he grows, you will need to move him into a larger enclosure. Provide multiple hiding boxes and plants (real or fake) for privacy. You can also use cage wraps or backgrounds to provide additional privacy. He can come out of the cage also but be sure he does not get chilled or escape into a small crack or crevice.

50-watt spot/heat bulb is usually sufficient.Put a 10 to 12% UVb fluorescent tube up to one half the length of the vivarium and fix it as far into the hot end as possible Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Thanks for your question about Smaug, and thanks for the photo as well! I think that you have a good start to your set up, and that we can tweak a few items. First, your lighting situation appears adequate - I see a UVB light (please change this bulb every 4-6 months), a basking light, and a ceramic heat bulb. I would ensure that your temperatures are appropriate for this species, and that you are monitoring them using digital thermometers (I think that you see both a digital and analog thermometers currently) at the level of Smaug. Analog thermometers are inaccurate, so I don't recommend using them (also, they are high up on the sides of the enclosure, so they wouldn't be giving an accurate temperature read for Smaug). For the cage furniture that you have, I like that you have places for Smaug to climb and hide. However, I would recommend having a hide on both the warm side of the enclosure and the cool side so that Smaug has choices. Same for the climbing structures. I may have missed a food and water dish in the enclosure - I would recommend that both of these be shallow, and be large enough for Smaug's entire body to fit within them. I cannot tell what type of shavings that you have on the bottom of the enclosure, but the only wood shavings that I recommend are aspen shavings. If they are pine, these can be irritating to the respiratory system. I hope that gives you a place to start, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

That would be fine. A 30 to 40 gallon tank is recommended for most adult ball pythons. This will save time and money since a baby ball python will eventually outgrow a 20 gallon tank. I always recommend getting the largest tank your budget and space allow. Be sure to have a thermometer on each end as well as at the basking spot. A hide at each end would also be recommended.