#canitouchthebutt

2 - what size do you consider a nano?

Around 20 or 30 gallons and less. For freshwater though I’d consider 5 and below a nano

21 - a misconception you wish you could dispel?

Please never worry about sounding dumb, no questions are dumb! There’s a lot of misinformation and conflicting information when you’re researching pets online, asking questions is the best thing you can do. 

I would advise against buying that set unless you’re getting it for a really, really good price, because there’s some stuff in there that you won’t be able to use.

It comes with calci-sand which is a huge no-no. Personally I’m against any kind of sand or loose substrate, some people will swear they’ve never had impaction issues with it but it’s always a risk, so why take it? It also harbours bacteria, it’s harder to clean, and the tea the last few years has been that it creates a quite toxic dust that can really harm the beardie. I would just toss that in the trash right away. 

The second major issue is the coil UVB, which is quite a big one. I won’t get into the technical stuff because honestly, even I don’t fully understand it all, and there are people on forums who will explain it a million times better than I can. This is my favourite website to check in on if there’s anything I’m unsure of, this is one of their many many threads against coil UVBs. 

Basically coil UVBs can damage their eyes, make them very sick, and they don’t cover the entire area of the tank. You need a tube light that covers about ¾ of the tank. There’s a few to choose from, I favour the arcadia ones when I can get them but they’re not popular where I live, so most often I’ll settle for the Exo Terra tube light. 

Third issue, and this may be controversial especially in the US of A, but that tank is a bit small. You could definitely raise a beardie in there no problem, but if they get large you’d be looking to upgrade within the first couple of years. Some beardies don’t get that big so you’d get away with it, but some are also quite a bit more active than others and would really benefit from the extra space.  

I did a few upgrades over the years that way. But honestly I wish I’d just gotten the bigger tank first, because my GOD would it have saved me money. 

In my opinion, 4 x 2 x 2 is a good minimum size for an adult beardie, although if you can go bigger that’s always better. You also have more fun yourself with decorating and setting up the bigger tanks! I find the 3ft tanks often look very overcrowded and lose space once you start adding basking logs etc. 

In a bigger tank you can provide more enrichment, more hiding spots, more basking areas, more logs, more driftwood, more plants, maybe even a digging area!  

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying a 3ft can’t work. Most beardies spend a lot of their lives chilling on a log or hidden in a cave. Mine for sure is one of them. But if you’re taking them on and you want to keep this animal and give it the best life you can, I think we should aim to give them better than bare minimum!

Of course, all of this is just me. If you google, you’ll find people who agree, and other people who’ll throw my opinion in the TRASHHH! Which, you know. That’s okay, I can only speak for myself. 

But having had my girl 9 years, having gone through 4 tank upgrades in that time, vet visits, upwards of thousands of euro in costs, and countless hours on youtube and forums, I’ve reached a place where I wanna share lessons I learned along the way. 

Also I should add, if you’re anything like me on an emotional level, i.e.; your beardie has been sitting fine in a 4 x 2 x 2 for years but suddenly you start thinking “oh my god I could do better wow crying what a bad reptile parent I am” then you’ll definitely save yourself $$ by just buying larger first. 

To summarise the kit and its contents: 

- Coil UVB absolutely no, harmful. 

- Calci-sand, absolutely no, harmful. 

- Tank itself, a bit small, may have to be upgraded at some point. Also has a mesh lid, which I’ve no personal experience with but I have heard they make it a bit more difficult to maintain temperatures which is worth thinking about. These can also block UVB rays if the light is mounted outside. 

- Analog thermometer/humidity gauge, known to be very inaccurate, useless. 

- Food and water dish, cute, fine, might take up a bit too much space but up to you. There is a humidity issue sometimes with deeper water dishes, I won’t get into it but. The dishes, as a feature in the kit, are not necessarily a bad thing. 

- Free food samples, meh, beardies won’t/shouldn’t really eat the pellets, this is just used to bulk out the kit and make it seem better value.