I realized when I got this sweet little beardie that her tank would make the PERFECT example of what a really, really, really, really nasty-bad-inappropriate-gross tank is.
Exhibit B: Fish tank decorations and plastic plants. Not even big enough to use as a hide or climb on and super dirty.
Exhibit C: A piece of old 2 by 4 wood as a ... decoration? This kind of wood is treated with chemicals that can be very hazardous to your reptile. Use non-treated, pesticide free wood in your tanks.
Exhibit D: I couldn't actually figure out what this is-- like a piece of vine or rope? It was filthy.
Exhibit E: Massive piles of runny, sticky poop. Never cleaned up; never wiped off. The poop itself shows a poor diet and parasite infestation.
Exhibit F: Calcium sand that had never been sifted or replaced or cleaned. It was filthy. I need to use a putty knife to actually scrape the sand off the bottom of the tank.
Exhibit G: Slimy water dish with no water in it. This is a terrible dish anyways for beardies as it is too shallow for them to drink well out of.
Exhibit H: There were piles of dried iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, and purple cabbage spread all over the tank. WORST DIET EVER!!! No. No. No. No. NO!
Exhibit I: There were at least 18 inches between the heat source and the closest basking spot. This is a 30 gallon tall tank and is one of the worst kinds you can use for bearded dragons. There was no way for her to get anywhere close to the very dim, very dull bulb above her head. I'm guessing she was never able to get her basking temperature over about 82 degrees.
Exhibit J: This little beardie is a stunted, dirty mess. She was very dehydrated and very underfed. :( Her nails have never been trimmed and she hasn't been held for a long time.
Exhibit K: The inside of the glass was *filthy.* It was hard to see through parts of the glass.
Exhibit L: An under-tank heat (UTH) mat without a thermostat control or without a piece of tile on top of it to help spread the warmth around. UTH mats can get over 125 degrees and will heat up the sand enough to burn your bearded dragon. There are better ways to keep a tank warm. If you can't use a thermostat control, please don't use a UTH.
No lights, no hide, not enough heat, no cleaning, not good food, no clean water, no poop cleaned up-- honestly, I can't think of anything that I actually LIKE about this set up. :(
This is a perfect of example of someone who got a pet because it was "cute" and quickly lost interest in it without doing any research. A simple Google search would have given the owners better information about diet, lighting, and tank set ups. I had to explain to a surprised owner that UVB is necessary for metabolizing calcium and without it, the beardie would have slowly and painfully died. They had never even heard of that.
DO YOUR RESEARCH!!
Some other pics from the tank:
Her New Tank:
I ran out of paper towels and put down towels until I can get to the store. She has a clean substrate, a 100 Watt heat bulb, a brand new ZooMed 10.0 UVB light hanging inside her tank (less than 18" above her), a basking spot that she can climb up on or hide under, and an actual water dish that she can drink out of.
So much better! She doesn't even know what to do with all the room and the heat.
She acted like she had never been in the bath before. I can honestly believe that. I was so relieved to see her drinking it up.
