supplies for first time dragon

Question
Hello i'm getting a bearded dragon in a few weeks and want to know what supplies and equipment i'd do best with?,so far i have the tank and a large heat matt.i know i need a feeding bowl/water bowl thermometer uvb light.
i always get confused about light imes aswell you know like what time does the night lamp go on at?
i'm thinking of buying an infrared bulb for night time is this ok?
also do i need a hygrometer?
p.s the dragon is 8 weeks old.

Answer
Hello Joseph,

Congratulations on deciding on a bearded dragon.  I am positive that you will enjoy him & treasure him.  
Let's make sure you have everything you need before you bring him home.
What sized tank do you have?  If you are getting a baby, you don't have to have a huge one, but, if you do, just partition it off & let him grow into the larger one no problem.  The adults will need at least a 90 gallon tank for comfort.  
The heatmat, you really don't need unless at night, it gets cold then you can turn it on.  Do not use it during the daytime when you have the basking lights on he can overheat that way.  They much prefer having heating coming from overhead.
Yes a small feeding bowl or dish for inside of the tank.  Try using a small plastic bin to feed him outside of the tank with crickets.  Otherwise, they will get all over the place in his tank & you don't want to risk them hiding in his tank to bite him later. You can use a water bowl for during the daytime, but keep it clean & take it out at night.  If you are getting a baby, they can easily drown in it overnight.  
The best thermometer to get is either a digital probe or a temp gun.
You can get the digital probe from   www.reptilesupply.com
You can get the temp gun from    www.reptileuv.com
You can use a hygrometer if you would like.  The humidity should not be any higher than 50% or so.  
I would not use a heat lamp at night, just use your heat mat, but only if you need it.  Normally, infrared lights tend to keep them up & can disturb their sleep.  Most people keep it completely dark for them to sleep.  
Now for the UVB lighting.  Get the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb.  Do NOT get ANY compact or coil bulbs, & steer away from the Reptiglo 10 products, as well as the R-Zilla & ESU lights, too.  There are not many good bulbs.  If your tank is large enough, you could spring for a Mercury Vapor bulb.  The two I would recommend are:  the Megaray or the T-Rex.
The Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb you can get cheap from:
www.reptilesupply.com
OR
www.petmountain.com

The Megaray you can get from:
www.reptileuv.com

The T-rex Active UV heat you can get from:
www.reptilesupply.com

IF you get the flourescent tube bulb, it does NOT emit much if any heat, so you will need a bright white basking light.  Try using a halogen bulb, say around an 80-90 watt, & keep it around 6-8 inches from him.  The UVB flourescent tube needs to be 6-8 inches from him, too mounted overhead.  
IF you get the Mercury Vapor bulb, then you don't need or probably wont need any additional heating.  Some will get a low wattage light or a non uvb energy saver bulb just to brighten the tank & even out the lighting spectrum.

Most people will set the lights to come on at 7-8am & go off around 7-8pm.  Or adjust it to a schedule for you, but just make sure he gets around 12 hours of light & 12 hours of night.  

The recommended basking temps are 95-110 & the cooler end around 78-82.  

Make sure that you place the basking & the UVB directly beside each other to protect the eyes from the UVB.   

Do not use sand as substrate, even though alot of people say they use it.  There are alot of problems when using sand for babies.  Stick with a solid particulate such as reptile carpet, non adhesive shelf liner, butcher's paper, paper towels, or tiles.  

Don't forget you need some pure calcium with or without D3 & make sure it is phosphorus free.  He will need that 5 times per week.  You can also get vitamins which should be used 1-2 times per week.  A good brand to use is Repcal, they are probably the best on the market.  

I hope this helps.

Tracie