Just got my first bearded dragon

[zbra09]

OK, so today I went to my cousins house after a nice day of riding out quads. He had just gotten a new lizard (don't remember what kind) and he also had 3 Beardies each being 2 years old. So he just wanted to give one of the Beardies to me after he saw that I loved it so much. So I went out to my local petshop and got some things for it. Since my cousin did not give it a name, I named him Lizardo. The owner of the petshop helped me with some stuff to start off (the stuff in the pictures) and came to my house once I got it and check it out. He said Lizardo was a fine. I am fairly new to this so I can use some advice. I will be checking out some posts as well to learn. Thanks and would appreciate any advice.

I have romanian Lettuce in the tank at all times and every Thursday I give Lizardo 2 dozen large crickets. Is that Too much or too little?

I have Calcium based sand
REp-Cal
50 gallon reptile tank
Red Night Light
Basking Light
flourescent light



Should I keep the flourescent Light on all night with the red night light?
How can I tell if my Beardie is a boy or a girl?
How do I post Pics on this site?

I have some more questions, I just cant remember them right now.


Thanks, DOm

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[bdragon]

Hi zbra09!!! And welcome to the forum !
That's a nice settup you have there...Lizardo looks really happy
First off, that calcium sand can be really bad for a dragon (sorry)...You see, a dragon smells with his tongue, when he smells the sand, he'll get a little of that sand in his mouth and that stuff is like cement once it gets in his little tummy...The upside, since he's 2 years old, he won't lick as much and he MAY be alright with it...This is your call, do you feed him his bugs in his home ? You can minimize any impaction problems by feeding his bugs in a seperate tank so he doesn't accidently get that sand with his meal...
Also, romaine or any kind of lettuce really doesn't have much nutritional value to it....Please check out this sight for really good info on nutrition, http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html ...You're on the right track !!! Please post more pics as we're all picture addicts here...LOL
Experts will come along soon with more info and possibly some questions for you...In the meantime, CONGRATS !!! You're gonna LOVE Lizardo !!
....Luci

 

[dearwinston]

Looks good, get rid of the sand though. How big is he? He looks small but could just be the pics. I wish you well, they are soooo much fun!

 

[Catalyst]

The calcium based sand can be a problem if he licks it / eats it. You'll also find that sand is harder to keep clean - it soaks up the moisture from the poop, gets into the food, etc. Many here use tiles (ceramic or slate) or another solid ground covering that's easier to keep clean but still looks great. If you do decide that you want to stick with the sand, you can use sifted children's playsand instead of that calcium sand junk. It's safer (doesn't clump as badly if ingested) and also much cheaper - important since the sand should all be changed every 4 months or so (at least I think that was the number - you can PM "Mike's Dad" and ask how often he changes his sand, I know he uses playsand).

You should get rid of the red light. Dragons can see the red light spectrum and it can actually disturb his sleep. Dragons don't need any lights or heat sources at night at all unless the temperature in their tank goes below 60*F. The darkness and cooldown are both natural and healthy for them.

What brand is the flourescent light? If it's a Reptisun 10.0 or 5.0, or a reptiglo 8.0 then it's a good bulb. If it's an ESU bulb you'll want to replace it. You'll also want to make sure that there's a place he can get to within 6" of that UV bulb in order to soak up the rays.

The repcal is good, is it the one with d3 added (blue label)? That's the one you want. You'll also want to pick up some Herptivite (pink label) - it's a multivitamin supplement that should go on his food once a week.

Just so you know, you don't need a specialty basking bulb - you can use an ordinary household lightbulb or a halogen flood light bulb to do the same thing and they're usually cheaper.

You'll also want to pick up a digital thermometer with a probe. These are known for being quite accurate and good temperatures are key to having a healthy dragon. His basking spot should be in the 100-105* range and the cool end of his tank should be around 85*

Romaine lettuce isn't that great nutritionally speaking. That site bddragon posted is very helpful

I recall one member here saying that their adult dragons got the equivalent of 40 crickets a week. If you do a forum search for "adult diet" or something along those lines, you should be able to find information on how many live bugs he should have. If you can't find it, then feel free to post the question under the feeding forum. My guy isn't an adult yet so I'm still a bit fuzzy on what the adult diet exactly consists of.

Do you bathe the dragon? Baths are a great thing, especially since dragons don't generally drink from a bowl. The bath will help to keep him hydrated, and has teh added benefit of the warm water usually stimulating his bowels so that he'll poo in the tub and you can just rinse it down the drain instead of having to clean it out of his cage. Also handy when you want to have him out to play without worrying whether he'll poop on you or the furniture. To bath him, just fill a container, sink, or tub, up to his shoulders in warm (not hot) water. Put something down on the bottom so that he has a grip (like a rag) and let him soak for a while (10-20 minutes depending how often you do it). Even if he doesn't drink straight from the tub, he'll be hydrated by the water that soaks in through his skin and vent.

Hope this helps Feel free to ask any questions you have, we're always happy to help.

-- Catalyst

 

[zbra09]

Yea, I'm going to change the sand to tile and switch from romainian lettuce to collard greens or something like that.

What is gutloading? Do I have to wory about that?

The temperature in the tank is 105 degrees. and at night is like 85 degrees in the basking area.

The flourescent light says UVA and UVB, not sure if that is good or not.

The Rep-Cal has calcium and Vitamin D and it is the one with the pink lable.

I spreay him with a spray bottle 2 twice a day because he is shedding.

I did not know about the who bathing thing but I will start that soon.

 

[bdragon]

It's a really good idea to get rid of that sand....Please visit http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html for ideas on feeding...it sounds like your temps are right on the mark !! Well done !
Please let us know EXACTLY what brand uv light you have...This is absolutley essential for your dragons health...You're on the right track !! Please keep us posted !