lol, rocky is a good one
i was reading another persons post on the ER forum. the moderator was saying that he should turn off the heat light at night. also they were talking about regular baths. i am afraid my beardie's growth was stunted early on. ill try to post all possible info here for trouble-shooting...
AGE: aprx. 10-14 months
AQUISITION: 2-4 weeks
LENGTH: 7-8 inches
SEX: unknown(suspected female)
ENCLOSURE: 12" cube(with the double doors in front... i leave the screen top off because i have a clamp light). i realize this is too small for him but it was given to me(quite graciously) by a caring friend. i like it because i can open the two doors to interact with him.
SUBSTRATE: half of the tank is covered by smooth aquarium stones roughly the size of marbles. the other is furnished with eco-earth(i sifted it with a rough sieve to strain out the longer stands and fibers). as mentioned in a prior post, i only observe "licking" while outside sunbathing... i havent seen it indoors that i can think of.
LIGHTING: unfortunately i only have 1 hood right now... i got everything second hand from people trying to help. during the day i screw in a 60 watt exo-terra sun glo. i recently got an "ESU reptile MINI compact flourescent(desert 7% UVB)" because i THOUGHT it was better that the sun-glo... it sounds like im going to need to take it back huh? when the sun goes down i screw in a 50 watt exo-terra infared heat bulb(again, they told me this was nessecary)... should i turn that off at night?
VERTICAL RANGE: unfortunately hes quite hanicapped in this sense... eventually i would like a 40 or 60 gallon tank big enough to fit long, gently sloping ramps that plateau under his UV and heat lights... this would be my dream!
BASKING TEMPERATURES: i have no accurate way of measuring right now. he does feels surprisingly warm to the touch when i pick him up from under the light. i make sure to aim the light at one side of the tank so the other side stays cool. he seems to regulate between the two sides through out the day as he sees fit...
HEATING PAD: no, but i do have one if necessary.
FEEDING: the only insects i feed him are crickets. i dust them with "2:0 calcium with no phosphorus powdered supplement with vitamins"... i only dust about half his meals cause he doesnt seem to like the ones i dust as much. i feed him when ever he wants to be fed(moring, afternoon and sometimes even a bedtime snack). if i walk past the cage and he starts wiggling toward me and nodding his head upward that seems to mean hes hungry. anywhere from 2-8 crickets a day is the normal range. i used to feed him romaine lettuce(no more than a few thumbnail sized pieces at a time) but im going to start following the feeding guides on this site and feed greens instead. (((if someone could suggest a tasty healthy treat please let me know... do beardies like sweet stuff?)))
GUTLOAD: i ran out about a week ago and have been using carrots until i get more(are carrots ok?)... or should i even use gutload?
BOWEL MOVEMENTS: it seems to be about every other day unless he just had a big meal(that seems to help it along)... how often is too often/not often enough? what should they look like?
BATHING: i didnt know they needed(or even liked) getting wet... i feel ashamed to say i dont regularly
bath him(only when poop gets stuck on his tail)... the reason is i have been avoiding any questionable contact with my beardie since i got him... i didnt want him to dis-like me for treating him roughly so i only picked him up to go outside or for tank maintainace. he seems so delicate and he has no legs, i wouldnt want him to drown or inhale water accidently during
bathing. (((if anyone can suggest special
bathing methods i would be very interested in listening)))
MISTING: i do not spray him... i was told at the pet store they do not like it. however, if its something i should be doing let me know immediately.
WATER: every day i make sure he has a bottlecap full of water(anything else is too tall). i offer him a drink every day too: i dip my finger into water and put a single drop on his lips. oddly enough, if i visibly lick MY lips that seems to alert him to the water on HIS lips and he immediately starts licking it up. it seems he wants another when he smacks his lips and toungue then sticks his toungue tip slightly out of his mouth. he seems to have a hard time figuring out how a water bowl works, but if i put it under his chin and do the finger drop thing his toungue eventually finds the water under his chin... ive seen him drink for a good 5 minutes, appearently stopping from time to time to swallow and breath.
ROOM-MATES: no way, they would walk all over him... literally!
VETERINARY CARE: there is nothing i would like more than to give him the full spectrum of tests but i was recently let go from my job :| .
i can barely pay for groceries let alone new fixtures, bulbs, substrates, tanks, thermometers and vet bills... you have my word though, that as soon as im on my feet ill buy all that stuff... as for that compact florescent, should i just return that and SAVE the money towards a BAR LIGHT? should i just be using that sun glo? is it the right wattage?
if there is anything i am doing(or not doing) that is having a negative effect on my dragon?! please dont hesitate to correct me! i have alot of questions but hopefully the info i provided will help somebody answer them once and for all!