New beardie owner

Hello all, I am recently new to the beardie world. I have a 10 month old beardie that I’ve had for 2 months. I have him set up in a 75 gallon tank, I have a basking side and a cool/feeding side. I also have a basking light and uvb light as well. He has a hammock on the cool side, a basking perch in the middle and a big basking rock on the basking side that also has a hide hole. I feed him gut loaded superworms, Dubai roaches, sometimes hornworms and have only given him 1 pinky(which I gave to him last week). He also gets a salad everyday as well. I give his calcium w/D3 on Mon, Wed, & Fri. He gets a “bath” every 4 days and I mist him almost everyday. I leave a shallow bowl of fresh water everyday in his tank but he never drinks it. I put a splash of juice in his water yesterday to see if he would drink it, but I’m unsure of if he drank any. Because I am new to all of this, I try my best to provide the care he needs and wanted to reach out to a group that could possibly give me support on how to probably care for him. I would love any advice, tips or tricks, or even any corrections to what I am doing. I do have a few questions:
Is there any other supplements I should be giving him, if so how much/often?
How much does a wellness visit at the vet usually cost?
His beard is super fat, but it’s jiggly, should I be concerned?


I greatly appreciate any insight I can get, thank you!

Welcome to beardieism! Your care seems nice, the diet is varied, and the tank sounds great.

Don't be worried about him not drinking any of the water in his bowl. Beardies usually don't like standing water that much. Two of my beardies are 3 1/2 years old and I've never seen them ever set even a toe in their water dish. Your beardie will get water from the things he eats, and his baths. If you are worried about him not getting enough water, you can use veggies with more water or give him more baths.

Supplements: I do like Reptivite. It's used in zoos around the world and my beardies have "enjoyed it" from day one (I mean, they eat it. They don't even know they're eating it). :lol:

Wellness visits at the vet costs are varied; they really depend on where you are, what the vet is, etc. You can call or check the website of vets around you, though. For me, my vet costs $50 for a checkup, and that's the usual rate of cost.

I don't think you should worry about a jiggly beard. I think it's fine. And as for the pinky mouse, I wouldn't recommend it. I don't like mice for beardies. They're not that good for them. If you want, tell us the veggies and things you use in your salads. And go by this rule when making them: 1 leafy green (collard, mustard, rainbow chard, etc), 2 vegetables (check ones that are safe for beardies), and 1 fruit (but just a little fruit).

Tell me if you have any other questions!

The lighting in the tank is the MOST important thing in the tank -- NO coils for UVB and basking temps should be 105-110 or 95-110 for a juvie/ adult taken w/ a digital probe thermometer- stick ons are inaccurate
here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder -- please no more pinky mice they are not healthful
I would be dusting his insects w / calcium D3 5 x per week once per feeding --Rep Cal is good
Vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week once per feeding -- Repti vite is good
Salads can be rinsed before serving for moisture / hydration make sure your insects are gut loaded - carrots are a great hydrator just dont feed the dragon carrots too to much Vit A --
As stated vets cost are varied to where you live --- you can call and get prices but you want a good reptile vet here is a website for future reference www.arav.org I dont recommend a vet visit now unless absolutely necessary-- too much stress
Temps in the tank should be 95-110 basking middle of tank 90's and cool side 80's - no temps below 65 at night and no warmer than 75 NO colored bulbs as well please

Hi there

I’ve had the most luck - as far as oral hydration - with a syringe. When my girl has a bath, she will sometimes drink from her bath (especially if I leave the faucet dripping a little bit for water movement) ... but at young age I began securing her oral intake of water through a syringe/dropper. 10 years later she still drinks that way. She is very responsive to it and drinks from it if she wants to - and it’s easier for me to offer her water that way every other day in addition to the water she gets from her insects and collards, than to give her a soak every day. This way I can give an enjoyable soak about two or three times a week which is when she poops - and still feel confident she is getting that steady oral hydration she needs. I have never kept a water dish in her viv.

I would recommend that you check the humidity to determine how much your beardie needs to be misted. From my and my friends experience, our beardies don't drink from their water dishes, sometimes I place it in front of my bearded dragon and swish it around until he licks it, then he just starts drinking it, but if you are misting your beardie, it is probably fine. Also if you want, you could try to experiment and see what greens it prefers, but first research what they can eat before buying random things from the store. Also try not to let it get into a habit of being hand fed, try to teach them to eat by themselves.