My First Bearded dragon! some questions.

Hello all my name is John and I just bought my first beardie yesterday! He is about 6-7 inches long and im not really sure how old he is. Does anyone have an idea of how old he is when he is 6-7 inches long and his body width is about an inch? He seems to be active and eats well and is also very nice when you handle him. I did notice he scratches at the side of the tank alot is that normal? Thanks alot

John

Hi John,

Welcome to the board! I am not too far from Ann Arbor, MI. At 6-7 inches long your beardie is likely young. I would guess he should be anywhere from 1-3 months old. Do you have any pictures? Are you measuring from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail? It is normal for them to scratch the side of the tank, it is likely he is looking for attention. I know that is what mine do when they want to get out and about.

If you are new to beardies then there are some things you may not know. There are also a lot of products on the market such as uvb bulbs and certain sands that are sold as safe, but are not and could actually harm your beardie despite what the pet store tells you. I am going to post a list of questions below to run through your set up, if you want to. Everyone here has a lot of knowledge and love to help new owners. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like, that is why we are all here.

Here is the list:

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

How old is your dragon? How long have you had your dragon? .............1 Day
How long is your dragon? .........nose to tail 7 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? ............?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?.........10 gallon for now petco said that is enough for 2-3 years
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?........Zilla desert blend crushed walnut shells
Do you use UVB lights?.........I have 1-100 watt sun-glo daylight buld and 1-100 red bulb for night.
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?........ sun-glo 100 watt
How old is your UVB bulb? .......bulbs are new
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? .......... about 6 inches away from bulb
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?....... nope 1 bulb for day and 1 for night
What are the basking temps? .........92
What is the cool side temp? .......83
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?...round stick on analog
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?.....half way between top and bottom of cage.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? ........neither
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. .......crickets,choped up apple and mealworms
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?....... i was told to put 3-4 crickets in tank until there gone
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?......Yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?....calcium dip crickets
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? .......he has had 1
Do you bath your dragon? How often? .........not yes
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? ........he has a water dish
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?........no he is single

WHOA, the first thing you have to do is stop listening to Petco. I'll throw in some comments below, but you'll be getting a lot of feedback very soon. I'm so glad that you care about your dragon enough to come on here and ask questions.

mustang8402":76da5 said:

How old is your dragon? How long have you had your dragon? .............1 Day
How long is your dragon? .........nose to tail 7 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? ............?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?.........10 gallon for now petco said that is enough for 2-3 years A 10 gallon might last you a couple of months, but it is really too small for even a baby. Mostly because it is nearly impossible to achieve the proper temperature variant in a tank that small. It's either all hot or all cold. It would be wise to get at LEAST a 40gallon breeder as soon as possible.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?........Zilla desert blend crushed walnut shells Walnut shells really aren't good, especially for a baby. I would encourage you to consider tile or paper towels. Anything that can fit in their mouth is dangerous.
Do you use UVB lights?.........I have 1-100 watt sun-glo daylight buld and 1-100 red bulb for night. You would be better off ditching the red light, as any light can interefere with a beardie's sleep cycle. If temperatures in the cage don't get down below 65ish at night, then there's really no need for any kind of bulb at night. If the temps do get down that low, then consider a Ceramic Heat Emitter, which puts out heat but not light.
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?........ sun-glo 100 watt
How old is your UVB bulb? .......bulbs are new
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? .......... about 6 inches away from bulb
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?....... nope 1 bulb for day and 1 for night
What are the basking temps? .........92 Babies are better off around 110 on the hot side.
What is the cool side temp? .......83
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?...round stick on analog For about $12 at Wal-Mart you can get a digital probe thermometer, which is far more accurate.
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?.....half way between top and bottom of cage. When you get a probe thermometer, you'll want to put it down near the basking area.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? ........neither Good job!
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. .......crickets,choped up apple and mealworms Mealworms aren't very good, and are especially dangerous for babies. Consider ordering Phoenix wormsHow often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?....... i was told to put 3-4 crickets in tank until there gone Babies can easily eat 100 crickets per day. A good system is to keep feeding as many crickets as they can eat for 10 minutes, and do this 2-3 times a day.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?......Yes Good job again!
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?....calcium dip crickets
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? .......he has had 1
Do you bath your dragon? How often? .........not yes
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? ........he has a water dish Most beardies will not drink from a water dish, so this makes it very important to bathe them regularly
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?........no he is singleAwesome, keep it that way!

Click to expand...

Hi again,

Ok, I agree with the tank size, temp gradient is nearly impossible in a 10 gallon. It is important to upgrade ASAP and I would recommend the 40 breeder as he will be set for life with that. I know a store in Livonia that sells really nice glass 40 breeders with front sliding doors (which make life much easier) for around $160. Let me know if you want the name of the store. If that is out of price range for you, I would suggest craigslist. You are looking for dimensions no smaller than 36 long x 18 wide x 18 tall.

I also agree on the walnut shell. It is very dangerous because beardies eat live pray and can be clumsy eaters. If walnut shell is ingested they can get impacted and it is sharp and will harm the intestines. Beardies have very small winding intestines so it is very important to keep particle subtraits from being ingested. Please stay away from calcisand too as it clumps in the digestive tract and also causes impaction. Better choices are paper towel, non-adhesive shelf liner or ceramic tiles. Washed children’s play sand can be used, but even that is only recommended for full grown adult beardies.

I agree on the red light. I made this mistake with my first dragon. They don’t need it and they need it to be dark so they can sleep well.

In addition, the sunglo bulb you mention is a basking bulb and only provides heat. Your dragon needs UVB (it mimics sunlight rays) as well. This is very important because it allows them to process their calcium and avoids problems with lethargy, refusing to eat and metabolic bone disease (MBD), which causes the bones become weak and unhealthy. For a UVB bulb, the safe choices are the Reptiglo 8.0 or the Reptisun 10.0 florescent tube. Never use a coil bulb (most of the pet stores sell them), as they can be very harmful to the eyes and cause serious problems. Here is what the Reptisun 10.0 looks like: http://www.petguys.com/-097612343480.html they come in different lengths depending on what size your fixture is.
I agree at 105-110 for the basking spot temp, but don’t make any changes until you get a better thermometer because the type of thermometer you are using will not give you an accurate temp. reading. The only thermometers that will give you an accurate reading are a digital probe (meant for the probe to be placed directly on the basking spot and then wait for 45 minutes), like this: http://www.worldlyshops.com/index.php?productID=33560
Or a temp gun (just point at basking spot and it will give you temp), like this:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Digital-Infrared-Laser-Thermometer

I also agree with feed. Your baby should eat at least 25 crickets per feeding, but mine averaged around 50-75 twice a day. You can order in bulk online from a number of companies and it works out much cheaper. Mealworms are not great, I agree phoenix would be better. In addition your baby should be offered greens as well as fruits and veggies twice a day. Here is a great list of what you can/cannot feed and how often:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Give him a bath 2-3 times a week for about 15 minutes. It is great that you have him alone, well done on that and I strongly encourage you to keep it that way. Dragons should not be housed together. Some people do it, but they can snap and hurt or kill each other out of the blue and they generally stress each other out. Only one beardy per enclosure is a great rule to follow.

I know this seems like a lot, but it is a lot harder when you learn like I did and have a sick dragon on your hands because the pet store told you wrong. I would put a larger tank, digital thermometer and UVB at the very top of your list. Those are so very important. Let us know how it goes and if you have any questions at all or want us to elaborate on anything, please feel free to ask.

Nicole