New dragon turned out to be a rescue

My daughter got me a dragon for Father's Day. The pics the guy sent her showed the dragon in good health. Every thing was included I would only have to buy food. I picked him up yesterday as that was the only time my schedual and the previous owners schedual allinged. I was shocked he looked very malnourished. I wanted to beat his ass right there for not takeing care of him. I also found out he didn't have proper lighting. Only a heat light and no UVB. I ordered a UVB light straight away. I have a Zilla Reptile Slimline Reptile Lighting Fixture with UVB Lamp, 18-Inches on the way. I stopped by the local pet store and picked up 100 crickets. They didn't even have any UVB lighting at all there. I also got a calceum powder with D3. He ate a few salad greens I fixed for him. I made him a saled or romane legice apple and papaya. He's taken a few bites of it and ate 5 crickets. I have been talking him outside with me to catch as much Natural UV as he can while I smoke a pipe. He's super alert and inquisitive. Not to mention deseotivly fast. He watches me as I'm watching him to see if he's going to be ok. I gave him a bath today as well for about 20 min never taking my eyes off of him. Didn't want the lil bugger to drown in a inch of water. Will takeing him outside for 2 hrs a day help before the light gets here? There schedule delivery is on the 6th. I had been doing a lot of research on dragons when my daughter told me she was getting me one. I also just came across this site today about a hr ago.

Welcome and this is the place to be!! I am new here as well and so grateful for the information on this site There is just about everything you would want to know here lol Oh, and pics are a must

Though the zilla slimline is not the best, it is much better than what he has had! Just be sure to remove the plastic cover because it will block 100% of the uvb rays. Ya, they really put a lot of thought into it, lol!

We will be more than glad to help you and your new master "I mean dragon :roll: " on your journey together, I can tell already that you are going to be a good slave "I mean owner :roll: "!!!

Lol well now that you mention it his name is Aries. My daughter refers to him as the cricket god of war, and he demands his sacrifices. I'd attach a photo but I'm not sure how to do that on this forum from my phone.

You need to go to the user image up loader to upload your pics, here is a link to ithttps://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/#list . It is also listed in the header at the top of the page (I just picked up on that, lol!)
Then when you make a post use the XIMG tab in the upper dashboard

I hate to come off as being blunt but, that substrate needs to be replaced with something he can not ingest. Loose substrates can cause impaction which can lead to paralysis and death. Go with something solid like, rough textured tile, nonadhesive shelf liner, or, paper towels'. These can all be cleaned easily and don't promote bacteria growth like loose substrates do.
This is only advice given to you from my experience.

Thank you for the advice. I appriceate the help. I'm planning on going for the tiles for the ease of cleaning factor.

Update on Aries. He's been doing much better since I have been talking him outside to get some natural sun. He's eating agin. I personally watched him wolf down two crickets. He enjoys playing in the yard and munching on the white clover. His little belly is looking full. It also looks like he's eating some of the veg I fix for him in the mornings. I'm going to give him four hours of sun today since I have the time to spare today. He's becomeing even more active and alert. Every time I set him down he looks at me inquisitively as if to ask why he can't ride on my shoulder. Lol I can't take that much sun. Lol I'm all ready cooked. But it's a small price to pay to insure my Aries is happy and gets back to a health look and weight. Thank you all for your help and advice. It's much appriceated. Thank you agin.

I have the same issue with the sun. I try to park myself in the shade right next to a sunny spot for my dragon to sit in so I can be out there for more than 10 minutes at a time. The natural sunlight is fantastic for them though and it's great you're already seeing the benefits. It shows how important good lighting is.

The Zilla Slimline is a T8 fixture so it's lower output. They have an effective range of about 6-8'' and give off shade or early morning levels of UVB. Don't forget to remove the clear plastic that covers the bulb as that will intercept all of the UVB. If you're seeing big benefits from natural sun you may want to get a T5 UVB tube which puts out mid day levels of UVB. I use this one and it's fantastic http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ It should sit about 12'' above the basking area for best results.

Is there a better bulb I can replace the stock bulb with that will give off a higher output of UVB? Or will I have to by another fixture all together?

I hate to say it but yes, you will need to get a new fixture for a t5 bulb, be it Arcadia 12%d3 or the Reptisun 10.0 t5 HO. but its well worth it!

Great job taking in this por lskinny little dude ! You've been given good advice, I just want to add one warning. Even though your beardie may cling to you on your shouder as you walk around, they can and DO jump at any moment they feel like it. Some are injured quite badly when falling to the hard floor or cement, so always keep one hand on him or carry him out in a box.

It's good that he's getting natural sun, better than any uvb bulb in the world so he'll get plenty until you get around the changing your uvb bulb if you take him out regularly.