Bearded Dragon Hatchling Care

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BeardyBabies

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[originally posted in General but feel that this is better suited in this forum]

Hi All,

Back in February, I bred two of my collector quality bearded dragons, something I have wanted to do for awhile, and now that my male is 18 months, and my female is 2 years, I decided it was the right time.

I froze the first clutch she laid because timing was off (COVID started and I got nervous about raising new animals).

I decided to keep the best looking eggs from the second clutch. We kept about 15 out of 32 good looking, healthy eggs in total.

I have read all the manuals, lots of resources online, and so for the most part I feel confident about caring for these babies. We rescue animals in addition to keeping our two breeder animals, so we have all of the necessary supplements (liquid calcium), medications, and items for care, even for babies that come out not as strong.

In total, we currently house 7 bearded dragons and are very familiar with them. Only two are breeders. The rest are pets or rescues.

However, this is still my first clutch of babies, so I’m nervous. I know there are always risks, but I want to give these baby beardies the best shot they have in life before they’re sent off to good homes.

The bearded dragons are now looking like they are about to hatch. In one of my two boxes, the eggs have all started deflating. This makes sense, as I’m at about day 60 and the temp range was 85-88 degrees consistently (I know 88 is on the high end, but blame the weird weather not me).

I have a question that all the prep in the world cannot seem to answer, and that is: what UV bulb do I use for the hatchlings?

I used to use T8s for all of my dragons. I recently made the switch in March to T5 bulbs. My dragons are doing so much better and thriving more under the T5 UV bulbs. The bulbs I have for the babies’ setups are still T8 bulbs. I’m wondering, now, if I should get some additional T5 hood lamps.

My set-up for the babies is 4 all-white rubber 18 gal
Sterilite containers. They’re tall compared to a 12 in 20 gal container. I’m worried that the UV won’t reach them from the T8 bulbs. I have tons of extra T5 bulbs. Should I get new T5 hoods for the babies? What are everyone’s suggestions.

*Also, any additional anecdotal advice on bearded dragon hatchling husbandry that people can convey would also be much appreciated, as I am new to this.

For example, I’d love to see people’s best practices and any neat tricks people have learned over the years.

Any tips or pointers would be amazing.

I have learned that there is no community like the bearded dragon community. Everyone is so nice and sharing. It has been a great pleasure to be part of that culture.
 
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