New Bearded Dragon Owner

Hello,
We just purchased a Baby Bearded Dragon, and I'm not sure who is more stressed me or the dragon. I have asked, read, researched so much on these reps, but I don't know info is correct and what to follow.
We bought him from petsmart and the girl seemed pretty knowledgable. I don't think/know if my beardie is pooping, He must be eating at some point in time even though everytime time we check on him he is in the same spot. We try talking to him, and opening his home a few times a day to pet him and let him know we love him.

I am giving him small live crickets about 15-30 a day (is this right??) we have the veggie pellets in a bowl, that i added water to, and a small bowl of water. We have all three lights in there, 1 red for overnight by itself and the 2 for the day. We created a nice home. we have only had him/her a few days.... can someone give me some advise, b/c im so nervous, i want him/ her to grow up healthy, but after reading and hearing so much I am completely overwhelmed!!!! Ive read about bathing.. should we be doing that as well. he is so so small right now! HELP PLEASE.. we want to make him happy and healthy :? :? :? :?

Hi! Congrats on your new baby beardie!

The information on this forum is most helpful and accurate, in my opinion. It's a compilation of beardie care information from lots of experienced owners. I suggest reading this forum's caresheet: https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/

Your beardie will need constant exposure to strong UVB rays in order to have an appetite, have energy, and not develop metabolic bone disease. The caresheet covers what's necessary for that. Hopefully you'll find what's wrong about your setup by going over the caresheet!

Keep us updated!

This is a picture of our set up... the far left is the "red" light we use only at nighttime.. the 2 in middle are the basking bulb and the other bulb.. ...???? Should the light in middle and far right be separated?? the one which gets really hot (basking bulb) and the other "cooling" bulb??

and our little guy is bottom right corner... I think he wants out!! lol

closer up of the little guy!

we bought the bulbs right from PetSmart with the whole "kit" we worked with someone in reptiles and they told us the bulbs were just right for him????

he is in a 40 gallon tank.. (the temp reads 85..) but now im seeing he needs to be "hotter" , so how do you adjust that temp??

so stressed don't want to hurt this little guy and want to do right by him... im reading so many different things....

hi

you arent supposed to use any lighting at all at night times, they like it dark

so no "red" heat light at all??? ughhg?? they told us he needed some sort of light at all times.

Hi! They don't need a light at night time, they like it dark. They won't need any heat at night unless your house temps drop below 65 degrees F.

You do not have a UVB light. This will cause your beardie to lose his appetite, energy, and develop metabolic bone disease. Read up on https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/newbies-guide-lighting-help/ in order to get your lights just right.

Also, does your thermometer have a probe? Or is it an infrared gun giving you those temperatures? Make sure the probe is directly on the basking spot. If you are only reading your temps from a thermometer stuck on the glass, then you are reading the ambient temps surrounding the glass. You might want to invest in a probed thermometer to give you an accurate temperature.

we do have a uvb light.. one of those bulbs in the uvb......
so what was the purpose of us buying this red, warm bulb for night time? (any idea?) yes the thermometer was in the kit and it is attached to the glass.. however ,i think i should probably move the thermometer to right where the basking lamp is????

You can return what you do not need to the pet store and get your money back to buy yourself a tube fluorescent UVB bulb and a probed thermometer. It is not uncommon for new beardie owners to get frustrated because the pet store gives them wrong information and sells them wrong stuff.

Have you read the Newbies Lighting Guide that I linked you to? https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/newbies-guide-lighting-help/

The lighting guide discusses the coiled UVB bulbs, like the one you have. They do not produce strong UVB rays that a desert species needs. A nocturnal or rainforest species of lizard might do well on one, though.

Well it all came in one big kit... so now im even more confused and upset about all this.. we spoke with the "reptile" person at the store to.....

I'm sorry, I know it's frustrating. I always recommend people read up on what they need for their desired reptile species before buying the pet, not during buying the pet.

On the plus side, you could maybe get a leopard gecko instead (it's nocturnal/crepuscular)?

Haha, I'm only halfway kidding. If you're worried about price, a mercury vapor bulb (MVB) such as the PowerSun or the MegaRay is a bulb that can screw into your ceramic sockets, and it blasts down tons of heat and UVB for your beardie, much like a sun. This way, you won't have to buy a new light fixture for a fluorescent tube. Your petstore should sell MVBs. Additionally, WalMart should sell probed thermometers for $5-$10. I do think ZooMed makes a probed thermometer for $10-$12 that should also be sold at your local petstore.

well we were told by a friend they got theirs from the same store and reptile associate knew alot.
she seemed to at the time, but im finding different info here. i'll have to go back in my recycling and see exactly what these bulbs say.. associate assured me had the right thing for our beardie..
this is just making me more frustrated.. i'll have to wait until my workday is over and check it all out once i get home..

im even getting different info from person to person on putting calcium on the crickets as well....

ty for info...

Okay! Well, good luck!

If you have any more questions, I do think that the caresheet on this forum is pretty awesome. When I was starting out, I used it a lot, and my beardie is now a fat happy girl. This forum's caresheet has been compiled by experienced beardie owners, breeders, and vets: https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/

Ty!

You cant believe all info you read on the internet, we all know to be skeptical, but its the same with pet shops. Just like someone who works at PC World, they dont necessarily have experience with computers, certainly not advanced stuff.

I always assume the same with shop assistants in pet shops, unless its a specialist reptile centre..

So what I do is gather lots of info from many sources, then eventually you start to see alot of the same info gather together.

I did this, bits of reading, asking questions on forums, asking reptile breeders on facebook messenger, calling up numbers... gathering all intel, this is what I did prior to purchasing my setup, which I have now done