New beardie owner - Introduction and questions!

Hello, everyone! I'm new to this site and hoping to find some useful tips/info about bearded dragons. My dad was a herpetologist so I spent the first 12 years of my life sharing my home with over 300 reptiles of all shapes and sizes and grew to be very fond of them. It's been about 10 years since his passing and I decided to join in the things he loved so dearly. So today I purchased my first beardie from Petco (not the greatest place, I know) but a few weeks ago I noticed they were having a sale on the older dragons and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. So I went online and read/watched many things to make sure I set up the enclosure just right before bringing him/her home. My beardie is approx 6 months old according to the rep at Petco. I have him/her currently in a 40gal breeder. I ordered most of my supplies on amazon because I live in Myrtle Beach and the only pet stores we have in the area are Petco/PetSmart and I found them to be overpriced. I recieved my packages today - I had ordered a 10 UVB bulb and a 24 in hood. When I unboxed everything I noticed the UVB bulb was not the correct size (too long for the hood). Luckily, the hood I ordered did come with a bulb - but I am worried because it is 50 UVB. Also, the woman who helped me at the store let me know they usually feed them insects again around 5pm. I've had my beardie in it's enclosure since about 3pm and it seems to be doing fine. It has been exploring it's new habitat, basking and showing normal behavior. However when 5pm came around I offered it crickets and it is not eating. He ate one bug and then went to rest on his branch. I read that beardies are good at letting you know when they're full so I'm wondering if this just means he's full from an earlier meal or maybe just stressed from being in a new space. Any help regarding the UVB and feeding/stress would be greatly appreciated and I do apologize for my ranting! Thanks!

Hi there , welcome to the beardie world. Can you post a few pics of him as well as his lighting and how you have it set up ? Is the fixture by chance a Zilla desert 50 bulb ? Check to see that there is no plastic shield covering the bulb because it would block the uvb. If there's a shield, take it off. Being that you live in Miami, you might build or purchase a cage for outdoors, or buy a leash + take him out, but wait a bit until after he settles in.

And yes, they usually go through a relocation " stress" and may not eat much for a few days or even a week or 2. So here's how to post pics :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to attach pics

Thank you for your reply. My apologies if I made a mistake - I live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The UVB is a Zilla 50 UVB 18in T8 bulb.

I purchased the zilla hood and it came with the bulb. I had ordered a reptisun 10.0 UVB T8 but they sent me a 24in instead of an 18in. I'll be returning it Monday when UPS opens and getting the correct size.

I've uploaded some photos of my beardie to my page as well as a photo of his enclosure. My friend with beardies recommended using a thick fabric for substrate - that is what is covering the floor/walls of the tank.

The Desert 50 bulb is fine. Do be sure to remove the plastic cover as AHBD mentioned because that will intercept all of the UVB. It should sit 6-8'' above the basking area for best results. Outside time in the natural sunlight is also incredibly beneficial to them when the weather gets up above about 70 outside.

The lack of appetite is normal at first. Just start a routine and offer him the calcium dusted bugs a couple of times each day. I've found it's easier to offer them in small batches a few at a time. It's easier for both of you to track them that way. Just keep offering them until he loses interest. If he doesn't want them, OK, try again later. I also suggest offering a salad. There is a good list of items to offer here http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html Offer as much variety as you can based on what looks fresh at the store at any given time.

I don't see the photos you uploaded. Try adding them to your post by using the XIMG button when you reply.

Cooper answered all your Q's there....and I am the one to apologize for thinking I read Miami when you clearly have Myrtle Beach under your username.

Thank you both for all your help. I actually picked up an under the counter fixture that I'm going to mount in his cage so I can use the reptisun bulb. I'm going to return the hood/50 UVB bulbs.

He ate a bunch of salad for his first feeding this morning. I offered crickets and he had no interest but I was able to hand feed a few worms. I also hand fed the salad. Seems like hand feeding is the way to go for my little one.

The disadvantage of the under counter fixtures is that they don't come with a reflector to direct the UVB downward, decreasing their effective range. You'll want to be sure it's mounted about 6'' above the basking area in this case (closer can be dangerous).

Okay, thanks so much!

I'm gonna make sure that the UVB is mounted the correct distance from the basking area. I do have a question though. What do you mean by dangerous? I want to know what to look out for if I get the measurement off by some chance.

If the UVB bulb is too close it could cause vision issues because they are pretty intense at close range. Your dragon is likely to just stay further away if the UVB output is too intense but I don't like to risk having the UVB lights closer than 6''. I try to keep the basking lights over 12'' away too. This is because they are quite hot and can cause burns if your dragon comes in contact with them. They also produce a wider basking area at further distance which is ideal.

Okay, I'll make sure to keep everything at the appropriate distance

You have been very helfpul!