Introduction & Questions

Hello, everyone!

I recently (about a week ago) decided to get a bearded dragon from a family that got "Bored" of him. I have always found them to be very interesting animals and have been always told myself to rescue one.

He doesn't have a name yet, and I am having troubles trying to decide one for him. Any suggestions would be handy.

I just want to explain everything about him, and hopefully get some feedback and tips that will make him (and me) more comfortable.

He's about 3 years old (or so I was told) and has had 2 previous owners. He is actually very active and prefers to be outside of his vivarium. He likes to explore everywhere and I have trouble trying to keep an eye on him all the time. I have booked an appointment with the vet to ensure that he is in good health. He is in a 5ft Vivarium. I recently put some ProRep sand in there as a trial as I know that it is very controversial and has some negative effects. With that being said, he seems to be happier with the sand rather than the 'Astro turf' kind of grass that was in there previously. The vivarium has been cleaned and there has been more decoration put inside, even though he only likes his basking log.

I have been feeding him Grass Hoppers, Large Morio worms & some kind of maggot looking insects. (Can't remember the name). I give him the Hoppers mixed with calcium once a week and about 2 Mario worms a day mixed with his greens. He's a very picky eater but seems like basil, Romanian lettuce and celery. He seems to hate all kind of fruits, which seems odd. I give the maggot looking things 1 a day, normally before I go to bed as a treat. I haven't weighed him yet but compared to other beardies I have seen, he looks much skinnier. I will get him weighed when I go to the vets.

He doesn't drink much, but I have been giving him a little bath every day. I think he finds it very relaxing. I never see him drink, personally, but I assume that he is. His poo seems normal. He normally goes every other day and it bloody stinks! :lol:

I recently replaced the UV light since the last owners didn't know when it was last changed. It seems much better now.

Questions:

• Can I put calcium on the Morio worms or should I only put them on the hoppers? I was told the Hoppers don't really have much of anything but the general exercise.
  
  Do bearded dragons get lonely? How big would you recommend a vivarium to be in order to have 2 dragons? Would there need to be 2 basking spots? Would they fight? What should I prepare before/if I get a second one?
  
  Should I be feeding him less or more?
  
  Whats your overall experience with sands and other substrates? Should I be careful of anything?
  
  Do the bearded dragons like to climb? Should I have surfaces that he can climb or anything that maybe makes him like being in his vivarium more?
  
  How do you make one end of the vivarium cooler than the other side? The opposite end of his basking spot is a little cooler but it's still quite hot. He doesn't really go to that end much anyway.

Sorry for this being an essay, I just really hope I can get some feedback and would love to hear your overall experiences.

Welcome to the forum! I'm glad you're able to give him a good home. At his age, he should be eating mostly veges. I would offer him a wide variety and rotate based on what is fresh at the store and try to find his favorites. I like to reference this list for ideas. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html I'd hold off on bugs until he's good at eating his veges, and then maybe 1 or 2 bug meals per week. I would dust all of the bugs you offer but it's not as critical as when they are young and eat mostly bugs. He will get plenty of vitamins and nutrients from a balanced salad eaten regularly.

They are territorial and can be quite aggressive to eachother. It's best to keep them alone. If you have more than one, they need their own space and separate time outside their tanks etc.

It's great that he likes to roam around. You may find it helpful to set up a portable basking spot for him to return to so he can warm up and bask while he's out of his tank. They also tend to really enjoy looking out the window so if you have a window sill that's safe for him to sit on he may take to that. Try some different things and find what he likes.

I used sand when I first started and I don't like it. It's difficult to clean and keep sanitary and is dusty. I currently use ceramic tile which I like due to it's ease of cleaning/sanitizing. It more closely resembles the hard packed clay in their natural environment but is a bit harder. I have a fleece blanket over part of the tile so he can have some relief and burrow a bit if he wants to. The fleece doesn't have loops to get caught in his nails and is easy to throw in the washer to clean.

Dragons generally do like to climb. More so when they are younger. I would put some driftwood pieces or some branches in his enclosure to provide some climbing areas. You can rinse them off well and bake them in the oven on low for about 45 min to sanitize them if you pick them up from outside or if they get soiled.

I keep my basking light to one side of the tank and the other side is open. Having good ventilation helps too. Under my basking spot the surface temps are between 100-105f with areas around that in the 90s. The cool side surface is currently 77. My basking light is hooked up to a programmable dimming thermostat that cuts power to the basking light to keep the temps within a set range.