Newly owned by a Bearded Dragon

Hi I am the newly owned human of a Bearded Dragon. I say he owns me because I had no intentions and have never owned any type of lizard until 1 week ago when I went with my son to the local chain pet store to buy frozen mice for his snakes. And I always look at the lizards and laugh at them cause they are so cute and tiny. Well Biggie Smalls was the biggest one in there and I showed my son and the next thing I know the kid was handing it to me. Yup I replied it’s gonna bite me! Biggie immediately decided it was fun to run up my arm and use my neck for a pillow. The sales person saw how nervous I was so he took Biggie back and was talking to me about Bearded Dragons and doing his best to educate me. Well Biggie decided he had enough of the talk and jumped out of his hand and landed on my chest and you guessed it ran right back to my neck! LOL every time someone tried to remove him he would flatten out and his little feet felt like they were digging in. So of course my mommy heart melted! I am not afraid anymore but I think Biggie Smalls will be the most spoiled lizard on the planet. After a week he still tries to get to me when someone else is holding him, I am getting over my fear of bugs (but I refuse to touch a nasty yucky cricket and clap every time he eats one) and learning more everyday. I was told he is about 3-4 months but not sure. Any and all advise is more than welcome and appreciated by both myself and Biggie Smalls.not sure how to attach a pic yet. I wish I knew for sure how old he or she is.

Sounds like the little guy picked you and you had no choice in the matter =). I'm glad he has found a good home with you. Please let us know if you have any questions about his care and we'll be glad to help. If you post details about your setup I'll be happy to review it to make sure everything is just right for your new buddy. You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

Thank you. Yeah he knows a sucker when he saw one. I came home from work today and he looks really grey and hasn’t eaten all day. Now he is rubbing his face all over the cage. From what I read on this site I’m thinking maybe shedding or he is pouting cause I had to go to work. What else can I feed him as his main diet instead of horrible worms. He likes the wax worms but I read on here that they are junk food for Beardies and to only use as a treat.

Yeah that's shedding, nothing to worry about. I like to offer a rotation of crickets or dubia roaches along with silk worms, black soldier fly larvae, and for older dragons some hornworms. It helps to have a staple bug that you can bulk buy (or start a roach colony) but try to offer variety as well to ensure a healthy diet.

You may want to consider upgrading the lighting and the thermometers in the tank. A good T5 UVB light is very much worth the investment http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ And it's good to use digital thermometers with a probe for the basking site and cooler surfaces so you have an accurate reading of surface temps. An infrared temp gun works well too. The setup looks nice though. I'd just make sure the temperature gradient is good and he's getting enough UVB when he basks.

Thank you. I will be getting the new light ASAP! I also use a red light at night (which I am now reading lots of different opinions on the red night light) I have been using my son's temperature probe a few times a day to check the temps and it seems to be holding 95 in the basking area and about 87 on the cool side. Another thing I have been reading is the lights can cause them to go blind. YIKES I have the calcium powder that I sprinkle on the crickets however I noticed this morning that it says "Contains no D3" is this the correct calcium? I am so sorry with all the questions....I feel like a first time Mom afraid to hurt the baby!

I wouldn't use the red light at night. What you want is an infrared light which will produce heat but no visible light (just infrared). These are usually ceramic heat emitters or heat projectors like this http://www.reptileuv.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=196

If the temps stay above about 65 in the tank overnight then you don't need an additional heat source at all. Some people need one seasonally (myself included) because the house gets cold in winter. even when you use a heat projector you just need a slight bump. I keep mine set between 70-73 overnight and that's all.

Are these temp readings during the day? The cool side is too warm and the basking area is too cool. Might need to re-arrange the lighting a bit to create a better gradient. Keep in mind the probes need to be in place for at least half an hour or so to get accurate readings. That's why it's better to secure them and use them as permanent readings and just spot check using an IR temp gun.

Plain calcium is fine but some people like using the D3 supplement with lower output UVB lights such as compacts and T8 tubes. If you have a T5 tube set at an appropriate distance (the one you just ordered) then they should be able to get enough UVB to synthesize D3 on their own without supplement.

Ok I will try and get the temp better, hopefully when the lights that I ordered come in and the New England winter leaves it will be easier to keep temps. And the kid at the pet store who said Beardies are easy maintance is gonna get punched. LOL but I’m getting really attached to his funny personality and would be crushed if something happened to my high maintenance Biggie. Thanks for all of your advice.

They require attention but once you have the lights dialed in and automated (at least on/off via timer) then they just need some food and time to interact and explore their home. Probably more work than advertised but absolutely worth it and it's not difficult once you have a routine going =)