New to Dragons and need some help

Hey everyone! This is my first pet ever and i decided to go with a bearded dragon! My only questions are regarding my new beirdie buddys sleep lamp. Some forums say at night to just use a ceramic heat lamp but the lady at pet smart told me to use this purple bulb. Its not bright at all but i do have a ceramic bulb as well. Whats the better choice or is there no difference? Also should i pour some water on his veggies? They seem a bit dry. And whats the deal with freeze dried grasshoppers? Like i dont mind feeding the living worms but my mom doesn't want the grasshoppers in her house. Will he hate the freeze dried ones? Thanks everyone!

Edit: btw he falls asleep pretty good withthe purple one he was asleep before i went to bed haha

Colored bulbs are to be avoided, particularly at night. Like most animals beardies require darkness to sleep soundly and neon red or purple light can disrupt their circadian rhythm (picture trying to sleep with a giant neon light above your bed). Chances are good that your room doesn’t get cold enough at night to require a heat source, but if your room does get 64 degrees or below you can get a CHE to bump up his cage temps a little at night. As for the freeze-dried grasshoppers, the reason beardies require live food is because you can’t gutload a freeze-dried insect to ensure that it’s nutritious, and because most beardies won’t drink from a water bowl, they get the majority of their hydration needs met from foods that include the live insects they eat. Freeze dried insects lack nutrition and moisture, so they’re best avoided. Regarding his salad, I find that lightly misting my beardies’ greens can keep them fresh longer, and this is another way to ensure they’re well hydrated. The Beautiful Dragons website has an excellent nutrition chart for both staple vegetables and insects. If your mom doesn’t like the idea of grasshoppers (and these may be too big if he’s a baby, as all insects should be smaller than the space between your beardie’s eyes), I highly recommend Phoenix worms (also known as calciworms or BSFL). They require zero maintenance, are rich in calcium, and are less likely to unsettle your mom the way crickets and grasshoppers can. But ultimately you want variety in the diet: silkworms, dubia roaches, hornworms, crickets, and BSFL are all good to have in rotation. Hopefully your mom can get onboard with these insects, as it’s very important to offer live feeders. Hope some of this was helpful!

Thanks so much!

No problem! I know how overwhelming it can feel when you’re trying to figure out all the elements related to bearded dragon husbandry. Just make sure you’re taking all basking surface temperatures with a temp gun for 100% accuracy (instead of relying on the stick on thermomemeters, which can be very inaccurate) and that you’ve got a quality UV light (check out the lighting guide on this website for a breakdown on why not all UV lights are created equal). These two elements are the most crucial to raising a healthy beardie. And because pet stores can charge a ridiculous amount for feeders like crickets and calciworms, I recommend ordering insects online. If you’re in the US let me know if you need recommendations on where to buy BSFL, crickets, etc. online. And welcome to the beardie owning club!

Thanks so much and yes i am from the us where should i go?

My top picks:
1. I love Rainbow Mealworms (for everything except mealworms!). They have a baby bearded dragon sampler pack that includes BSFL, small dubias, small hornworms, and a few other feeders. I substitute the superworms for crickets (they’re great about substitutions) because superworms are pretty fatty and there are much healthier options. I’ll occasionally order small amounts of superworms from them as a treat, but the amount included in the sampler packs is way too much so I swap them for crickets. They have the lowest prices on hornworms I’ve ever come across and almost always send an overcount (these insects grow pretty quickly so just keep that in mind if your guy is still pretty tiny). Or you can simply order a bulk amount of individual insects like crickets. They’ve got great customer service and a loyalty program where you can earn points that you can later spend on insects.
2. Dubiaroaches.com. While Rainbow Mealworms has some of the most competitive prices on crickets, hornworms, and superworms, these guys are less expensive for dubia and Turkistan roaches. They also have very reasonable prices for butterworms, which are a great occasional treat for beardies.
3. For BSFL (Phoenix/calciworms) Symton BSF and Fluker’s have the best prices. Including shipping, with both these vendors you can get 1,000 BSFL for $18 or $19. With BSFL you can order the largest size and they’ll still be small enough for most young beardies. And Symton has a discount if you schedule recurring deliveries, as well as points you can accumulate and spend on free bugs.
Hopefully this gets you started. There are other options, of course, but I’ve had great personal experiences with these vendors and their prices are among the best. Once you discover how much cheaper it is to order bugs online, chances are you’ll never go to a pet store again.

DONT listen to anything Petco or Petsmart says. I currently use a purple light but I read it can disrupt their sleep cycles and I’m getting a heating pad for nighttime heat. I would recommend putting some water in with the veggies and also to bathe him 2 times per week. You will need to feed live, gutloaded insects to your beardie the frozen ones aren’t very nutritious! Have fun

Hey I also noticed he is doing the beardie wave like there is a someone trying to take his basking spot. There is no mirror in the tank. Should i put paper or something on the glass near his basking spot? Here he is waving btw. (edit) also btw i got him some live crickets and he seems to really enjoy the hunt

If he is doing the wave some paper would probably help

QuinnF":27bomwt3 said:

If he is doing the wave some paper would probably help

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i put some up and he seems to still be doing it. is it something he will just learn?

It could just be that he isn’t young. Make sure to take him out a lot and maybe but the paper on the inside of the tank.

QuinnF":1wyrn6r7 said:

It could just be that he isn’t young. Make sure to take him out a lot and maybe but the paper on the inside of the tank.

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how often should he be out of the tank? and is it okay if the crickets get stuck in the water? one jumped in and i dont think he is coming out lol

I would remove all uneaten crickets. It just depends on how often you want to hold him but you need to handle him plenty so he gets used to you

How long is plenty? Today he had a bath and we hung out for like 30 min