Hi there!

Status
Not open for further replies.
98207-6743721440.jpg
Hi folks!
So, we are new to the world of beardie lovers. We're guessing our little one is 3-4 months old. I got him/her to help my son with his PTSD and to help him feel responsible for something of his own. It's also going to be a wonderful teaching moment for me, and he/she is going to be our class mascot. I will be bringing him/her home on the weekends, though. I want to get some feedback on tank setup. Thoughts on how I might set up the process for the lights for the classroom and when I should set them to turn on and off, when the basking/UVB should go off and the blue light should go on? Timers? I'll get to the classroom by 8:00 and leave at 4:00. A blue light was suggested for nighttime since I have him in a classroom. I have a warming pad under the left side of the tank. I was told to feed him 5-8 crickets 1x per day and leave his bowl full of fresh veggies and fruits. I've introduced mealworms this weekend, as well. (4 per feeding, 1x per day) Today, I panicked because I read that he should be eating more and put another 6 crickets in there this evening and he gobbled them up immediately. I'm scared I'm starving him by only giving him 5 crickets per day. I would love thoughts and appreciate your help. Thanks!
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Hi. He's a cutie. He needs to be fed 2x a day for as much as he'll eat in 15 mins. Also he needs a better job light. A reptisun 10.0 t5 and the blue light is junk. If your house does not get below 65 no heat source is needed. If it does get colder then you want a small ceramic heatemitter that gives off heat and no light. Berries like to have complete darkness and a cool down period at night.
 
Hi! Welcome to the site- I'm also quite new to dragon husbandry, but my little guy is around the same age so I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents. Your dragon should be eating way more than 5-6 crickets(and the crickets generally shouldn't be larger than the distance between his eyes), my guy will hoover up a few dozen over the course of his feedings during the day. On that note, one of the best investments I've made for my beardie is one of those "cricket keepers" with the black tubes available in petshops, really simplifies gut-loading and meal prep!

One thing I might add to the tank is a hiding place on the cool side Stilgar spends most of his time basking, but at the end of the day he often likes to go to sleep in his little cave on the cool side!

As far as timers- that's the way to go imo. Easy to set up, and it'll give him a nice, predictable day/night cycle.
 

LearningwithPhoenix

Member
Original Poster
Thanks you guys. I appreciate your feedback! I've upped the crickets, added the cricket keeper and I'm adding new fruits to the "salad" I keep in there. I"ll move the hiding log to the cooler side, too.

He/she started shedding. I freaked out thinking he/she was dying but as I read more I see it must be normal lethargic behavior. I gave
[/img] him/her a bath and we''ll keep handling to a minimum until the shedding process is over.

So, should I take the heating pad off the bottom of the other side of the tank? The guy I talked to at the place I got Phoenix told me to put the pad under the opposite side of the basking light. (Of course, he's also the one who told me to get the blue/black light for the night. I trusted his judgement because he has 3 but now I'm second guessing him because he also told me only 5 crickets per day...)
 
Awesome! Sounds like once s/he sheds they'll be a happy lizard! Just to clarify- I was recommending adding a second little hide, so your guy can choose whichever shelter is at the most comfortable temperature. Stilgar usually sleeps on the cool side, but he does periodically crash is his warmer cave. How are your temperatures? Ideally I think you should try to get the heat right without the heat pad, since afaik Beardies are built to regulate their temperature with an overheat heat source, so if heat is coming from below it can take them awhile to realize they're getting too hot!
 

LearningwithPhoenix

Member
Original Poster
Oh! Thanks! I'll definitely get one this weekend. Heat ranges between 84-90 in a 20 gallon tank on the basking side. Right now it's 88/90 with 30% humidity.
Unfortunately, we're on watch trying to save him. I think we purchased a sick beardie. We came home last night and found him in a weird position at the top of his perch and nearly white. He's barely eating crickets...just 2 or 3 this morning. He left the other 6 and I took those out tonight when I got home. I talked to our vet and she told me we were handling him way too much, so we're probably stressing him out. She said just once or twice a week. She suggested he may be dehydrated, too, and to try a 20-25 minute bath even though he HATES baths. So, I came home and gave him a lukewarm bath for 20 minutes like she suggested (he turned black all over afterwards and his tail turned ridged and curled up). When I put him back in his tank, he jumped up on his perch and went up as high as he could and pressed himself up against the glass with his face pointing up to the screen. The vet had us get a 20" reptile strip light and 15 watt 50 UVB bulb.
 
I'm sorry to hear your little guy isn't feeling well- I'm new to keeping dragons as well, and thankfully don't have experience treating illness(in lizards, anyway), the only thing I know that might help is to make sure his basking area, right under the light, is getting to 105-110. 90 should be okay for the ambient temp on the warm side. I didn't see if you mentioned it, but he should also be getting frequent calcium/vitamin dusting on the crickets(though you haven't had him long enough for vitamin issues to be a likely cause of illness I don't think), in addition to gutloading. For hydration you can also try dripping water on his snout or lightly misting him. If you haven't already, I'd strongly recommend posting in the "health" or "ER" topics here, there is an incredible wealth of knowledge on sick Beardies over there! Good luck and I hope you get him feeling better, keep us updated on how he does!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,903
Messages
1,255,717
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom