So I have wanted a bearded dragon most of my life. As a kid, mom said no because they eat bugs, then as an adult I was either just starting out and didn't have the money or I was living in the UP of Michigan with no nearby reptile vet so I realized it would be irresponsible. I feel like I have read everything there is and yet worry I am going to let him down.
I rehomed Draco from a friend of a friend. They say it's a male, and 2.5 years old. I already own 3 snakes and an uromastyx so I have some reptile experience. The first thing I did was upgrade his enclosure. His previous owners had him in an old 12 inch by 42 inch wood trimmed aquarium that part of the back had melted from the lights being set back on the edge trying to reach down in the tank and they were using red lights at night. He is now in a nat geo front opening tank, 18 inches by 36 inches. I have an 18 inch reptisun 10.0 tube stretching the center part of the tank and have climbs of various heights along the length to give him a wide range of options on how he wants to get his UVB. On one side of the tank I have a basking light, though I am going to get a smaller bulb this weekend since the hottest spot is 130 and he never goes to that edge. He loves to bask right about smack dab in the center of the tank, where it's about 100 degrees. Cool side is about 82-85 during the day and drops to room temp at night. I use an infrared temp gun for temps. On the other side, I just have a fluorescent standard bulb so it's cool but still gives him that bright light. His tank bottom is ceramic tile I had custom cut to fit the tank. He has a low hide on his cool side that he retires to every night when his lights click off. I have his lights on a timer from 8-8 and no heat at night since our house currently is set to 75 degrees but in the reptile room usually runs about 78 degrees due to the heat from the uromastyx enclosure and the large boa tank.
At one point he lived on sand, but then they learned better. Hes very alert and curious, though not crazy about his veggies, but he eats about 1/2 to 3/4 of the salad I give him each day. They fed him only crickets and mealworms for protein.
I cant stand crickets, so at the reptile show this weekend I am getting some dubia and also probably going to start a small colony since the boyfriend is saving up for an Ackie monitor in a few years. I bought some superworms in a pinch and he adores those but I try to be a bit stingy with them since of I understand correct those are kinda fatty. I am going to try and get a small variety of feeders at the local reptile show this weekend to let him sample and figure out what he likes.
Salad wise I have been doing mustard greens with some butternut squash and addington bits of carrot, red bell pepper, and cactus leaf on a rotation for variety. I have a list saved on my phone of all the greens and veggies/flowers that are good for both the uro and beardy since it makes life much easier to feed them the same. I will sometimes throw in just a bite or two of watermelon or cherry. I dust the greens with a little bit of reptical (pink label) calcium each day. I am picking up a multivitamin this weekend when I figured I could ask the breeders for recommendations. I also have sprinkled a little bit of bee pollen on it since it makes my uro go nuts when he is being stubborn with food and Draco seems to like it too.
He's in shed but it seeks to be slow going. I have given him a nice warm soak every 2-3 days. I was worried since he seems to have brown gunk between his scales all over his tummy, tail and legs, but after much research, it might be staining from the dark sand he used to be on. I bought some very soft baby tooth brushes and have gently brushed him while soaking in hopes that it will make it easier. He has one spot where it looks like he shed and it's super clean so I am hoping it was just subpar housing and he just needs time to clear it off. I don't see anything that looks like fungus of scale rot. His tail is stumpy, the prior owners said they didn't know what happened that made him lose the tip of his tail but from examining it, it looks like it is well healed. He has all of his toes and toenails and from everything I can tell has healthy bones.
He seems to take 1-2 bowels movements every day, usually a bit of liquid with a soft but solid stool. He is very alert and keep trying to dominate the cats by head bobbing, though when I did it back to him I got the hand wave so at least for now I'm the boss (probably not for long..every other animal in the house owns me so I suspect he will catch on soon
)
Is there anything I am missing? I just want to be the best beardy mom I can and want to make sure I am not letting him down.
And here he is (newspaper photo is from his old crappy tank)
I rehomed Draco from a friend of a friend. They say it's a male, and 2.5 years old. I already own 3 snakes and an uromastyx so I have some reptile experience. The first thing I did was upgrade his enclosure. His previous owners had him in an old 12 inch by 42 inch wood trimmed aquarium that part of the back had melted from the lights being set back on the edge trying to reach down in the tank and they were using red lights at night. He is now in a nat geo front opening tank, 18 inches by 36 inches. I have an 18 inch reptisun 10.0 tube stretching the center part of the tank and have climbs of various heights along the length to give him a wide range of options on how he wants to get his UVB. On one side of the tank I have a basking light, though I am going to get a smaller bulb this weekend since the hottest spot is 130 and he never goes to that edge. He loves to bask right about smack dab in the center of the tank, where it's about 100 degrees. Cool side is about 82-85 during the day and drops to room temp at night. I use an infrared temp gun for temps. On the other side, I just have a fluorescent standard bulb so it's cool but still gives him that bright light. His tank bottom is ceramic tile I had custom cut to fit the tank. He has a low hide on his cool side that he retires to every night when his lights click off. I have his lights on a timer from 8-8 and no heat at night since our house currently is set to 75 degrees but in the reptile room usually runs about 78 degrees due to the heat from the uromastyx enclosure and the large boa tank.
At one point he lived on sand, but then they learned better. Hes very alert and curious, though not crazy about his veggies, but he eats about 1/2 to 3/4 of the salad I give him each day. They fed him only crickets and mealworms for protein.
I cant stand crickets, so at the reptile show this weekend I am getting some dubia and also probably going to start a small colony since the boyfriend is saving up for an Ackie monitor in a few years. I bought some superworms in a pinch and he adores those but I try to be a bit stingy with them since of I understand correct those are kinda fatty. I am going to try and get a small variety of feeders at the local reptile show this weekend to let him sample and figure out what he likes.
Salad wise I have been doing mustard greens with some butternut squash and addington bits of carrot, red bell pepper, and cactus leaf on a rotation for variety. I have a list saved on my phone of all the greens and veggies/flowers that are good for both the uro and beardy since it makes life much easier to feed them the same. I will sometimes throw in just a bite or two of watermelon or cherry. I dust the greens with a little bit of reptical (pink label) calcium each day. I am picking up a multivitamin this weekend when I figured I could ask the breeders for recommendations. I also have sprinkled a little bit of bee pollen on it since it makes my uro go nuts when he is being stubborn with food and Draco seems to like it too.
He's in shed but it seeks to be slow going. I have given him a nice warm soak every 2-3 days. I was worried since he seems to have brown gunk between his scales all over his tummy, tail and legs, but after much research, it might be staining from the dark sand he used to be on. I bought some very soft baby tooth brushes and have gently brushed him while soaking in hopes that it will make it easier. He has one spot where it looks like he shed and it's super clean so I am hoping it was just subpar housing and he just needs time to clear it off. I don't see anything that looks like fungus of scale rot. His tail is stumpy, the prior owners said they didn't know what happened that made him lose the tip of his tail but from examining it, it looks like it is well healed. He has all of his toes and toenails and from everything I can tell has healthy bones.
He seems to take 1-2 bowels movements every day, usually a bit of liquid with a soft but solid stool. He is very alert and keep trying to dominate the cats by head bobbing, though when I did it back to him I got the hand wave so at least for now I'm the boss (probably not for long..every other animal in the house owns me so I suspect he will catch on soon
) Is there anything I am missing? I just want to be the best beardy mom I can and want to make sure I am not letting him down.
And here he is (newspaper photo is from his old crappy tank)
