Hello there. New beardie grandma here.

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GeePanini

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Hi,
I’m one of those new owners of a beardie that thought I did all the right research, only to find we’ve gotten many things wrong. My son has wanted a beardie for many years and we finally decided it was time to get one for him. He’s 13 and very responsible and had saved enough money to buy his dragon and all he would need to get started.

We used to have a couple of nice reptile houses in town, but it seems they have both closed, so we ended up at one of the big commercial pet stores. He knew right away which beardie he wanted. Panini, as he has been named, is a baby leatherback with a lot of energy, a sweet disposition and not too skittish. Unfortunately, we bought one of those tank kits with a bunch of stuff we ended up not needing. Anyway, we brought him home a few days ago. We were told that all we needed were baby crickets to start, but we are now looking into Dubias and Phoenix worms. We have started giving him little pieces of mustard greens, which he seems to really like as well. We spritz him with water a couple of times a day and he has been good about licking the droplets around his face. But he seems really young and we’re so new at this.

I can’t believe how much we adore this little guy already. We just want to do everything we can to give him the best care and the best life. I’m glad I found this forum, because I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Hope I’m not in over my head.
 

MarlowAndMe

Juvie Member
Welcome :) unfortunately a lot of people are talked into the “beardie kits” which is an expensive way to get what you don’t need
Don’t worry it happens to most of us! The good news is you have researched and found out early enough that your dragon can have a great start :)
If you want to post up some pictures and description of your setup we can try and help you if you still need to change some of it
 

GeePanini

Member
Original Poster
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[*]Thanks for your reply! I’ve been reading through the “things to get” list here, and it’s helped quite a bit. It looks like we’ll need a new UVB light. We have the Reptisun 10.0 build, but not the tube, so I’ll order one of those. My biggest concern is his food. I just ordered some Phoenix worms and I’m trying to sort out how many Dubias to order. I’ve taken the reptile mat substrate out of his tank, because the crickets keep crawling under it. I’ve just laid down some drawer liner paper for the time being. I think that’s ok.

I will post a pic of his enclosure tomorrow, as he’s asleep now and his lights are off. I’d like to post a pic of him, so I can get feedback on how he looks to you experienced beardie owners. I’m pretty lame with technology, so I’ll see if you can figure out uploading pics here. Yes, I am that bad at this stuff. ?
 

MarlowAndMe

Juvie Member
The drawer liner is a good choice for substrate :) I use linoleum flooring in mine which serves the same purpose
For uvb the best are t5s. Either a 10% or a 12% Arcadia with a t5 reflector
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
Love the name, Paninni! He looks like a happy little guy. I think you definitely got the right idea to go with phoenix worms and dubias. Such great feeders for them! Crickets are a pain in the butt and they smell horrible and die so much faster than dubia. Oh, they also bite, no bueno. He's a baby, so he'll eat tons of food for the first few of months. When Tampico was a baby, I sad constantly buying dubia and worms, about 100 of both, every two weeks. They grow super fast too and you'll be amazed at how often they shed when they're a youngin. Advice on the Phoenix worms... They turn into black soldier flies and I've learned to open the little container they come in outside after a couple of weeks because I didn't want them flying in the house. Haha
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You can order dubias on line- amazon has them I - free shipping - I have not used that site as of yet - I have been ordering from dubiaroaches.com - they charge shipping tho but have great choices for bearded dragons- I also order butter worms and horn worms for him and shipping is always spot on for delivery

Karrie
 

GeePanini

Member
Original Poster
vrenee1018":s7xl1pjf said:
Love the name, Paninni! He looks like a happy little guy. I think you definitely got the right idea to go with phoenix worms and dubias. Such great feeders for them! Crickets are a pain in the butt and they smell horrible and die so much faster than dubia. Oh, they also bite, no bueno. He's a baby, so he'll eat tons of food for the first few of months. When Tampico was a baby, I sad constantly buying dubia and worms, about 100 of both, every two weeks. They grow super fast too and you'll be amazed at how often they shed when they're a youngin. Advice on the Phoenix worms... They turn into black soldier flies and I've learned to open the little container they come in outside after a couple of weeks because I didn't want them flying in the house. Haha

Hi! Thanks for the info on the worms. I’ll definitely open them outside if I’ve had them for a while, ewww! I actually found a pet store that had some Dubias this morning. They were really expensive, but I got some to see how Panini would like them. He went completely bonkers for them! He ate all 15 in no time. Later I tried a few crickets and he just watched them walk by.
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
That's exactly how Tampico was when I introduced dubia into her diet. She loved em. It was like going from a sirloin to a filet mignon... You don't turn your back on that filet! Hahaha
 

GeePanini

Member
Original Poster
vrenee1018":aaz02zcq said:
That's exactly how Tampico was when I introduced dubia into her diet. She loved em. It was like going from a sirloin to a filet mignon... You don't turn your back on that filet! Hahaha

Lol! ? yes! It was kinda nuts how immediate his reaction was.
 
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