New to owning a reptile! Need help!

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Z1439

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Hello!
About 3 days ago I purchased my first bearded dragon! I'm excited to own a bearded dragon and since I got him I've been using this site to answer many of my questions. I named my bearded dragon Zolo and it is very active he/she is about 7 inches long. As for what type of bearded dragon he/she is, I'm not to sure. Often times I get paranoid with everything he does! When I first got him I put him in a tank with my uncles bearded dragon (who is also a baby and is a lot smaller than Zolo) (He was also purchased the day before Zolo). I had to put him there the day I got him so I could go and purchase everything Zolo needed. The first day he was fed crickets and he ate them all! That same night I wasn't able to set up his tank because I was locked out of my house, so he spent the night with Pac (my uncles lizard). That night he buried his head in his substrate and I read that that was normal behavior. He didn't interact at all with Pac but I did see Zolo do and arm wave for a while. The next day I brought him home and set up his tank. When I got home (sometime in the afternoon) I realized that I had no food for him! So I went to a nearby reptile store and they gave me Phoenix Worms and butter worms. He really enjoys the phoenix worms. That night I turned off his lights around 10 and he fell asleep in a corner of his tank. I woke up around 3 A.M. and checked his thermometer and it was at 69 degrees! This morning I turned his lights on around 7 A.M. and at 7:30 A.M. I gave him about 10 phoenix worms coated in calcium powder. He didn't eat them out his bowl and I got a little worried. When we first got him it seemed like he didn't really like being held and will move around a bit if we stroke his back. We're trying not to hold him too much because we don't want him to be scared of us. So this morning I hand fed him his worms and he ate them all. At around noon I decided to give him 1 butterworm along with small apple slices and 4 phoenix worms. He ate all his worms and only ate two small apple slices. Around 7:20 P.M. I fed him 10 phoenix worms and 1 butterworm covered in calcium powder. A little before his feeding we took him out so he can explore a bit ( we built a barrier between his tank and my brothers legs so he wouldn't get lost) we try not to push it too much and he explored for a bit but he was trying to get back in his tank so we put him back.
Also...
During the day his basking area will be around 95 to 105 degrees, and his cool side will be about 80 degrees. Im not sure about the humidity level but I don't leave a water bowl in his tank. In the morning I dropped a few small amounts of water near his mouth and he drank the water.
He has been pooping and his poop was brown with a white liquid near it (from what I read and the pictures I saw it's normal) he pooped today as well and it was a lot more solid and looked really dark.
He moves around a lot and recently climbed his fake leaves all the way to the top of his tank (I have them placed at the very top of the cooler side of his tank because its so long) Is this something I should be worried about? and should I move his leaves lower? or does it have to do with his cooler side not being as low as it should be?
Some feed back would be great and useful, As I am new to owning a bearded dragon! I want to make sure Zolo is getting everything he needs to become healthier and happier and continue to grow! Thank You!
 

Linzloohoo

Hatchling Member
Maybe get a Che (ceramic heat emitter) for the night to keep the temp above 70 degrees. Che do not emit any light, any colored bulb can keep them up at night and cause stress. He probably didn’t want to eat in the morning because his light hadn’t been on long enough, lights should be on for 1-2 hours before first feeding and after last feeding. Mine often won’t eat breakfast until he’s had his morning poo. As far as feeding he should be allowed to eat as many live feeders as he wants in a 15-20 minute time frame. If he eats them all before that then offer more. A salad should be offered everyday, I usually put a bowel of salad in tank in the morning and leave it all day for him to munch on as he pleases. He is going through some relocation stress right now from being moved not once but twice, so I would give him time to settle in before really stepping it up with the handling. Most babies are skittish at first but he will relax and learn to trust you in time. Hand feeding is greet for gaining trust just make sure you don’t over do it or he will become spoiled and expect it all the time. Try to bump the basking temp up a bit, babies need a basking temp of 105-110. You can do this by trying to get the basking spot closer to the bulb or by getting a higher wattage bulb. Little guys love to climb so I wouldn’t really be worried about him climbing the leaves unless they are super high from the floor of the tank or they give him a possible escape route. Just the fact that he’s active and eating are really good signs!
Congrats on the new little guy/girl!!!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The lighting in the tank is the most crucial thing for your dragon--- w/ that what kind of UVB are you using and where in the tank is it at? on top of screen or in the tank ? How are you taking basking temps- w/ a digital probe or stick ons? or infrared heat gun--- the stick ons are totally inaccurate and can be off by 40 degrees --- that basking temp is important for digestion as well as the UVB --- please post pics of your tank and lighting ---------- where did you get him from? Please do not put him w/ your uncles dragon anymore --- if one of them is sick it can cause the other to get sick ---- as they get older they become territorial --- that is for future reference - dragons should never be housed together as a general rule and if they are it is for more experienced people ---- it is odd he would bury his head in the substrate--- what was the substrate in the tank ?
Karrie
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Z1439":1p7mbwv9 said:
Often times I get paranoid with everything he does!
I generally urge people to calm down because these are very hardy reptiles--one reason they are recommended for beginning keepers, but sometimes it's better to be (preemptively) paranoid rather than lackadaisical.

That night he buried his head in his substrate and I read that that was normal behavior. .... He moves around a lot and recently climbed his fake leaves all the way to the top of his tank
Bearded dragons are both burrowing and semi-arboreal reptiles.

He didn't interact at all with Pac
Bearded dragons are not generally social with other bearded dragons (except briefly for mating). They do very well in captivity living by themselves, and exposure to another BD can be a source of stress.

I think you could benefit greatly by reading as many bearded dragon care sheets (and watching good videos--there's some bad video advice out there too) as you can find, starting with those here
https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/index.php
and on Reptiles Magazine (and some more :wink: )
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/
A good book or two would be a good idea too. :wink:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...1.64.psy-ab..0.1.278...33i299k1.0.Hp5gl5jnq0c

Keeping up with information will be an ongoing activity as breeders, keepers, and academics learn more about these fascinating animals.

Best wishes.
 

Z1439

New member
Original Poster
Thank You!
As for his lighting he is using a zoo med light that my uncle gave me. I use a digital thermometer to check his temperature, and I got him at a local pet store
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Z1439":lxfrtm10 said:
This is the substrate I am using
Do yourself (and your BD) a favor and take it back to the store.
While BDs are burrowing animals, it's more important in the case of females, who need to burrow in order to lay eggs.
Burrowing substrates can also raise the humidity in the enclosure. Too high humidity can cause upper respiratory infections.
https://beardeddragontank.com/humidity-levels-for-bearded-dragons (Picked at random)
I'm sorry I can't find the link to the best article I've seen on substrates (I have the chart, but not the link). :(
Just spent ½ hr. looking for it.
This article is a close second: How to Choose the Best Substrate And Wild Bearded Dragon Substrates
https://beardeddragonsworld.com/best-substrate-for-bearded-dragons/
It has a very similar table at the bottom of the article, summarizing all the pros & cons of different substrates.

A compromise might be to use one of the preferred substrates across the whole enclosure, and provide a burrowing/digging box in one portion of the enclosure. Just don't feed him on the loose substrate; there's an impaction hazard, especially in babies/young dragons. Loose substrate can also be more challenging to keep clean, and will likely need to be changed periodically, but read the article, and study the chart. :wink:

YMMV
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
If your UVB is a coil I would recommend you get rid of it here is what is recommended on the forum by most Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays-- basking temps should be 105-110 for a baby--- he should be able to sit directly under the UVB bulb-- and it looks like hes trying to get closer to the basking light on that rock thing hes climbing-- you can change your substrate out to some textured non adhesive shelf liner from Home Depot or Lowes - its cheap easy to clean w/ vinegar / water 50/50 in a spray bottle and insects cannot get underneath-- I would let him eat as many phoenix worms as he wants in 10 -15 minutes--- and I do not believe you need to dust them I think they have a high content of calcium-- butter worms are good just not too many as they are high in fat
Karrie
 
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