My first Bearded Dragon!

Hi everyone!

I have a brand new baby Bearded Dragon named Dinraal and he's as cute as can be! I thought I was prepared for everything but it turns out I had a zillion questions after bringing him home so I'm glad there are forums for my questions! Really I just hope I do things right, although I do have some concerns.

My main concern is that I bought the 40 gallon starter kit from PetSmart because it seemed like a good deal. So I have the 40 gallon tank, and for my substrate I'm using repticarpet instead of the sand that came with the tank. The kit also came with the deep dome dual light fixture and a uvb coil light along with the basking light. I've been reading a lot on lighting today as my Beardie hasn't been interested in eating much of anything (could be related to stress from moving into a new environment?) I'm wondering if the uvb coil light is what's causing my Beardie not to eat? If that's the case, can I wait for a few days to get the uvb tube light or should I get it immediately? And if the basking light is fine should I just keep it in my dual light fixture or switch to a single bulb lamp?

Hi there,

Welcome and congrats on your new beardie

The appetite definitely can be from relocation stress. But as you've read, those coils really aren't suitable. You can wait a few days if you need to to get the tube version. But it's pretty common for their whole behaviors to change for the better once lighting is squared away

You can continue to use the heat bulb and fixture if they are giving you the proper temps. That's perfectly fine.

Let us know if you have anymore questions

-Brandon

Welcome to the forum--- unfortunately the kits they sell w/ the tanks are basically useless - they sell stuff in there that is not good for a bearded dragon- yes to your question about him going thru relocation stress that is common- however he should not quit entirely eating --- and yes you should ditch the coil UVB-- they are no good and do not emit the correct UVB your dragon needs - so w/ that being said I would replace it as soon as you can - you can go back to Petsmart and get a Reptisun T 5 or a T 8 - some stores carry the T 5's while others do not but they do carry the T 8's the difference between the 2 is that the T 5 can go on top of the tank while the T 8 inside the tank--- the T 5's last for a year while the T 8's need to be changed out every 6 months -- also the T'8 come in 18" - 22" I believe your tank is ok for him now - he will needed to be upgraded to a larger tank by the time he is an adult either a 75 or 120 gallon- you can start shopping around for tanks used on FB marketplace or craigslist - what ever you decide to do try and get a tank w/ front doors -- they are the most convenient--- the UVB fixture do not get the length of the tank - you dont want it full length as they need to be able to escape the rays of the UVB-- you dont want him hiding from it -- the bright white basking bulb is good - as long as temps are 105-110 for a baby - temps should be taken w/ a digital probe or infrared heat gun --- stick ons are inaccurate - the heat gun can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes for around $10-12 and the probe from Petsmart for around $5- repti cartpet is good but will get tiresome of trying to keep it clean - you can get some textured non adhesive shelf liner from Home Depot or Lowes and it is easy to clean w/ vinegar/water in a spray bottle 50/50 -- and insects cannot get underneath--- if you have anymore questions please ask
Karrie

Than you both so much!

I'm going to go ahead and order the zoo med T8 Reptisun 10.0 uvb tube now because I want my Beardie to be comfortable and happy as possible. I also feel like awful for being so happy with the kit from the pet store when I realize now that the only useful things in the kit are the tank itself and the food dishes (one of these forums said to put an article of clothing into the new tank so the Beardie gets used to my scent so i have a tshirt of mine sitting in one of the food dishes).

I have a digital thermometer i bought off of amazon and it's been a huge help with finding temperatures on both sides of the tank and I just ordered a dehumidifier to put by the tank because I live in a state where the humidity is awful year-round and we've been having issues with the humidity rising to ~55 at night when the lights shut off.

About the tube light though, which should i get? If i don't want it stretching the length of the terrarium should i go for the 18-inch one, or the 24-inch tube?

T 8' come in many sizes- it is up to you- when going for a larger tank I would get at least a 24"- so if your going w/ a 24" you would be able to get a T 5 bulb and then it can sit on top- visit this website www.pangeareptiles.com- they are fast and very good people- or you can also shop around just make sure you get a hood w/ a reflector
Karrie

Okay, so what if I wanted to mount the tube inside the tank? I read the Newbies Guide: Lighting Help forum post just now and the uvb tube was inside the tank mounted to the back of the tank; would that be the better option? Or at least an option?

Inside for a T 8 -- T 5 depending on how tall tank is you don't want a T 5 any closer than 12 inches bulb is too strong- I forgot to say humidity can go as high as 60 or so before getting concerned- at nite it will go up and drop during the day-- T 8's should be 6-8 inches from basking spot--- also make sure it's a 10.0 not 5.0
Karrie

Thank you so much!

I feel so much better now that I know what to buy. You've both been a huge help!

Keep us posted on how things are going- make sure you offer greens everyday- I can give you tips on how to get your baby to eat them -- just ask if you need them
Karrie

Will do! I have the tube light ordered, it should be here within the week next week so I'm just going to keep using the coil light with the basking light until i get the tube. In the meantime I just found out that a pet store near me sells Dubia roaches so I'll probably pick some up this week as well for a variety of live protein (we've been feeding him small mealworms since we got him and he seems to really love them when he feels like eating; he ate about 10 yesterday and only 3 today and he had a small poop)

I've been keeping a bowl of greens and veggies and fruits in with him also but I haven't seen him touch it yet; any tips you have would be GREATLY appreciated! He's been getting chopped up collard greens, yellow squash and carrots mixed with green beans and some strawberries.

**Also any tips on handling him would be greatly appreciated also; I don't want to scare him or cause him more stress by picking him up, but I really want to get him comfortable with me.

I will post in morning some tips and websites for nutrition and some bugs
Karrie

Thanks so much!

First here are some websites for you --- nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
https://symtonbsf.com/ this is good for the BSFL also this one for other bugs as well www.dubiaroaches.com -- it is good that you found someone that sells the roaches - just make sure your dusting them 5 x per week w/ the calcium D3 and 2 x per week vitamins- I use the Reptivite as it has beta carotene and not synthetic Vit A---
For getting him to eat vegies - you need a smooth glass low bowl so he can get into it - add 1-3 small super worms on top and BSFL about 6-8 or so enough so he can see them moving- do this FIRST before you feed the roaches - this will get him to that bowl and eat vegies - about an hr later or so feed him his roaches --- Blaze has been eating A LOT- I start w/a dozen roaches after he has eaten the vegies and the worms etc----- sometimes he wont eat all of them at a time - I will pull the bowl and then again in the afternoon I offer him another 5-6 to see if he will eat them - leave them in his tank for 10-15 min to see what he does then pull them --- sometimes Blaze eats all in the afternoon and sometimes not - depends on how hungry he is --- they should be gaining weight - I would keep a chart on his growth -- Blaze is gaining around 2 oz a week so far-- and he is shedding and growing --
Please NO more meal worms -- he is too young for those now -- they are too hard on his stomach-
the website I gave you for dubias will see other worms like butter worms horn worms and the BSFL- horn worms are great but he will need to be bigger to eat them - I tried feeding Blaze one of the smaller ones I had and he got it down but w/ difficulty- so I have not given him anymore -- horn worms are great for hydration but they grow REAL FAST!!! He would not be able to eat them till he gets bigger as that is what I am doing w/ Blaze - my other dragon can eat them w/ no problem as he is around 1 1/2 yrs old --- anymore questions please ask --BSFL are also known as phoenix worms nutri grubs and calci worms and they do not need to be dusted -- they are full of calcium
Karrie

The BSFL look really interesting, I'll order some today; Thanks for the constant help Karrie!

What should I do to encourage him to at least go near his veggies? All he wants to do it seems is stay on his basking branch (due to relocation stress or because he isn't getting the proper amount of uvb?) Should i bring the bowl to his basking spot, or should I pick him up to move him to the veggies? Like I said yesterday I don't want to cause him even more stress by picking him up but I do want to get him comfortable with me touching him.

Put the bowl of vegies in after he has warmed up like an hr they wont eat when they are cold -- put it in view where he can sit on top of that area and add the worms on the salad for him to be able to see and watch what your doing - he will see the movement --- that should entice him to bowl --- he is probably still stressed but I would think he would still eat maybe not as much but as he becomes more comfortable w/ his surroundings and that new UVB he should start eating like a champ eventually
Karrie