New to Bearded Dragons

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Hey guys my name is Alex and I recently purchased a Bearded Dragon from Petco. Typically I don't like to support those venues for pets just always rubbed me the wrong way. But I fell in love with a little Beardie that was kind of awkward and goofy. I want to take pictures at some point so I may receive some tips and critique. I want to have the best enclosure and habitat since I ultimately am responsible for the little guy's well being. His/her name is Castiel (been on a Supernatural binge :lol: ) The biggest concern I had recently was his UVB light. Originally I purchased a bulb style UVB and with further research have determined so far to be a waste. I ended up purchasing a T5 fixure alongside with a reptisun 10.0 T5 I'm hoping will arrive by this Sunday. Was this the right move? Anyways, a pleasure again sorry for the rambles. I'm glad to be a part of this community :)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
That was a great move! Tell us what you have for tank size - basking temps how you are taking temps? When you get the T 5 we can help w/ placement- it can either go on top of screen or inside tank but we need to know if screen is fine mesh or wide holed
Karrie
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
Welcome little Castiel and Alex! ? I'm new to the Dragon world myself but will say that you did the right thing in replacing the bulb with the tube. More experienced posters will chime in and help you get everything sorted out. It can be a little overwhelming at first but you'll get it, just hang in there and always ask questions if you aren't sure of anything. Lots of helpful people here. ?
Looking forward to pics of your little guy and his environment. ?
-Dee
 

ZeroAnkoku

Member
Original Poster
Awesome thanks for the replies thus far! I will post a little more on my setup when I return from work. Currently the info I do have from my setup off the top of my head is that the tank is a 40 gallon. It's not a breeder tank from my understanding, it seems a bit too narrow for that. It is however roughly 38'' in length and 12'' in width and I do believe the height to be 18''. Currently I do have a 150w basking light and the spiral UVB I'll be replacing Sunday. The top guard of the tank is a metal one I purchased from Petsmart it seems rather large (in width) so I will have to adjust it or bend it. And I do have the fixtures resting on top of the tank, however for the UVB I did cut a hole into the guard to allow as much UVB in as possible until I receive the tube. I do plan on sealing that hole up as well this was only a temp solution at the time. The basking temps I've measured has always been around 109-118 depending on whether or not the house is cooler or warmer and I do have a temp probe I purchased from Petsmart. As far as food goes I have been feeding him small crickets with a few greens here and there, but he's a brat when it comes to greens. Alongside with the crickets I have been dusting them with Reptivite, how often should I be doing this? Those are the only parameters I can think of right off the bat! Otherwise he's been rather shy and skittish.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The coil is basically given off no UVB since hes in the 40 gallon tank -so its good that UVB is coming-- I will say your gonna want to upgrade that tank to a 75-120 gallon eventually- your guys is gonna out grow it - you can keep him in there but I would recommend upgrading here w/ in a year or so --- hes gonna go thru relocation stress so expect his appetite to slow down -- he should not quit eating all together tho -- getting him to eat his greens is tricky so I am gonna give you some pointers on how -- first your gonna need a glass bowl that worms and bugs cant get out of - so first thing in the morning feed him his salad / greens here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
next get some super worms small if you can find them or some medium add to the salad 1-3 only -you dont want him addicted to the worms- you can also get some BSFL from here and order large www.https://symtonbsf.com/ they are another staple feeder do not dust w/ calcium D3 - add as many as you want and make sure you add them to the salad in front of him so he sees what your doing this will entice him to the salad bowl - let him eat from that bowl for like an hr or so then add your staple insect feeder I recommend dubia roaches they are the easiest to care for and the last longer than crickets- take a little of the salad out and put your bugs in that bowl he will eat vegies as well - you can pull a leg off the crickets to disable them so they cant get out -the dubias you can keep them in a 10 gallon aquarium or / tote feed them dubia food or food you feed your dragon and carrots for hydration - they love squash -- you can order them from here www.dubiaroaches.com -- this place has good worms too like butter worms horn worms they are a hydrating worm and grow really fast so order small amounts you can also order wax worms but feed all these sparingly wax worms are like candy to them -- the butter worms are a good worm to feed more so than wax - NO MEALWORMS - babies stomachs are sensitive - you can feed mealworms when he gets older -- you need to dust your bugs 5 x per week w / calcium D3 and the vitamins 2 x per week -- so when you need more help please ask - where do you plan on putting the T 5? on top of screen or inside the tank ----- that basking temp of 118 is toooo hot --- it needs to be 105-110 no higher ----
Karrie
 

ZeroAnkoku

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":1861yfvt said:
The coil is basically given off no UVB since hes in the 40 gallon tank -so its good that UVB is coming-- I will say your gonna want to upgrade that tank to a 75-120 gallon eventually- your guys is gonna out grow it - you can keep him in there but I would recommend upgrading here w/ in a year or so --- hes gonna go thru relocation stress so expect his appetite to slow down -- he should not quit eating all together tho -- getting him to eat his greens is tricky so I am gonna give you some pointers on how -- first your gonna need a glass bowl that worms and bugs cant get out of - so first thing in the morning feed him his salad / greens here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
next get some super worms small if you can find them or some medium add to the salad 1-3 only -you dont want him addicted to the worms- you can also get some BSFL from here and order large www.https://symtonbsf.com/ they are another staple feeder do not dust w/ calcium D3 - add as many as you want and make sure you add them to the salad in front of him so he sees what your doing this will entice him to the salad bowl - let him eat from that bowl for like an hr or so then add your staple insect feeder I recommend dubia roaches they are the easiest to care for and the last longer than crickets- take a little of the salad out and put your bugs in that bowl he will eat vegies as well - you can pull a leg off the crickets to disable them so they cant get out -the dubias you can keep them in a 10 gallon aquarium or / tote feed them dubia food or food you feed your dragon and carrots for hydration - they love squash -- you can order them from here http://www.dubiaroaches.com -- this place has good worms too like butter worms horn worms they are a hydrating worm and grow really fast so order small amounts you can also order wax worms but feed all these sparingly wax worms are like candy to them -- the butter worms are a good worm to feed more so than wax - NO MEALWORMS - babies stomachs are sensitive - you can feed mealworms when he gets older -- you need to dust your bugs 5 x per week w / calcium D3 and the vitamins 2 x per week -- so when you need more help please ask - where do you plan on putting the T 5? on top of screen or inside the tank ----- that basking temp of 118 is toooo hot --- it needs to be 105-110 no higher ----
Karrie



Thanks for the response and feedback! The basking will be controlled better we currently had an issue with our overall HVAC system so it should be fluctuating more accurately tomorrow after today's repair and I'll be able to adjust it accordingly for 110-115. I'll definitely go ahead and attempt the salad trick you presented me and hopefully get Castiel to eat a few pieces of greens. I'm a little bummed I didn't inquire about the UVB earlier, but I'm glad I was able to rectify the issue a lot sooner. I should have mentioned I've only had Castiel for a week now. As far as tank size goes I definitely will be upgrading to a bigger one once he grows out of this one. I've been looking at some projects for converting some display cases into a big terrarium, but for now the 40 should be plenty for his size. Now as far as supplements such as vitamins what do you recommend? currently I only have the Reptivite w/D3. I agree with the Dubai I will order a good bit. I've done some research and feel if Castiel likes them then I'll lean towards purchasing more, but still offering variety. I plan on putting the T5 within the tank. I've read and watched numerous videos indicating what the wiring/mesh can do in terms of reducing the ability of the UVB's effectiveness.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
105-110------------115 is too hot!-- The Reptivite are vitamins? You will need a calcium so that question is gonna need to be answered by some one else on here - I have calcium D3 and vitamins w/ out D3 so I am not sure on that one-- I dont know if you are going to be able to use just the calcium w/ out D3 and get away w/ the Reptivite D3 or if your gonna need both -- yes the T 5 can go into the tank approx 12-15 inches from his basking decor
Karrie
 

ZeroAnkoku

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":1roewhtv said:
105-110------------115 is too hot!-- The Reptivite are vitamins? You will need a calcium so that question is gonna need to be answered by some one else on here - I have calcium D3 and vitamins w/ out D3 so I am not sure on that one-- I dont know if you are going to be able to use just the calcium w/ out D3 and get away w/ the Reptivite D3 or if your gonna need both -- yes the T 5 can go into the tank approx 12-15 inches from his basking decor
Karrie


Alrighty sounds good! I'll make sure to definitely get the T5 set up ASAP Sunday. Fortunately I do have the weekend off so I'm going to manipulate the spiral UVB a bit to assist with more coverage for the time being. I'll have to do more research on the vitamins and the Reptivite. I was also reading many sources stating that 115 is a good basking temp for juvenile bearded dragons. Is this information false? From a lot of my reading they recommended 115 for juveniles and the 105-110 for the older dragons?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Temp gradient is great 95-110 for juvies and adults- 105-110 for babies- a piece of decor that could offer that gradient- PetSmart has great log decor that offer that gradient- I have two pieces in my two tanks and my dragons love them - it gives them different ways to sit stand or use as pillows to lay their heads-
Karrie
 

ZeroAnkoku

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":26dffd4z said:
Temp gradient is great 95-110 for juvies and adults- 105-110 for babies- a piece of decor that could offer that gradient- PetSmart has great log decor that offer that gradient- I have two pieces in my two tanks and my dragons love them - it gives them different ways to sit stand or use as pillows to lay their heads-
Karrie


Ah I see! Okay I'll definitely adjust it tomorrow and take temp again to make sure it's not too high. I do appreciate all your feedback! I've been nervous making decisions and fixing certain things like UVB along the way, but hopefully I can make it comfortable for him/her soon!
 

ZeroAnkoku

Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":118u01tw said:
Welcome to the site Alex!

BTW, we like pictures here.. :mrgreen:

-Brandon


Thanks guys! Appreciate the information! Sorry for the late reply and update I had a lot going on this weekend with my schedule for work flip flopping.

Anyways I took a picture of Castiel and my setup! Now I did get the T5 mounted on top of the screen. I ended up cutting a rectangular hole similar to the size of the T5 so that it would give off a bit more UVB. I fixed the basking spot so it's reaching a basking point of 110.5-111. He seems to like it a lot more. Don't mind the enclosure in the picture I took out the driftwood he/she had and set it aside for feeding so it's a bit bland. I did end up going with tile as it seems the easiest in terms of clean without concerns about compaction. Is the UVB light setup okay??? One of my biggest concerns is lack of UVB for the little guy. I also ordered a bit of Dubia roaches for him to try on the small side so he can eat them. Having crickets is a bit of a hassle IMO and read that the roaches offer more per roach than crickets. I would appreciate all feedback and thanks for being here when I have questions or concerns!
SkTChDul.jpg


IdTmUFR.jpg
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Your going to need a piece of decor that sits directly under that mesh screen approx 6-8 inches from the UVB - at this point hes not getting much because the screen is filtering 30% of those rays- I would look at getting him some more pieces to climb on ------------ Petsmart has some great decor for dragons - something like this https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/PetSmart/5290971 they are easy to clean and they can use this in all different ways - it also offers a heat gradient for them -- here is a pic of my tank that can give you some ideas of how to set it up --
97951-7863920475.jpg
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The T 5 has no screen blocking it - I am bad--- 10-12 inches w/ no screen
Karrie
 
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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
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Scenery decals for back of tank

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