New to me, not to this world

Status
Not open for further replies.

LeNordic

Member
Hello there, this is my very first post! I'm very new to caring for one of these guys. Zippy (the name of the bearded) belongs to one of my friends and I'm looking after him for an undetermined amount of time. With a new animal under my roof, I looked into taking care of one and I got addicted to it lol. I've been keeping the little fella warm, fed, and let him stretch his legs. There's some pictures attached, the enclosure seems small and and he too seems small for being 2 years old. I think he's roughly 10 inches long from nose to tail, I haven't measured him stretched out yet. He's also quite spontaneous and often stressed. If anyone has any pointers for little to no cost improvements that would be appreciated :) I'm new to caring for something in an enclosure and I'd love to get more into it
107566-7124173362.jpg
107566-5478378306.jpg
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The tank is too small- for a full size dragon he should be in a 75-120 gallon tank--- what kind of lighting is being used? UVB brand and bulb - what are you feeding him?
Karrie
 

LeNordic

Member
Original Poster
It looks like a reptisun 5.0 uvb, his other light is a 120v 75w aqua culture (just reading the full label on bulb). I know it's a small tank, I felt that way as soon as I got him :( For a diet it's crickets, kale and carrots. There's calcium powder too, but I'm unsure of how often I should use that
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
He needs better decor he looks like he's barely able to sit on that branch- basking temps should be 95-110 taken w/ a digital probe or infrared heat gun - the UVB should be less than 6 months old if older it should be changed out to a 10.0 bulb the basking spot should be inside tank for the 5.0 8-20 inches for the 10.0 12-15 inches - has had inadequate lighting and diet hasnt been the best plus tank is too small that is why he is small he should be twice the size he is
There is a nutrition website in the feeding board please go look at it--- it's going to cost a little money to get him healthy and that is by changing his husbandry out and diet - he should be getting fresh greens every day w/ bugs dusted w/ calcium d 3 2-3 days per week
Karrie
 

LeNordic

Member
Original Poster
107566-5094396621.jpg
Here's a picture of him up close, took it while I was preparing his salad.

I'm fully willing to make him healthy, this is my third day with the beardy and they really are amazing little things. The stick is tiny though - I feel awful for him honestly. It would be really awesome to see him improve, and I feel like it'd be fun to go through all of these steps. If it were my own, I'd have taken these steps long before even getting the fella'. Thanks for the help though, I knew immediately that I needed to improve things for him, but now I know HOW :)
 

LeNordic

Member
Original Poster
You mean the distance from the bulb, correct? That lifted area is roughly 8.5 inches from the bulb
 

LeNordic

Member
Original Poster
The only thing between the bulb and his basking location is the mesh top for the tank. I also checked the temperature with a probe, it read 97 which is okay right? (likely to change when I get a larger enclosure)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You want the 5.0 in the tank that screen is filtering 30% of those rays-- the 5.0 is equivalent to a T 8- what size fixture is it?
Karrie
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Welcome to the site!

Husbandry can be a little tricky at first to get setup, but once you get it all down you are set for life pretty much! :D

-Brandon
 

LeNordic

Member
Original Poster
Small update for this dragon. I previously landed a new job after hunting in my rural area for months, and I've made a few quality of life changes for this guy. Every day, I feed him collards, the stems of dandelions and a single dandelion flower (he doesn't like the leaves it seems). And every few days I maintain crickets in his diet. His colors seem a lot better, his yellows pop and at the base of his front legs is a gentle orange - I'm very happy that he's considerably less grey now. I replaced his old, tiny stick with a large piece of sanitized drift wood I found at a nearby bay and he seems to really appreciate a stick he can crawl around on comfortably. I DID have a hide in there, but he never used it and ended up kicking it around everywhere. He seems happier, we spend time together a few days out of the week and I always greet him when I come home from work. Next step, a larger tank and adequate heat/lighting for it :)

107566-5958742290.jpg

107566-5099203754.jpg

107566-9085287754.jpg

All and any advice is very much appreciated, he seems happier and I cannot wait to place him in a larger tank!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
What is the purple hugh in the back--- what are you using for a UVB? Are you still using the 5.0- that stick is really taking up alot of space- I would down size that stick - his tank and him will get less room to move in the bigger he gets
Karrie
 

LeNordic

Member
Original Poster
That's just a blanket over the window behind him. It's the same bulb, and I plan on upgrading that and his basking light when I put him in a new tank. I do agree the stick is too large, but I'm only a week or two away from getting a new enclosure and I intend to keep him familiar with that stick once he's in his new tank :) It's been an unfortunately slow process, but within a month he will have great lighting and ample room to run around
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
He looks surprisingly good + alert for being neglected for the first part of his life and although he's small his body proportions are good. :) Are you sure he's only 10" long ? Looks bigger . That's a nice piece of driftwood you got there, as soon as he gets his new tank he'll be set ! Looks like he's not even stressed, eating those greens like a good boy. :) BTW, you can add kale back to his diet, it's one of the best greens for beardies.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
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
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,686
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom