Hi all!
I brought home this adorable little critter 4 days ago after falling in love with ‘him’ (just a guess) at the vivarium. He’s a translucent, possibly some leatherback I’m told, about 2 months old. Full of personality
It’s my (and my whole house’s) first lizard. Based on reading a lot of other posts, seems like I would not be the first one to be worrying their ass completely off about every little thing. I want my beardie happy and healthy and am still trying to figure out if it’s stress it shows me at times is just part of its week 1 adjustment period or something else. Honestly just watching a pet turn a color right in front of your eyes that means “I’m stressed” is a little freaky and makes me want to just dote on it all day! So, bearing in mind all dragons have different preferences and personalities, I was just hoping for some general feedback on my beginner’s set up.
I lived in Northern California in a pretty temperature controlled apartment with pretty regular humidity. Temp on my room hovers between 70 and 80 typically, doesn’t drop down too low.
I’ve handled him a couple times a day for not too long, except night 2 when we watched a movie together. Aside from the one time I took him outside and he actually leapt to the ground and almost ran off (!), he is super chill when in my hand/cuddling with me. Loves the warmth, doesn’t look stressed, and never wants to leave. In the tank, he’s got a lot more energy and the stress marks just come and go all day. And starting today the glass hugging started reaching a whole new level. Even tried to jump out once when I opened the top.
Also concerning me has been the appetite, which hasn’t been great. Last night I finally had some more luck with salad, just a coupe pieces of baby kale and a carrot strip. Easier to get it to eat a couple dusted crickets or mealworms but not as hungry as I’ve read other little ones get. So I think the stress marks would concern me less if I felt like it was eating more. Stops eating after a couple snacks and seems annoyed at any uneaten crickets sticking around for more than a couple minutes. So far one, regular looking, poop per day. At least he started eating in front of me within the first day?
I noticed his reflection in the glass was bugging him so I put up some magazine pages around the sides to stop the glare, until I get some proper wallpaper. And it seems to help because he only messes with the non-wallpapered walls now.
He can see the tv from the tank and seems to really enjoy watching it. It’s his biggest distraction by far. Kinda helping me figure out what kind of colors he’s attracted to, but also trying to figure out what kind of shows he likes )
Anyhoo, sorry for the lengthy run here. I’m starting with only a 10gal tank which was recommended to me for this size, knowing I’ll need to upgrade in a matter of months. And with the tank the viv owner suggested for me the following:
* white sand substrate (he seemed pretty adamant that the controversy over sand was overblown, correctly posted out that the dragon’s colors would look really cool against it, and it seemed that’s how they kept all their dragons as well in the shop)
* a zoo med dual lamp coverwhich he threw in for free (slightly used) to rest atop the mesh
* a Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb for one side
* a purple heat bulb which he instructed me to leave on 24/7
* thermometer for cool end/digital probe thermometer for basking end, probing around as needed. planning to get a humidity gauge too soon.
And I’ve been tweaking with things throughout the day every day trying to get things just right. I’m sure this is annoying for the little guy too, though I’m doing my best. So, I guess I’m also writing for some reassurance that I can get things set, and stop messing with it’s home for a while, let him get used to the digs. The pics above show today’s set up.
The first two days I was having a hard time getting more than a 10 degree differential between the two ends, which I knew would be a problem. Also the purple bulb wasn’t really getting me much further than 95 degrees. Also, it looked like the purple light was keeping things too hot at night to leave on, and also I saw him starting at it a lot, so I decided maybe not to leave it on at night. Without it is about 75-77 degrees all night which seems fine. But I wanted hotter in the daytime, so went to Petco and picked up a ceramic heat emitter (reptisun 60w) as I read those can be on at night if needed and provided better heat. It was actually less hot than the purple bulb, so I switched back. Kinda wasted $40 there..
On day 3 I added the halogen desk lamp you can see on the right into the mix over the basking area, and the added heat from that (and the purple) have helped get the basking area up to around 105, finally. And the cool area hovers around 87-89. Seems the best differential I’ve been able to get.
Last I was having a little more shade than I wanted in parts of the tank so I decided to try out the bedroom lamp you see to the left. It’s just a regular 40w clear bulb.
So I’ve now got FOUR lamps hovering above my tiny little 10g tank. It seems a little silly but is at least stable? Anyway since I finished this set up this morning I’ve noticed a lot more energy on his part in the tank. A lot of running and jumping. Even climbing to the top perch and rubbing it’s rose around the mesh. Jumps in his water bowl from time to time, seems to get what the hideaway is for.
The crazy energy is kind of freaking me out (I’m still so nervous to take him out and handle him even though he seems to love it). However, he is spending a LOT of his day showing me his stress marks, often when just sitting there doing nothing- But when he’s running around like this, or even playing with his reflection, he’s just his normal pretty pink self! I’m hoping that that just means he’s happy and playful?)
So, not sure what all my questions are. I will have millions surely. One concern I had was the UVB light: I’ve read that the 5.0 is more appropriate for tropical lizards and maybe not strong enough for desert dwellers. Also because of the dual lamp I have it in, it is on the other side of the mesh and pointed downward vertically. So it has some reflection from the dome it’s in, but I worry the light isn’t being dispersed well enough throughout the tank and the mesh might be cutting down the UVB rays too much?
If anyone has any advice on that front I’d really appreciate it. Any general feedback on the whole thing would be amazing. If something needs fixing I’ll do the best I can on my quarantine budget. Or if someone wants to put my mind at ease and tell me I’m being a good papa, well, maybe some of MY stress marks can start to go away
Thanks to everyone here for all your super helpful info!
peace
I brought home this adorable little critter 4 days ago after falling in love with ‘him’ (just a guess) at the vivarium. He’s a translucent, possibly some leatherback I’m told, about 2 months old. Full of personality
It’s my (and my whole house’s) first lizard. Based on reading a lot of other posts, seems like I would not be the first one to be worrying their ass completely off about every little thing. I want my beardie happy and healthy and am still trying to figure out if it’s stress it shows me at times is just part of its week 1 adjustment period or something else. Honestly just watching a pet turn a color right in front of your eyes that means “I’m stressed” is a little freaky and makes me want to just dote on it all day! So, bearing in mind all dragons have different preferences and personalities, I was just hoping for some general feedback on my beginner’s set up.
I lived in Northern California in a pretty temperature controlled apartment with pretty regular humidity. Temp on my room hovers between 70 and 80 typically, doesn’t drop down too low.
I’ve handled him a couple times a day for not too long, except night 2 when we watched a movie together. Aside from the one time I took him outside and he actually leapt to the ground and almost ran off (!), he is super chill when in my hand/cuddling with me. Loves the warmth, doesn’t look stressed, and never wants to leave. In the tank, he’s got a lot more energy and the stress marks just come and go all day. And starting today the glass hugging started reaching a whole new level. Even tried to jump out once when I opened the top.
Also concerning me has been the appetite, which hasn’t been great. Last night I finally had some more luck with salad, just a coupe pieces of baby kale and a carrot strip. Easier to get it to eat a couple dusted crickets or mealworms but not as hungry as I’ve read other little ones get. So I think the stress marks would concern me less if I felt like it was eating more. Stops eating after a couple snacks and seems annoyed at any uneaten crickets sticking around for more than a couple minutes. So far one, regular looking, poop per day. At least he started eating in front of me within the first day?
I noticed his reflection in the glass was bugging him so I put up some magazine pages around the sides to stop the glare, until I get some proper wallpaper. And it seems to help because he only messes with the non-wallpapered walls now.
He can see the tv from the tank and seems to really enjoy watching it. It’s his biggest distraction by far. Kinda helping me figure out what kind of colors he’s attracted to, but also trying to figure out what kind of shows he likes )
Anyhoo, sorry for the lengthy run here. I’m starting with only a 10gal tank which was recommended to me for this size, knowing I’ll need to upgrade in a matter of months. And with the tank the viv owner suggested for me the following:
* white sand substrate (he seemed pretty adamant that the controversy over sand was overblown, correctly posted out that the dragon’s colors would look really cool against it, and it seemed that’s how they kept all their dragons as well in the shop)
* a zoo med dual lamp coverwhich he threw in for free (slightly used) to rest atop the mesh
* a Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb for one side
* a purple heat bulb which he instructed me to leave on 24/7
* thermometer for cool end/digital probe thermometer for basking end, probing around as needed. planning to get a humidity gauge too soon.
And I’ve been tweaking with things throughout the day every day trying to get things just right. I’m sure this is annoying for the little guy too, though I’m doing my best. So, I guess I’m also writing for some reassurance that I can get things set, and stop messing with it’s home for a while, let him get used to the digs. The pics above show today’s set up.
The first two days I was having a hard time getting more than a 10 degree differential between the two ends, which I knew would be a problem. Also the purple bulb wasn’t really getting me much further than 95 degrees. Also, it looked like the purple light was keeping things too hot at night to leave on, and also I saw him starting at it a lot, so I decided maybe not to leave it on at night. Without it is about 75-77 degrees all night which seems fine. But I wanted hotter in the daytime, so went to Petco and picked up a ceramic heat emitter (reptisun 60w) as I read those can be on at night if needed and provided better heat. It was actually less hot than the purple bulb, so I switched back. Kinda wasted $40 there..
On day 3 I added the halogen desk lamp you can see on the right into the mix over the basking area, and the added heat from that (and the purple) have helped get the basking area up to around 105, finally. And the cool area hovers around 87-89. Seems the best differential I’ve been able to get.
Last I was having a little more shade than I wanted in parts of the tank so I decided to try out the bedroom lamp you see to the left. It’s just a regular 40w clear bulb.
So I’ve now got FOUR lamps hovering above my tiny little 10g tank. It seems a little silly but is at least stable? Anyway since I finished this set up this morning I’ve noticed a lot more energy on his part in the tank. A lot of running and jumping. Even climbing to the top perch and rubbing it’s rose around the mesh. Jumps in his water bowl from time to time, seems to get what the hideaway is for.
The crazy energy is kind of freaking me out (I’m still so nervous to take him out and handle him even though he seems to love it). However, he is spending a LOT of his day showing me his stress marks, often when just sitting there doing nothing- But when he’s running around like this, or even playing with his reflection, he’s just his normal pretty pink self! I’m hoping that that just means he’s happy and playful?)
So, not sure what all my questions are. I will have millions surely. One concern I had was the UVB light: I’ve read that the 5.0 is more appropriate for tropical lizards and maybe not strong enough for desert dwellers. Also because of the dual lamp I have it in, it is on the other side of the mesh and pointed downward vertically. So it has some reflection from the dome it’s in, but I worry the light isn’t being dispersed well enough throughout the tank and the mesh might be cutting down the UVB rays too much?
If anyone has any advice on that front I’d really appreciate it. Any general feedback on the whole thing would be amazing. If something needs fixing I’ll do the best I can on my quarantine budget. Or if someone wants to put my mind at ease and tell me I’m being a good papa, well, maybe some of MY stress marks can start to go away
Thanks to everyone here for all your super helpful info!
peace