Family Beardy

Hey there guys and gals.

My girlfriend and I just picked up a bearded dragon at the local exotic pet store. At first I was going to grab a Buffo Toad, but soon changed to the bearded dragon. In the store, I was a little hesitant, but the girlfriend convinced me otherwise.

Now, I am absolutely in love with this thing. I'm hoping we'll be able to learn a whole lot more about these reptiles!

We're both brand new to the concept of taking care of such creatures, but they are pretty fantastic. Here's a picture I just took right after getting him home ( Here ). It's a pretty basic setup - calcium sand, a 20 gallon tank (but it's the tall version... we plan on building a custom setup here soon), with a heat lamp.

He's under a year old, and i'm proud to be the father of a young 9 month old bearded dragon

I named him.... Phoenix...

Wow where to begin on this one... 20 Gal is way too small; a 4x2x2 is about right... long is better than high (they like to stretch their legs)... You need a PROPER UVB light source and heat source... Calci sand is a wolf in sheeps clothing I suggest taking it out now and put in paper until you can put in a nonadhesive shelf-liner or SIFTED PLAYSAND... I hate pet stores they never help new buyers :evil:

Congratulations! He's beautiful!
But before you start having either high vet bills or a dead dragon
Get rid of the calicium sand! It's deadly!!!!
Use either paper towels or non-adhesive shelf liner.

What size tank will you be building? The floorspace should be at least 6sq. feet since he's almost an adult (20-gallon is good for a hatchling/very young baby).

Also do you know all about getting a good brand of UVA/UVB lamp, and what the temperatures should be, etc.? You'll learn ALOT here
Beardies are the best!

http://www.sunshinedragons.com/firstdragon.htm here's a caresheet you may want to use... there are many out there that will do some help. I also suggest buying "The Bearded Dragon Manual" by Philippe De Vosjoli.

Wow... I'm not sure where to start myself.

This bad boy is only 9 months old. Maybe I was misinformed by the store owner, then?

He suggested that we use calcium sand because it is actually not bad for them, since it's digestable? I just dumped the sand and replaced it with paper towels. The store owner said that he already ate today, but I put some carrots in there and some fresh water.

Just to check, i've read a few times that a fluorescent light bulb needs to be within 10 inches of the dragon. Is this true?

As you can guess, i'm actually quite amazed to hear this news.

The store owner also told me that the 20 gallon tank would be just fine for him, but in about 6 months I should consider buying a larger one?

The concept I had is actually a 4-5 foot long box and hopefully build a safely climbable environment inside of there. Included would be a compartment to safely store the lighting units necessary. Again, i'm quite amazed and THANK YOU for your help.

Even though he is 'only' 9 months old, he's almost an adult, not a baby. Beardies basically do most of their growth by a year old.
A 20 gallon tank would be more for if he was a month old...

BTW how long is he (INCLUDING the tail)?
If he was kept in such bad conditions from the pet store (i.e. too small tank, improper lighting, etc.) he is probably alot smaller than he should be.

Pet stores are the worst place for pet care info, unfortunately.
And alot of products that say they are safe for Beardies are not safe for them. Calci-Sand is one of the worst substrates. It hardens in chunks in their stomaches if they ingest any. And Beardies are constantly licking their surroundings throughout the day.

Carrots are an OK treat, but not as part of the main diet.
Do you have Calcium/D3 powder and herptivite powder? You'll need the Calcium/D3 dusted on one meal per day and Herptivite twice a week.

The basking spot of the tank should be 105-110 farenheight, and the cooler side 75-80ish (the ONLY way to get an accurate temperature reading is with a digital probe thermometer... So if you are using one of those sticky strips, or those little round dial ones you are probably off by 10-20 degrees...)

A good size tank for a beardie is 4 feet long x 2 feet wide x 2 feet tall (long tank is always better than tall tank so the lights are closer)
The beardie should be able to get within 6 inches of the UVA/UVB light.
And the UV light should preferably be the length of the tank so there is UV wherever the beardie is. (btw the UV light doesnt get placed in the tank 6" up for the beardie to be 6" from the UV... just make sure there's branches or whatever for the beardie to be able to climb and get within 6" of it.)
ALSO remember- UV rays do not penetrate through glass... so if you make your own lid make sure its screen or if you can have the area with the UV fixture not have anything blocking it at all (of course make sure there'd be no way for the beardie to get out or other pets to get in)

The best UV you can get is the zoomed reptisun 10.0, and the 'runners-up' are the reptisun 5.0 and the reptiglo 8.0.
If you have a different UV light it's probably useless.
Oh and UV lights need to be replaced every 6 months!!!! Even if they still light up, after 6 months the UV rays have diminished.

What kind of bugs do you feed? Do you feed them beardie-beneficial foods before feeding them to the beardie? And remember the calcium/D3 and herptivite dustings...

The petstore we purchased Fluffy from also sold us the sand. I did not get it. However, I did get crushed walnut shells. Not knowing they are also deadly. I took them out after less than 5 minutes of being in her tank.
You will need to get a UVB ASAP. You will want to get a Repti-Glo 8.0 or 10.0. Or you can get a MVB (Mercury Vapor Bulb) they cost more but are well worth it. I got Fluffy one and she loves it. It is the best UVB source on the market. You can read about it at http://www.reptileuv.com
Bob is the guy that owns the company and he is very willing to help you out with any ?'s you have.
Carrots are O.K. to use once or twice a week but not as a staple. Be sure that you are offering varied greens daily. He should be eating about 80-90% veggies and 10-20% live feed.
You should also be using a calcium powder to dust his salads.
You should also invest in a digital therm. The basking side needs to be 100-105 and the cool area should be 80-85.
There are caresheets at the top of this forum that lists all the foods that can be used daily, weekly or never.
There are some foods that are deadly to beardies.
You will also want to make sure that you are misting him a few times a day. Also give him a bath once a day or every other day.
Sorry this is so long. If you have any other questions just ask.
If it were not for this forum I would have done everything wrong and Fluffy would not have made it.
Congrats on the new edition

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html This is a good list of foods for your beardie to eat. Also if you get the MVB from reptileuv you need to keep it atleast 12 inches from being touched not 6 or w/e like the flourescent bulbs. At nine months it would probably be a good idea to invest in a reptile leash. If its been cooped up in a 20 Gal at that age it will love to be able to run around in the summer sun... oh and if you want ideas on the proper enclosure there is endless pictures in the Enclosure section of this forum

How big is your dragon (head to tail)? He shouldn't be to big, because of him being taken care of so poorly I wish petstores would know as much info as most of us here :lol: But unfortenatly most of them are as stupid as pigs :help: There are some good petstore people out there, but not many. Do you have a UVB light? If so is it either 8.0 or 10.0? what are his temps? I geuss you just got the little guy yesterday, so you probably won't have all the stuff he needs yet. You will need the following unless you already have it: Tile, shelfliner or newspaper (until you can build him a cage). You will need a basking site, just use a 100W ro 75W light for the basking site. You will also need a UVB light 8.0 or 10.0. You will need a cage, about 4-6 feet long, and 2-4 feet wide, and 4-5 feet tall. You will need to suplement the cricket, so get calcium d3 rep-cal. I think I got everything! If someone knows something else add it in!

Okay, here we go again.

To begin with, Phoenix is 9 inches from nose tip to tail (exactly), and the pet shop owner told me he was 9 months old. From what I have found, this actually seems pretty accurate.

I just got back from Country Max. I picked up a bigger tank for him (a 30 Galon tank, long) but have began creating the custom setup.

We also looked at the 10.0 UVB Light Fixtures and setup the basking site at one end, and at the other end a log he can lay under.

Right now we have crickets, meal worms, and dandelions on hand to feed him. That leads me to a question that has had a lot of conflicting information. How should feeding be done? I've read some places, feed as much as he's willing to eat in a 15 minute time period once a day. Others however say no more than 50 crickets a week. I'm sure it's really dependant on each dragon, but what's a good method for finding out?

This new setup looks a whole lot less cluttered and much more spacious for him. I appreciate ALL of the help you guys have given me already.

Wow, 9 inches for a 9 month beardie, thats really small. I think he'll grow since he's in your care. I would cut the mealies out of his diet. Mealworms are very hard to digest, and therefore VERY deadly. There chitin is what causes them to be so hard. Keep us updated on how he does!

Silkworms, roaches, phoenix worms, or supers (when hes large enough) are the best choice... all he can in in 10 mins is probably good with all the veggies he can eat all day

Silk worms wil be the best for right now, from what I've been hearing, silkworms help your dragon grow faster. You can start feeding adult roaches around 16 inches, but you can feed him smaller roaches. Right now I would be feeding him silkies, and plenty of veggies. The diet should be changed to 90% greens, and 10% silks. I've just learned that the diet could also be 70% green, and 20% silkies.

In an attempt to save Phoenix from the trauma of living in that (apparently) tiny tank, and bland surroundings, I have taken the liberty of tidying things up.

I really appreciate your assistance, and here's a picture of what the setup currently looks like: Phoenix's Habitat

The water splash on the glass is from a cup I set above the dish. The water drips down and splashes on the leaves and in the bowl.

Calci sand definetly not digestable. Went through the same advice given to me. My dragon i had gotten for xmas died in the beginning of february due to impaction of the calcisand.


Your dragon is a real cutie though. Good luck with it. Being on here, you can learn a lot.

I like the setup now too.