These pictures are from the set up I had prior to yesterday late afternoon, I was told the
UVB light was not at a good angle at the back of the tank so I got a new screen cover in order to hang it from the top of the screen. There is nothing between the
UVB bulb and him, it is on the interior of his tank. For at least the first week I had him I was using the coil bulb that came with the set up, I change that once I found out the problems oil UVB bulbs can cause. I do not have any sort of a reflector hood, I was going to try putting tinfoil to help with the reflection.
<<< better than no reflector in the hood , as is he needs to be able get about 4 inches for the T8 10% tube to get sufficient UVA (influence apetite and activity) and sufficient UVB (necessary to enable him to metabolise his dietary calcium and form natural VitD3 in his skin. A reflector will double the UV at the basking spot , so it will the be fine about 8 inches from the tube.
Id visit Ebay and look for a T8 slip on reflector or better still a T8 reflector hood for the viv.
With his new set up he's able to get much closer to the heat lamp and
UVB bulb, I am pretty sure I had it too far away for him. Once I got him something to perch on closer to the lighting is temperatures are around low 100s, again, the entire time I've had him the temperatures have varied due to difficulties maintaining proper levels. I have three thermostats, one digital probe on the cool side (low 80's) one digital probe resting on the top branch of his perch (101-109) and one that sticks on the warm side of the tank (not digital, 90-95). I also have humidity gauge on the back interior of his tank. I am looking to purchase the gun since I read it is most accurate.
Now as far is feeding and supplements goes I have tried him on zoo meds natural juvenile bearded dragon food with Adam vitamins and minerals (pellets and I spray w/ water to make them soft). I keep National Geographic juvenile bearded dragon entrée fortified daily diet (moistened pellets) that look similar to peas; the pet store told me they contain everything a dragon needs if they are not eating life food. I am not sure that he's actually eaten either of those things as I try to keep count of what I put in to see if he is while I am not around, the count is the same number each time. For the calcium powder I use Fluker's Repta Calcium with vitamin D3 and phosphorus free.
<<< careful with VitD3 fortified calcium.
For fresh vegetables I have offered shredded carrots, very small amount of red cabbage, a little bit of kale and collard greens, it is difficult to tell if he is eating this, I have not witnessed but I have found vegetables outside of the shallow dish I put them in.
<<< you'll find better greens and veg here http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
My gang's fav greens are buk choi, kale, dandelion (leaves and flowers), nasturtion (leaves and flowers)
<<< at his age not so important to eat greens and veg , he needs lots of dietary calcium, intense UVB (160 - 190 microW UVB / sq.cm) and lots of high quality live insects every day.
For live critters I started him out with baby crickets, he initially was eating three crickets morning and evening; however, he slowly started eating less and less. Sometimes I think the crickets are a bit large for him but it is difficult to tell if they are within the distance between his eyes. I tried him on the meal worms when he started eating a bit less of the crickets, I thought it was a good switch in the beginning as he was eating about three in the morning and Afghan at night. I was told that he only needs to eat twice a day and have fresh vegetables readily available for him at all times. I have his lights on timers, they are scheduled to turn on about 530 every morning and turn off around 830 each night. I feed him around seven in the morning since I have work at 8 AM. I feed him again around 5:30 PM sometimes later if I do not get off work in time. When I took him to the vet she guessed his age to be around two months or so, she said my feeding schedule was suitable and he seemed healthy, I do believe this was before I gave him meal worms but I cannot be sure. I knew he was a little bit I did not realize that he was considered a hatchling and that he needed to be fed three times a day with live food, I have tried to hand feed him and it does not work he will not eat from me. I was putting him in a feeder place so that he would have an easier time catching his food, this was working out well in the beginning, once he started eating less I was told to try feeding him in his home, this did not help in putting him in the separate feeder was no longer working. I ordered quarter inch Dubia roaches, they should be here Monday or Tuesday; is he too young for dubias? As I mentioned before, he is pooping almost every day, between Friday and Saturday I believe he actually went four times, they all seemed normal as they were dark informed.
Since he is very stressed I assumed this was the issue, he has stress marks on his chest and back. It is my intention to not handle them unless it is
bath time or his weekly deep cleaning. Also I just thought about it, when I was deep cleaning his tank yesterday are used Windex for the fingerprints I left inside. I was cautious in the amount I used and I let the tank sit for at least an hour before returning him to his home, was this not OK for me to use?
I am going to buy him a gram scale today, I want to be sure he's not losing weight; the only scale I have now measures in ounces.
<<< a glass top flat scale is good , if you can find one that can weight 0.1g that's great , http://www.dshop.com.au/buy/0.01g-digital-precision-kitchen-platform-scale-sta/3395?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzJzZjomb1gIVEx9oCh2YVgs1EAQYASABEgJbQPD_BwE
I used a digital pocket assayer's scale that can weigh 0.01g and it was fine until my gang got too big about 300g and long , then I switched over to the kitchen scales that can weigh 1g.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Kitchen-Digital-Scale-3kg-0-1g-Multi-function-LCD-Home-Food-Weighting-Tool/352109254116?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3D56ac33cbf054449bbcc66a05b6c5b2e3%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D12%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D142395869197&_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726
His light should be turning on any minute and I will take pictures of his new set up and of the fortified foods I am using. I greatly appreciate the responses, it is very stressful being a first time beardie parent. I thought I had all the right answers from the pet store, but after coming home and researching, I have found there's a whole world of things I did not know.
I live in a sort of small town and there are very few pet stores, for the life that I should be feeding him is there a good website to order from? I ordered his Dubia's from Dubia roaches.com.