First Beardie

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JLynn87

Hatchling Member
I have had my beardie for a week now, he is not only my first beardie, but my first pet! I have been researching fervently to make sure I do everything for him to be happy and healthy. I am still nervous I am missing or doing something wrong, I am trying to be calm and patient with him, I cannot wait for him to be comfortable around me. I turn his heat and UVB lamps on in the morning and after about 1-2 hrs I take him out and put him in his feeding terrarium, I shake calcium covered crickets in there and he eats 2-4. I am at work an avg. of 9 hrs so I leave collards and kale for him until I can give him more crickets. I bathe him every other day and he drinks the water, I am not sure if he drinks the water in his terrarium. Today I left him out in a safe area, he climbed the window screen and observed for about an hr. My questions are, what type of UVB should I use, I am going to get a long one instead of the coil? How much should I interact with him each day? I am switching him to dubia roaches (crickets keep escaping) how will the calcium powder work since it is less likely to stick? I want to bond with him and read hand feeding is a good way, I have a pretty significant fear of all bugs, I can barely stand the crickets, any ideas on how I can hand feed him? What are treats for beardies? His humidity is 20-30, I live in central Montana and it is very hot and dry during summer and cold and dry in winter, is the humidity enough? What size terrarium should I have when he is fully grown, I have a 45 gallon now?
 

CooperDragon

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Welcome to the forum! Can you post some photos of him and his setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

I suggest putting the lights on a mechanical outlet timer. You can get them at most hardware stores. This will let you set a 12-14hr daytime schedule and not have to worry about turning the lights on and off manually.

Does he seem OK with a separate feeding bin? If he acts nervous you could try feeding him in his main terrarium. Just offer a few bugs at a time so it's easier for both of you to track them and so you can remove any leftovers after meal time. I use a small cup to dust the bugs in supplement. Just shake them in the cup with the dust to give them a light, even coat. Offer a few at a time and just repeat until he loses interest.

I suggest getting a T5 22'' UVB tube. They are the highest quality and last the longest. You can put it right on top of the tank and it should sit about 12'' above the basking area for best results. I use this one and it's great. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

You can interact with him quite a bit if he seems OK with it. If he seems scared or shows a black beard I would leave him alone though. Don't worry too much about the humidity. If it doesn't feel humid to you in the room it's probably fine. If it feels really dry you could put a shallow water dish in his tank which should bump the humidity a little bit. Just refresh the water for him daily.

I would plan on building a tank at least 4'x2'x2' for him as an adult. A slightly taller one with some places to climb would be even better. This is a walkthrough of a popular model which may give you some ideas to get started https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html You can use the same T5 light I linked to in this tank.
 

JLynn87

Hatchling Member
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Thank you for your response, here are the pictures of his living area. Over the past few days I've been reading and found that I have been monitoring his temperature in accurately, I put the probe under the basking light where he sits and it read 125°F. I since changed to a lower wattage bulb, temperatures are now between 90°F and 106°F, The cool side usually sticks around low 80s.

What I am most worried about is the UVB bulb, I went out and bought the tube reptisun T8 10.0, I will look into getting the T5. What concerns me is the position of the UVB bulb, in order for it to be on top it will lay over a screen and I wasn't sure if that would be good enough for him; however, with it being on the side of the tank interiorly, I'm afraid the angle may not be good either.

He's eaten very little the past few days, about an average of 1 to 2 meal worms and very little collards. I switched him back to the crickets while I am waiting for his Dubia roaches to arrive, he ate 3 crickets tonight. I also give him fortified bearded dragon food that you can buy at the pet store, I like him to have that and vegetables during the day since I am unable to give him his bugs until I get home from work.

I have had him about 12 days and it seems like he grows more anxious around me as time passes, I am not sure if I should leave him alone or continue to interact. After reading your post I will give him a few days before trying to handle him again, except for bathtime, I know he is getting water during his bath.

I live in a house with other people so I keep him in my room but not up against the wall I don't have anything to put his tank on so for now it is sitting on the floor, I am not sure if this is good or not since I am really the only person he has any contact with.

Thank you again for responding!
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
That looks pretty good and I'm glad you've adjusted the temperatures. They are now in a very good range for him. I agree that the UVB light isn't at the best angle along the wall. I would try suspending it from the under side of the mesh top by tying it with some wire or other sturdy material that can hold it in place so it's directly overhead and above the basking area.
 

JLynn87

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
My baby died Sunday, Sept 17th, mid morning, cause not unknown. Please see my other post titled "Double Checking I Have Everything, Please Read" I have another beardie and I explained Dragon's last days.
 
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