newbie with questions..

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ZoeyheFirst

New member
hello. Just got this beardie. Its about 20" long and 1-2 years old i was told. she is a good eater including greens. I am confused on light and supplements. Do i need to give cacium and D3? or just calcium to them.? will a vitamin supplement provide the needed D3? I have a 75W bulb for basking, but am looking for a better one. This came with tank and looks to be regular white GE brand house light. I also have a 250W 4 bulb t-5 fixture (used on a salt aquarium) for the UVB. I only have one28w UVB buld in fixture the rest are standard light and actinic.

how do i know ifi have the right amount of light? do the comercial basking light put out more heat than the standard house bulb? i have a 20gal LOng tank right now. hope this is not too much at once and any advice woould be great.
 

Youkai

Hatchling Member
Hello there! Welcome to BD.org :blob5: :blob8:

Congrats on the new beardie!

Best schedule for the supplements are as follows:
Calcium w/D3 dusted on the food 5 days a week, one feeding.
Multi-vitamins dusted on the food 2 days a week, one feeding.

The best brands for both are Rep-Cal, you can see them here:
http://www.petmountain.com/search/417/50/1/1/?Order=11&Color=&Filter=

Lighting is very important so what might be best for you is to get a ReptiSun 10.0 bulb for your UVB.
http://www.petmountain.com/product/fluorescent/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html
Get the tube bulb and NOT the compact as they aren't good for your beardie at all. You will need a different fixture for the ReptiSun, you can either get the standard tube type fixtures that go on top of aquariums or pick up one at HomeDepot or some hardware store.
The basking bulbs are fine, any standard household bulb works great and provides nice white light. I'm not sure what fixture you're using (that t-5 fixture) but if the household bulbs fit in that, that's great and you could still use it for that.
I believe people have said the "reptile" type halogen lights put out more heat than standard household bulbs, but they're more expensive.
What you want is a good source of UVB for your beardie and bright white light in combination. If you have a UVB bulb and basking bulb next to each other, your beardie can get both at the same time and that's excellent for them.
Lights should be on between 12-14 hours a day. The basking bulbs are to get the temperature to about 100-110 in the basking area.

The 20 long is kind of a small tank for a 20" beardie, you really should think about getting something larger as soon as you can. I know it's not easy to get everything right from the start but just keep that in mind.

It would be helpful if you could answer some of these questions so we could all help with anything else you might need.

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
 

ZoeyheFirst

New member
Original Poster
WOW That was a lot. Well i have a hanging fixture with ceramic balast. Its for basking and have a 100w bulb in it. The other fixture i have came from a salt aquarium Its a T-5 fixture not compact bulbs, just a smaller tube light. I have found some bulbs for it so should work. as for the rest of the questions.. here goes... :lol:


How old is your dragon? not sure. the lady said 2 years, but also said female, but i think its male
How long have you had your dragon? 3 weeks
How long is your dragon? 18"
What is the sex of your dragon? i think male. looking at the sexing pics.
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 20gal long
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? calci-sand
Do you use UVB lights? Hope so soon
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? ???????????????
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? 100W
What are the basking temps? about 95
What is the cool side temp? 82-85
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? digital
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? just above where it basks
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. leave lettuce, dandalion greens and flowers, crickets, super worms and fresh mixed veggies

How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I put in lettuce and veggies in AM. around 4-5pm feed others
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? zoo-med Repti-Calcium and Fulkers repti vitamin.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?3 days apart
Do you bath your dragon? How often? 2 times a week
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? both
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
No
 
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