New owner with questions please assist

This is Drogon, I got him 2 days ago. He his 5 to 6 inch long, it is kind of hard to accurately measure. Me and my kids have already made him family. This is are first pet. My wife is scared to do anything with him lol. I got him when I went on vacation and spent several hours a day watching and trying to learn all I can. I know he is still getting adjusted to his new home and I only held him a few times for a min or so. I would like to be able to get a feed schedule going. Right now a put 5-10 crickets at a time in a travel container and wait for him to eat, after 20 min I put him back in his home. There is always a criket or to left over. I feed him 3 time a day and when I do I change is water. I'll be going back to work soon and I'll be gone form 3am to 3pm usually. I've been waking up at 6am to turn the light on and wait till and wait till 730 to feed. He rats again at 1 and at 6 lights off at 8pm. He goes to sleep very shortly after that. His temp is easily kept, about 80f in his cool area with his hide and water, and 105 with is basking light and a bark branch. His humidity his around 30 to 40 thru the day but in the middle of the night and before his light are on it gets to 50. He just started o shed yesterday Nd I know baths are good but with him so new I don't know how long to wait to give him one, I've been misting his back 4 or 5 times a day. I would like to know if I could do anything better, so let me know. Thanks for any help.

Hi there, Drogon is a cute little bugger + seems to be doing well so far since he's just getting used to being in his new home. He'll prob. eat more in a copule of weeks and as time goes by. One thing you can do to keep him hydrated AND help him shed is to spritz the top of his head to give him a drink every day. One -two X a day is fine.

Can you post a shot of his entire tank, showing the lights as well ? And can you list the exact type, brand + watt bulbs you're using ?

Reptisun 10.0 UVB Compact Fluorescent Lamp and 75 w basking light zoomed brand. Here is the setup

You have it set up very nicely , looks like a happy dragon home. If the plants are live be sure they're not toxic to beardies and if they're fake be very careful as he gets older that he doesn't try to eat them.....beardies often try to eat fake plants.

The uvb light is probably not going to project enough uvb down in to the tank. You can get a much better uvb bulb if you go with a MVB [ mercury vapor bulb ] It produces heat + uvb all in one, it's very critical for a baby to get good uvb as they grow. The Mega ray is a great bulb, seen here :

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjH_5XXpqPVAhVII4EKHbXRBkEYABAJGgJ5dw&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESEeD2dT3tBjh3GJSpsK3wjVZe&sig=AOD64_0Oe-3STCjNWEHRI03zbTM57ffE4A&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwicoo7XpqPVAhVJKCYKHVfPC6EQvhcILQ&adurl=

Thank you. I just pick up 2 more light there daylight blue zoomed. One is 40w and the other is 100w. I got another ceramic light fixture, a chicken one lol. I got them before the reply. It goes right next to the duel lights. Thus way he will have more uva during daylight. He has only ate 3 crickets all day, 1 at each feeding. He still very alert and moving a lot tho. I talk to the petco guy and he said it's Normal for new homes and shedding. About to give him his first bath! I am worried about his feeding tho because I'm about to go back to work, 3am to 3pm and I need help on making a schedule without disturbing his sleeping or his health. I'll take any suggestions.

The blue lights aren't really necessary for reptle to be healthy, a bright white light is better. Colored lights are just a money making thing with pet stores, a halogen bulb from Walmart or Home Depot is better + will last longer. I'd return those blue lights and get the Megaray that I posted a link to [ can get it from Amazon or Walmart ] or you can get a Powersun 100 MVB that also produces heat, uva +uvb. Here's the link to Powersun bulbs for sale :

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+6028+15466&pcatid=15466

Thank you I got the blue lights because the pet store guy said that it would add more heat and if. He said it would be the same as a white light. I plan on taking it back todday when they open.

I know, the pet stores sell a LOT of stuff that is just to take our money. Calcium sand is another product that is very bad , if eaten it does not digest easily and can cause impaction in baby dragons.

I never used a pet store basking bulb when raising my many babies . The Megaray or the Powersun will give him the good light that he needs, and it should be done ASAP because babies will develop metabolic bone disease without good uvb. They may be more expensive but a few dollars more means the differece between the right lighting for good health + improper lighting that may cause health issues very quickly.

I totally agree, everything in your setup looks good except for the UVB light, which is the most important part of your setup. With beardies if your UVB is not sufficient at his age, he will develop MBD, but also he will suddenly stop eating and become very lethargic.

Never, ever use a coil or compact UVB bulb for a beardie (unless it's a MVB as suggested). The coil bulbs are actually harmful to their eyes and skin, and most compact bulbs, including the one you have, do not emit strong enough UVB for him.

You either need to buy an MVB which emits everything, or if you don't want to go that route then you absolutely must trade the compact Reptisun for a long flourescent Reptisun 10.0 T8 or T5 High-Output UVB tube...Either an 18" or a 24", along with a long flourescent tube fixture for it. This is not an option with your beardie!!! I would go do this immediately, like tomorrow, to avoid inevitable problems.

And beardies see in color, so you should never use any colored bulbs at all, no blue, red, yellow, green, actually nothing but a bright white basking bulb, and never ever any nighttime lights, he won't sleep well. If his nighttime temperature stays above 60 degrees or so he needs no nighttime heat source. If by chance your house does drop below 60 at night, then only use a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) which screws into a normal lightbulb fixture but emits only heat, no light.

Please take care of getting the proper UVB tube light immediately, this is the most important thing you will ever do for your beardie! And the T8 tube needs replaced every 6 months, the T5 High-Output tube needs replaced every year.

I was giving another dual deep dome combo. The same one I have. I got new lights for it also the same I have. So would 2 uvb and 2 basking would that be good.

No, 2 of those compact UVB bulbs will not replace adequate UVB light for him!!! That compact bulb does not emit enough UVB light to even reach him, and if it's on top of a mesh lid then up to 50% of the UVB light is being blocked on top of the bulb not emitting enough UVB to begin with.

Please, we're warning you about getting a proper flourescent tube UVB or a MVB because 99% of the sick or dying beardies we see on here every day is due to inadequate UVB light, usually because a pet shop employee recommended a coil or compact UVB bulb like the one you have.

You can buy an 18" flourescent tube fixture at Walmart for $10, and the 18" Reptisun 10.0 (never a 5.0!) T8 UVB tube online at www.petmountain.com for like $23. This must be mounted INSIDE THE ENCLOSURE with no mesh lid or anything else between the tube and your beardie. OR you can go to Amazon.com and buy a Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVB tube, whatever length you want, along with a flourescent tube fixture in the same length that is okay for a T5 High-Output tube. I bought all 3 of my Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVB tubes along with matching T5 flourescent fixtures on Amazon.com at the same time as a package deal. When you search on Amazon for the Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVB tube and you choose a vendor to buy it from, it will automatically show you a package deal to add a T5 High-Output flourescent tube fixture. I think I paid around $40 for both on Amazon. The T5 High-Output UVB tube can be set on top of a mesh lid because it is a strong enough UVB tube to penetrate the mesh. If you buy the T8 it's fine, but you'll just have to go to Walmart to buy the $10 18" flourescent tube fixture along with some 3M Command Hooks or 3M Industrial Strength Velcro to mount the fixture inside the tank and within 8" of his basking spot. But the T8 only emits UVB for 6 months and must be replaced even though it still emits light, the T8 emits UVB for a year. Or you can spend around $70-$80 and buy a Mercury Vapor Bulb which can be set on top of the mesh lid (by the way, UVB cannot ever penetrate glass, no matter the bulb, not even the sun) and that lasts for a year.

This isn't an option at all. 2 of those compact UVB bulbs you already have are as good as having no UVB light at all, and the health and medical issues your beardie will start having within 6 months or less (lack of appetite starts soon) will cost you a lot more than the proper UVB light will, not to mention that your beardie will become disabled, become paralyzed, develop facial and head deformities, and eventually die. So please spend the $40+ now and keep your beardie healthy, happy, and allow him to grow to his full size potential and keep the use of his legs, so that you don't have a $500-$1,000 reptile specialist vet bill and a disabled or dead dragon within 6 months to a year.

No,sadly the coil + compact uvb probably just doesn't project enough uvb far enough in to the tank to reach your dragon over a large area. A good MVB costs about $45-$55,shipping included from most places. They cost $ 80 in a store.

AHBD":32p7uctz said:

No,sadly the coil + compact uvb probably just doesn't project enough uvb far enough in to the tank to reach your dragon over a large area. A good MVB costs about $45-$55,shipping included from most places. They cost $ 80 in a store.

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I forgot to mention about buying the actual UVB tube in a pet store... I've been to several PetSmart stores in the Harrisburg/York/Reading area and none of them carried any UVB bulbs in store other than their own brand, "All Living Things", which are junk, but they sell the Reptisun 10.0 tubes as well as MVB bulbs online..
Every Petco I've been in carries the 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube for $37, but their online price is $25, which they'll match if you find the bulb on their website and take your phone in and show them. I actually had to grab one in a pinch at my local Petco (emergency rescue beardie UVB while I waited for a new T5 High-Output UVB tube and fixture to ship) and I got it for the $25 instead of the $37...Or if you have a private pet shop locally they may carry the Reptisun UVB tubes, or even the Arcadia 12% tubes, which are the other really excellent UVB tubes for bearded dragons, but unfortunately they aren't usually sold in the U.S., only in the UK and Australia.

Ha ! he's a cheakie and megacute little guy !

My cheatsheet will help you work out what you need and with tweeks to your husbandry and setup.: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050
In a very small rearing viv (up to 100L) I recommend a 26W UVB200 in a nanohood positioned about 8 inches from the basking spot (this works well).

I recommend exchanging one of those dual domes for an ExoTerra NanoHood as a short term improvement.
And perhaps buying a ceramic heat emitter for the original dual dome to go where the UVB globe currently is (will be VERY useful to keep the hatchling warm overnight when the cold weather returns , please control it with an INLINE dimming or simple switching type thermostat whose remote probe is located near the hatchlings bed).

Set up the 10% UVB bulb in the nanohood mounted UNDER THE LID, and arrange a UV basking spot within 6 inches of the bulb.

FYI : LLL REPTILES has a wide range of top quality MVBs and T8 , T5HO tubes from Zoo Med and Exo Terra .

FYI : Reptiles R Us in Canada has Arcadia stuff.
http://www.reptilesrus.ca/d3-12-uvb/