Lost one beardie:( Setup help for new beardie

I had a juvenile for a month that we think was sick. The vet treated him for parasites but he was too far gone. I believe my setup is ok, as I've gotten tips from you guys already, but can you please look at my specs and tell me any changes I need to make? We are getting a new guy today and hope he's healthier bc I can't take another round of what we went through before.

*I have a 55 gallon tank that I have sectioned off since the beardie we get will probably be about 6" and the lady at petsmart said she thought the whole tank would be too large.
*Reptisun 10.0 T8 under screen
*Clear halogen 60 watt bulb for basking light
*Basking temp (after it's been warming for a few hours) gets up to about 101 in one specific spot. I have a temp gun and the temp 1" away on the rock is closer to 98.
*Cool side is 75.
*Humidity on the basking spot is about 40-45%
*Newspaper substrate

I plan on feeding him a mix of crickets, Phoenix worms, and dubia roaches. We have turnip greens and kale to keep in a dish. I will most him occasionally during the day (should it be done in or out of the tank?).

I'm so sorry about losing your first baby. I will say that many animals from places like Petco and Petsmart, by default have a higher chance of being unhealthy. Though I have seen beautiful dragons come from the Petsmart 'Fancy Dragons' and even Petco. I personally suggest buying from a breeder, as I don't like to support that type of business, but every one has a preference, right?

Anyway, your setup seems really great! My only suggestion would be maybe get the cool side a little higher. Mine likes his cool side to be 80-85 so that way the general air temp his higher for him versus room temperature, but that was how he was raised, so other dragons may prefer the 75. You gotta see what yours wants. My baby hates be cold and gets super grumpy, so I have to use a CHE 24/7 to keep his tank warm.

Also, those hammocks with the holes come with the risk of their nails getting caught in it, which could cause them to break or dislocate a toe or leg! I have a hammock, but mine is a very tight weave with no little holes or loops for his nails to snag. I got mine off Etsy for very cheap and the service was super fast and great! https://www.etsy.com/shop/FurTailsAndScales?ref=l2-shop-info-name I got my hammock there, and it came with the suction cups as well

I really hope your new baby is healthy and happy! Good luck and please post lots of pictures for everyone!

Varalidaine":3g8j35oy said:

Also, those hammocks with the holes come with the risk of their nails getting caught in it, which could cause them to break or dislocate a toe or leg! I have a hammock, but might is a very tight weave with no little holes or loops for his nails to snag. I got mine off Easy for very cheap and the service was super fast and great! https://www.etsy.com/shop/FurTailsAndScales?ref=l2-shop-info-name I got my hammock there, and it came with the suction cups as well

I really hope your new baby is healthy and happy! Good luck and please post lots of pictures for everyone!

Click to expand...

I have to agree with that hammock. I learned the hard way and now, almost a month and 1/2 later, my BD is finally using his front leg better. Not 100% but a lot better than doing the salamander crawl

Thanks guys, I greatly appreciate it. I have taken the hammock out and our new little guy has already eaten about five Phoenix worms We are going to leave him alone for a few days and let him get adjusted.

First off, I am really sorry that your first BD passed away. The loss of a pet is alway hard.

If using the same tank/ items as the used with your last BD, you need to make sure that all the items are disinfected before using them again.

just wondered if you raised the basking temp yet? thought it needs to be around 110-115 for the younger ones and closer to 100-105 for the older dragons?

We've now had our new beardie for four months and he's doing great. His basking temp is about 100+ degrees, but he's not a little thing anymore. He's about 13-14" long. Now that I see how a healthy beardie should act, I believe the baby we lost was sick from the get-go. But we r loving our big guy and enjoying watching him thrive!

thats great to hear he;s grown so big
not had my new master long but he certainly is a character, i over slept the other morning and when I did get up little shenlong looked at me with such a look that i new i was in trouble then he slammed his front leg down several times like he was banging his fist at me, so i wen't straight over to hand feed my lill master his calci worms and he cheered right up!
thought it might have been a one off but he has since done it again when he wanted to be misted and when he wanted crix's instead of hoppers lool, think he's got me well trained already and he's only 13 weeks old

Shenlong":3o72hqwn said:

thats great to hear he;s grown so big
not had my new master long but he certainly is a character, i over slept the other morning and when I did get up little shenlong looked at me with such a look that i new i was in trouble then he slammed his front leg down several times like he was banging his fist at me, so i wen't straight over to hand feed my lill master his calci worms and he cheered right up!
thought it might have been a one off but he has since done it again when he wanted to be misted and when he wanted crix's instead of hoppers lool, think he's got me well trained already and he's only 13 weeks old

Click to expand...

Now that's funny....... I don't care ho ya are..... slammin his foot down, lmbo!!!