New baby bearded dragon named Spike and i need help

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williamk34

Hatchling Member
I just got a new baby bearded dragon named it Spike. This will be my second full day with him and I have been expecting him to be stressed out with the move we had over an hour drive from the pet store.

I set up his 20 gallon enclosure and I let him sit for a little while I let him have some of his crickets he ate two of them before he went to sleep for the night. He wasn't very interested and he was dark in color but I did successfully get him warmed up when we got him home.

On the second day he found his basking spot and was a little bit more active I tried to feed him his veggies and I moved them around he was not very interested I thought maybe they were just a little too big. so we got him some fresh he was still not interested not even in the crickets. But he has been moving around okay and he has to my surprise come up onto my hand several times he is very social. He has gone to the bathroom it has been normal to the exception of once it was still solid but a little gooey but it was still white and then Brown. I did put him back with the crickets and he ate one the first time I introduced but after he ate the one he became uninterested in them I removed the Crickets and he calmed down again.

The last feeding of the day he ate a mealworm and another two of the crickets but he lost interest in it after that. We gave him his vegetables and he head eaten a few pieces had it mixed with some of the calcium powder and some of the pellets extremely crushed up into a powder he ate some of it. But not very much at all but he was active he took a little short nap when he was basking I have sprayed him with water and he has been drinking good. But today I am a bit concerned whenever I woke up and turn back on his equipment his cage has been staying about 80 degrees on the warm side during the night when ever everything is turned off. He has been drinking but has not eaten and he is still pretty dark he goes from being lighter to darker. And he hasn't been as active I know they will be basking 80 to 90% of the time but I'm just worried that I'm doing something wrong any help and advice would be appreciated he is about 6 weeks old from what we were told.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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Welcome to the forum! It sounds like he is off to a pretty good start with you. Don't worry too much about the veges. They tend to ignore them in favor of bugs when they are young because they need protein to support their growth. Keep a salad available but it's OK if he ignores it for now.

Do be sure to remove crickets from the tank after meal time. That way they won't hide and come out to bite him overnight. It's easiest to offer them just a few at a time so they are easier to track and remove if they are ignored. Just keep offering small batches like that until he loses interest in eating them.

80 is a little warm overnight. Is that how warm the room is? Or do you have a heater on overnight? I like to let the tank go down to the low 70s overnight. It also helps to put the lights on an outlet timer so they can turn on and off automatically. Easier than remembering to do this every day. Set a roughly 12-14 hour daylight schedule.

Which lights do you have for him? If you can provide more detail about your setup, I'll be glad to go through it and make sure everything is just right for Spike. You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.
 

williamk34

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank-you Copper Dragon it definitely has helped me relax to see that he's doing good at the moment. My terrarium setup is the Zoo Med 20-gallon bearded dragon starter kit it comes with one mercury vapor bulb and a Zoo Med dual lighting for the heating one spot for a red bulb and one for a White bulb.

The white bulb had burned out as soon as I had plugged it in and locally I could only get a 75 bulb it provides the same benefits just not as much heat so I have it running in tandem to keep it at the appropriate temperature with the red bulb it is working at the moment. Spike is just now starting to become active and trying to eat he took a bite of veggie and chewed it up a bit and went back to having a staring contest with a T-rex skull decoration. He has been drinking pretty good today but still hasn't really Eaton is that normal is it just because he is stressed at the moment. I will post some pictures in a few minutes.
 

CooperDragon

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Is this what you have? https://zoomed.com/20-gallon-reptihabitat-bearded-dragon-kit/ If so, I do highly recommend some upgrades to the lighting which will make a big difference.

Don't use the red light. It gives off visible light and can disturb sleep. During the day it will make things look distorted. If your room stays above about 65 overnight you don't need any additional heating at night.

The UVB light isn't sufficient for a bearded dragon. I'm not sure why they package these with the starter kits. I think your best bet for now is to get a T5 5.0 bulb which should be about right for a 20g tank. When you upgrade the tank size in a few months (4'x2'x2' or larger is best for an adult) then you can upgrade the bulb and use the same fixture. https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26053-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B00AQU8F2O The 5.0 bulb comes with this fixture.
Otherwise if you want to use the same terrarium hood fixture I would get a 26w UVB200 bulb which is one of the better compact bulbs I've tested. https://www.joshsfrogs.com/exo-terra-reptile-uvb-200-intense-uvb-output-bulb-26-watt.html This is a bit cheaper up front and you can use the existing fixture, but you'll need to upgrade to a stronger light and appropriate fixture when you upgrade your tank.

You might be able to return the broken basking light for a replacement. Otherwise you can use any bright white light for basking as long as it produces enough heat. A 100w ReptiBasking Spot is about right for that setup but it really depends on surface temperature in the tank.

The stick on thermometer isn't going to work so I suggest getting an IR temp gun like this https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-774-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00837ZGRY/ or a couple of digital thermometers like these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/ You can set one probe on the basking surface and the other one on the floor at the other end of the tank. That will show you the surface temperature gradient. You want that to be around 100-110 in the basking spot with a gradient down to about 75-85 or so on the other side of the tank.

I also advise against using the orange sand that comes with those. They will stain your dragon's hands and feet. The sand is also hard to keep clean and sanitary and will harbor bacteria if pooped in. It's best to use a solid substrate. Non adhesive shelf liner is easy to clean/sanitize and is a good cheap option.
 

williamk34

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
full
full
the cool side.
full
full
the warm side
full

full
SPIKE!!!! :blob8:
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
He looks alert and healthy =). I'm glad to see you've already swapped the sand for something easier to keep clean. I'd make the lighting adjustments I mentioned and he should be in good shape. I like his decor and basking log! I know I posted a lot of info at once so if you have any questions about it please let me know. I promise this all starts to make more sense after a while =)
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
williamk34":2ot33j7e said:
full
full
the cool side.
full
full
the warm side
full

full
SPIKE!!!! :blob8:


He definitely looks alert and healthy. Way to go with fixing his set up! May I suggest adding a branch of some sort so he can get a little closer to the bulb for more basking warmth..? I only say this from experience with my little one, she loved sitting on her hammock and basking under the lamp. And I believe little ones like it between 100-110 degrees as opposed to adults who like it between 95-105....But that's just my only piece of advice since he looks like a happy little fella and you've done great with his setup :)
 

williamk34

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank you a lot Copper Dragon Spike really does like his hollow log both of them he will bask in the morning on the flat surface but if he needs to warm up he just walks over to that side he doesn't use the hide parts of it. He gave up at having the staring contest with the T-rex skull and decided to hunt all the crickets so I'm glad he decided to eat.

I do have a question the UVB bulb this came with a dual 100 a red and white right now I have a 75 in replace of the white 100 keeping the temperature in the right location keeping his warm area at about 105 to 110. Should I just upgrade both of those to the 200 UVB bulb or just run both at 100. And I do have a second 75 should I switch the red UVB and go ahead and use the 75 with both of them going will it keep the cage hot enough.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
For now what I'd probably do is get the UVB200 (26w not the 13w) and put that in the hood fixture. If the 75w is getting the temps where you need it, keep that. If you need higher temps, add a second one or maybe even a household incandescent bulb to the second socket in the dual fixture. You don't need to use both but using two lower wattage bulbs to achieve proper temperature is good.
 

williamk34

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Okay thank you Copper Dragon I do appreciate it I do just want to make sure that I'm not confused on anyting I am running the heating side on the 2 light bulbs one is a 75 in the other one is a 100. Should I run just to 100 where should I get a single light fixture and use the 200 or just put two 200 bulbs. Sorry I just confused myself on that. And do you know what would be a good large 60 or 70 enclosure I personally rather not to go with the bare minimum requirements that is the 40 gallon. Thank you everybody I will post as spike continues to grow.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
In the hood fixture put the UVB200 https://www.joshsfrogs.com/exo-terra-reptile-uvb-200-intense-uvb-output-bulb-26-watt.html and set that over the basking area. Right next to it in the dual fixture, get rid of the red bulb and use the basking bulb you currently have in it. If that isn't producing a high enough temperature then add a second bulb in a relatively low wattage (this will depend on the temperature you get).

If you're able to build your own enclosure, that's usually the most cost effective way to go. Build it as large as you want. 4'x2'x2' is common but you could build higher or wider if you have the space for it.
 
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