Hi, everyone! I've been dreaming of having a beardie for a very long time, and now was finally the right time and place to get one. My new baby is a 6-month-old hypo trans male, with German Giant in him, so he is a big boy! I haven't properly measured him yet but he looks to already be 12 inches. I love him dearly and want to do the best for him. Here are pictures of him and his current setup!
His tank is a 40 gallon breeder from Exo Terra (36x18x18). I have a 100 watt Exo Terra basking bulb (attached to a lamp stand) and a 10.0 Reptisun UVB bulb, both of which are sitting on top of his enclosure. The right side is the cool side, with a hide and a small blanket of mine, which I figured would help him familiarize with my scent. There's a water bowl in the middle which I take out at night, so that he doesn't end up sleeping in it on accident. The right side has a log and a hammock propped up on the log as his basking spot, which provides a gradient of temps from 98 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool side is about 80 degrees, fluctuating depending on the time of day. He is shedding at the moment on his leg and I believe on his beard as well, so I'm hoping the water bowl will help with that even if he doesn't drink from it or go potty in it. (I put posters on the sides of his tank to try and block reflections that might freak them out -- please ignore that they're Chinese lesson charts, lol. I do plan to put a background that covers the back and the sides in the future, but I don't want to mess around too much in case I stress the baby out more at the moment.) I plan to also accessorize his tank a bit more to give him more fun stimuli, but again, I want him to settle in first.
I'm still trying to figure out a feeding schedule for him, since there seems to be quite a bit of debate about what the proper schedule is for a juvenile like him. The store (a pretty reputable reptile store) I got him from suggested I feed him bugs one day, then greens the next, but I was a bit wary of that. I'm trying to follow something similar to the one on Bearded Dragon Care 101 here: https://www.beardeddragoncare101.com/bearded-dragon-care-sheet/juvenile-feeding-schedule/
He's been home with me for 2 nights and 2 days, including today. Apparently he wasn't fed the day that I got him, so he was a voracious eater yesterday, downing 19 large dubias and most of his salad (made up of collard greens). Today, trying to stick with the feeding schedule I mentioned above, I tried to focus him on salads. He ate some salad in the morning, then 5 large dubias in the afternoon, munched on the salad again in the late afternoon, then 5 more large dubias at dinnertime. Is this too little/too much for him? What kind of feeding schedule would you recommend, given that he's on large dubias rather than the small/medium ones?
I should also note that he hasn't pooped yet, which I read was pretty normal due to relocation stress. He also still has stress marks on his belly, which clear up from time to time (usually when he's basking). How worried should I be about these stress marks, and how soon should they go away?
Thanks so much for going through this too-long post -- I'd love to hear your advice to make sure my baby is happy and healthy!
His tank is a 40 gallon breeder from Exo Terra (36x18x18). I have a 100 watt Exo Terra basking bulb (attached to a lamp stand) and a 10.0 Reptisun UVB bulb, both of which are sitting on top of his enclosure. The right side is the cool side, with a hide and a small blanket of mine, which I figured would help him familiarize with my scent. There's a water bowl in the middle which I take out at night, so that he doesn't end up sleeping in it on accident. The right side has a log and a hammock propped up on the log as his basking spot, which provides a gradient of temps from 98 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool side is about 80 degrees, fluctuating depending on the time of day. He is shedding at the moment on his leg and I believe on his beard as well, so I'm hoping the water bowl will help with that even if he doesn't drink from it or go potty in it. (I put posters on the sides of his tank to try and block reflections that might freak them out -- please ignore that they're Chinese lesson charts, lol. I do plan to put a background that covers the back and the sides in the future, but I don't want to mess around too much in case I stress the baby out more at the moment.) I plan to also accessorize his tank a bit more to give him more fun stimuli, but again, I want him to settle in first.
I'm still trying to figure out a feeding schedule for him, since there seems to be quite a bit of debate about what the proper schedule is for a juvenile like him. The store (a pretty reputable reptile store) I got him from suggested I feed him bugs one day, then greens the next, but I was a bit wary of that. I'm trying to follow something similar to the one on Bearded Dragon Care 101 here: https://www.beardeddragoncare101.com/bearded-dragon-care-sheet/juvenile-feeding-schedule/
He's been home with me for 2 nights and 2 days, including today. Apparently he wasn't fed the day that I got him, so he was a voracious eater yesterday, downing 19 large dubias and most of his salad (made up of collard greens). Today, trying to stick with the feeding schedule I mentioned above, I tried to focus him on salads. He ate some salad in the morning, then 5 large dubias in the afternoon, munched on the salad again in the late afternoon, then 5 more large dubias at dinnertime. Is this too little/too much for him? What kind of feeding schedule would you recommend, given that he's on large dubias rather than the small/medium ones?
I should also note that he hasn't pooped yet, which I read was pretty normal due to relocation stress. He also still has stress marks on his belly, which clear up from time to time (usually when he's basking). How worried should I be about these stress marks, and how soon should they go away?
Thanks so much for going through this too-long post -- I'd love to hear your advice to make sure my baby is happy and healthy!