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poohkiANDbubbsy

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Hi! I'm Poohki and I'm the momma of Bubbsy (pics soon, promise)

A little about me...
I am from East Tennessee but I've been living in Dallas, Texas for the past, I dunno, ten years maybe. I'm a stay at home mom and homeschool the kids. The family dream is to start a small farm and be self sufficient in some mountains, some where. I love all animals and am experienced in husbandry, but Bubbsy is my first herp (kind of, my husband brought in a possible baby Mediterranean house gecko one time, he was basically freezing outside during the day, and we tried to care for it until the cold passed, but he wouldn't eat and died). I've always been interested in reptiles and when my daughters took intrest, I knew it was on! I was really excited and started making a custom build but was waiting to finish before I started looking for breeders. I told my mom all of this and the next time she came by, she brought Bubbsy.

About Bubbsy (aka Bubbs, Bubby, Baby, Hey Buddy Guy)…
My mom bought Bubbsy from PetSmart for me as a gift, so I don't really have a lot of information on him. I know he was labeled fancy and I think he is a leatherback. His colors are bright orange and red. He is about 7 1/2 inches long and, due to my scale not working, I dunno his weight but will soon. I believe he is underweight, but he is also shedding and his appetite decreased, so I'm hoping he will fill out after. He eats about 10-20 1/2 inch (or a lil bigger) dusted dubia a day and doesn't care much for the greens/veggies combos I have offered so far. He's well hydrated with his daily baths and likes to drink water from my hand and a spray bottle. He poops twice a day and as far as I can tell, they are healthy.

He has settled in quite nicely the last two weeks. I guess he likes being handled because he is always jumping onto my hand and crawling on me when I'm in his house. I let him hang out once a day, for fifteen minutes and he loves to explore, either on me or the couch. He seems chill and like he just wants to be part of the fams!

About his enclosure (his house)...
Just note that what I have right now is temporary. I need to get a bigger tank, a clamp lamp or stand and upgrade the UVB. I'll be doing this over the next few weeks. I'm also finishing other custom rocks to go in the new house. I am super excited about those cause I love to craft :3

Tank Size: 10 gal. Décor/furniture includes a tiny tea house made from a tea bag box with a small climbing plant vine on top of it on the cool side, a custom built corner rock cave with a climbing step basking platform on the warms side and a hanging plant positioned above the rock so that it falls down on both sides, to which he can use to climb onto the rock and higher than the rock and also to hide!

Lighting: Zoo Med 50watt basking bulb; Zoo Med Repti Sun t5 hood w/ 5.0 UVB bulb; household LED bulb that puts off 800 lumens.
He can get about 6 inches from the basking light and about 4 inches from the uvb because of the plant he likes to kick it on.
I have the mesh screen opened enough to allow the UVB into his house unfiltered.
He spends most of his time on his plant and platform hanging out where the two lights meet.

Temps:I use a Fluke 59MAX+ IR Thermometer to take temps and just a regular stick on for humidity and ambient temp. Cool side 83F, cool side hide 81F; middle 91F; warm side ambient 95F, basking surface ranges from 100F at the base to 110F at the top, warm side hide (cave under basking steps) 85F. Night temps 70F-75F.

Foods: Dubia purchased in person from a local reptile store, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, red and orange peppers, strawberry, blueberry, parsley, baby squash, baby yam, baby chicken.

I think that is all...

It is very important to me that I am doing this right. Any and all knowledge, corrections, suggestions, tips, hints or tricks would be greatly appreciated! I want to learn as much as I can so I can not only be a great mommy to Bubbsy and maybe others some day but also to pass it down to my children and who knows what might become of all that :)

Also, if any one knows of a good reptile vet in the DFW area, please share :)

Looking forward to learning more and meeting cool people!!
 

CooperDragon

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Staff member
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Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you've got the basics under control. I advise upgrading your enclosure as soon as you can but using the T5 5.0 for now is the right choice and your temperature gradient is good (which is hard to do in a small space). It's usually most economical to build your own enclosure if you can. Build one as large as you have space for. I look forward to seeing photos of Bubbsy and hearing about his progress.
 

poohkiANDbubbsy

New member
Original Poster
Thank you for the welcome!
Last night I purchased a used 36L x 12H x 18W (I think that's right) Exo Terra front open terrarium from this really nice lady my husband found on Facebook for $50. We cleaned/disinfected it so the next step is buy bigger uvb to fit much longer tank lol and hopefully I have him moved in within the week! I'm so excited for him :3 And yes, I think custom is the way to go once he outgrows this new one.


103351-1537523736.jpg
dis him today

103351-2707717112.jpg
this was last week

103351-9140564259.jpg
and his house until the new one is finished
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
His tank looks great for now -- and it sounds like you have been doing your home work--- I would upgrade that UVB to one of these a Reptisun 10 T5, or the Arcadia D3 12% or 14% T5 tube, both of which are very good. You will need a T5 light fixture also. this is what most recommend on the forum--- It will do w/ both of the tanks your going to put him in -- the 40 gallon and then the next size up - a 4x2x2 is recommend for a adult dragon -- but you are on the right track -- you can always google reptile vets in your area and see what pops up --- or if you have a breeder that you know you can always ask them -- I guess I need to ask as to why your feeding your little on baby squash and chicken? His main diet now would be the dubias -- 80% bugs 20% vegies-- are you dusting his bugs w/ the d3 calcium 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week?
Karrie
 

poohkiANDbubbsy

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KarrieRee":3nciejw4 said:
I guess I need to ask as to why your feeding your little on baby squash and chicken? His main diet now would be the dubias -- 80% bugs 20% vegies-- are you dusting his bugs w/ the d3 calcium 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week?
Karrie

I was just listing everything he had tried up until that point. His main staple was and always has been dubia and country greens (collard, mustard and turnip greens) at the appropriate portions. And yes, Ive always been supplementing but I use liquid more recently.

Im going to post an update with pics in the beardie tales section if yall are interested :)
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Welcome to the site!

He is definitely a leatherback. He has some very nice coloring to him :D

Everything you're doing sounds great! You're off to a very good start.

poohkiANDbubbsy":1b4qikr3 said:
The family dream is to start a small farm and be self sufficient in some mountains, some where.
Same here! We are looking to move sometime in the future and be surrounded by nature. California and beaches are nice, but I like mountains and forests better lol.

Hope you stick around here! Maybe think about starting a thread for bubbsy in the beardie tales section so we can follow along with him :)

-Brandon
 
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