DragonAlly
Member
Hello there! We are new to the dragon world and have had a baby Beardie for a week. He’s got a nice set up in a 20g starter tank, we use a digital probe thermometer and his basking side stays around 100-103 degrees. We use a Powersun UV Self-ballasted Mercury Vapor UVB lamp, 100w. It’s on a lamp stand so we can adjust the height to get his temps just right. There is another lamp on there but I’m not sure what it’s for, my husband said to put it on there, so we do. We do the red light at night, although we live in a warmer climate area and his enclosure doesn’t get below 80degrees at night. Should I not use the light at night? I also have a lot of “is this normal” type questions, when and if someone might have the time to answer and guide us a bit.
He doesn’t spend much time in his hidey hole, or on the cooler side of the tank. He also doesn’t get in the water much either. Is that normal? We gave him one bath, but the water got cold real quick... is there a safe way to curb that from happening?
Feeding is not optimal. We have Dubai roaches and he eats maybe 1-2 per feeding, offering several times throughout the day. I’m reading that he should eat 25-50 per feeding. That’s not happening! I’m worried it could be relocation stress, or lighting (wire mesh cover between him and the uvb/heat bulb). He also won’t eat his veggies for the exception of today when he ate two small pieces from the tongs. I give him his salad first thing in the morning. Wait about an hour then give him the roaches. I also mist his head with water since he’s not getting in his water dish. Humidity is at 25%, so we are good there. Any suggestions for this newbie?
On to his activity level. He is not very active, until I’m trying to pick him up. What qualifies as lethargic? I’m worried the wire mesh top to his enclosure is filtering out the uvb rays from his lamp/bulb. So I keep that halfway open to make sure he’s getting as much uvb as possible. I keep an eye on him though, cause I’m scared he’ll climb out! Maybe I’m overthinking the wire mesh thing. Lastly, he will lay with his feet straight out behind him... is that normal? I’ll do my best to attach a pic to this to show the pose. He looks like he’s chillin to me, but am super anxious about raising this guy the best way possible!
Ok I’m done with the question hour. Thanks for taking the time to read all this, if anyone actually did haha! I look forward to engaging with others on this forum!
All the best,
Allison & Sir Jeffrey Longtail of Terrariumshire
He doesn’t spend much time in his hidey hole, or on the cooler side of the tank. He also doesn’t get in the water much either. Is that normal? We gave him one bath, but the water got cold real quick... is there a safe way to curb that from happening?
Feeding is not optimal. We have Dubai roaches and he eats maybe 1-2 per feeding, offering several times throughout the day. I’m reading that he should eat 25-50 per feeding. That’s not happening! I’m worried it could be relocation stress, or lighting (wire mesh cover between him and the uvb/heat bulb). He also won’t eat his veggies for the exception of today when he ate two small pieces from the tongs. I give him his salad first thing in the morning. Wait about an hour then give him the roaches. I also mist his head with water since he’s not getting in his water dish. Humidity is at 25%, so we are good there. Any suggestions for this newbie?
On to his activity level. He is not very active, until I’m trying to pick him up. What qualifies as lethargic? I’m worried the wire mesh top to his enclosure is filtering out the uvb rays from his lamp/bulb. So I keep that halfway open to make sure he’s getting as much uvb as possible. I keep an eye on him though, cause I’m scared he’ll climb out! Maybe I’m overthinking the wire mesh thing. Lastly, he will lay with his feet straight out behind him... is that normal? I’ll do my best to attach a pic to this to show the pose. He looks like he’s chillin to me, but am super anxious about raising this guy the best way possible!
Ok I’m done with the question hour. Thanks for taking the time to read all this, if anyone actually did haha! I look forward to engaging with others on this forum!
All the best,
Allison & Sir Jeffrey Longtail of Terrariumshire