Can his big tummy be from Hornworms? Good daily diet ?s

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BrandiP

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Oh, and I wanted to add that getting her outside in the next few days is going to be tricky. We're in Texas and TS Hannah is making our weather not fun right now. Snowflake's not a fan of the rain, but I'm going to try to get her outside during the lulls.

Here's a fun picture of her in her play tent outside taken a few weeks ago:
108628-8370315479.jpg

~Brandi
 

KarrieRee

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Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
One fixture of a 24" for your tank is fine --- I have a 120 gallon 4x2x2 and the 24 " fixture -- you do not need anything longer -- she needs to be able to sit in her tank w/ out having to hide from the UVB --- get the Arcadia 12% bulb or the Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb -- replace once a year - here is a link
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html they are out of stock on this one go figure but you can look other places
here is the bulbs https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/arcadia-12-uvb-t5-reptile-bulb.html
I am not sure about the gender -- if looking above the vent I would say female if looking below the vent a male -- AHBD will haft to weigh in on the sex ---
Karrie
 

BrandiP

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108628-4560818533.jpg

Ok, so here's the new setup.

ZooMed 24" UVB light (with reflector, I made sure!) Mounted in center of tank on adjustable shelf brackets (so I can move it up or down if needed)

Right side is hot side... Natural rock basking area with hide cave. Basking spot avg. Temp 105°-110°, general area around 100°-105°. Ceramic tile substrate. Water dish.

Mid tank with vine carpet 90°-95°. On the vine below UVB she's about 8-10 inches away from it. Below the vine carpet is her fluffy bed.

Left side is cool side. 80°-85° avg. temp. Plastic hide area, paper towel substrate. Food dish on a natural rock.

3 hygrometers in tank to keep track of temps, but I Also check a couple times per day with my infrared temperature gun.

How's it look?

Thanks again to everyone for the help and suggestions/recommendations!

~Brandi
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok looks good but I would move the UVB up and have it around 12-15 inches -- you have it set up for a T 8 distance and the bulb is stronger than a T 8
Karrie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hey there, I hadn't received any notifications for this thread since before you got Covid. Glad to hear that you all recovered ! It's nice to see your pretty Snowflake doing do well , what a huge outdoor playhouse she has. :) Dragons that spend a lot of time outside don't need constant or perfect uvb in the indoor enclosures so you'll never have that worry.
 

BrandiP

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Thank you for the well-wishes, AHBD. That virus is definitely no joke!


KarrieRee":3elj02ag said:
Ok looks good but I would move the UVB up and have it around 12-15 inches -- you have it set up for a T 8 distance and the bulb is stronger than a T 8
Karrie

It is a ZooMed Reptisun 24" 10.0 T8 bulb.

Yes, her outside playhouse is huge but it was originally.my kid's playhouse and she inherited it. We try to get her outside at least a few times per week to soak up natural UVB. Her favorite thing to do is climb up on my shoulder and bask/gape (I only let her when I'm sitting or laying on the ground, so there's little risk of her getting hurt even if she were to jump... Which she never has. Usually I have to pry her off! ?)
108628-4266513316.jpg

~Brandi
 

BrandiP

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So I wanted to ask y'all's opinion on a dig box...

Sometimes when Snowflake goes into her plastic hide, I can hear her digging around. At first, we thought she was trying to file her nails, so we switched from the plastic hide to the natural rock. She stopped doing it for a bit. But now, with the plastic hide back in her tank, she's doing it again. My biggest concern is that the substrate the hide is on now is paper towels (before it was on the tile). Should I be concerned about shredded paper towels in her hide? Do you think she'd accidentally ingest pieces, causing impaction? I do have a nice, flat rock I could put in there, but I think she likes to snuggle into the paper towels. She used to crawl under them to sleep before the plastic hide was back in there.

We very very rarely feed her insects inside the tank (maybe the occasional worm from above or a bowl of dubia if I am not able to stop and take her out to feed. I'd say that's happened maybe 4-5 times in the 3 1/2 months we've had her). Typically, she's brought outside the tank and onto a smooth memory-foam bath mat (brand new, never used in a bathroom) to feed. It gives her an open space to chase the bugs, plus I can keep track better of how much she actually eats. I also don't have to worry about random missed bugs crawling around her tank.

What's the opinion on dig boxes? Good idea or bad? Risks? Best/safest digging substances to use? Size for her age?

I don't want her to accidentally ingest sand and get impacted, but I also have read that Beardies naturally like to dig, so I don't want to be depriving her of a natural instinct.

I also wonder if I should offer her a branch or something for her to climb higher on, since beardies are semi arboreal. Right now, the highest she can climb is about 8"-10", and that's the plastic hide. The vine is about the same height. When we had the vine along the back, she would climb all the way to the top and hang out there, so I'm wondering if she would like a higher place to go on occasion.

Sorry for all the questions. I really do appreciate all of your help. I just want Snowflake to live her best life, ya know?

Thanks
~Brandi
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I've used both plain children's play sand or a mixture of it with plain top soil, both can be found at Walmart or Home Depot. They love to dig + fling it everywhere ! And yes, a nice basking branch is usually a big hit with a dragon that likes to climb. :)
 

BrandiP

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AHBD":370rlyhf said:
I've used both plain children's play sand or a mixture of it with plain top soil, both can be found at Walmart or Home Depot. They love to dig + fling it everywhere ! And yes, a nice basking branch is usually a big hit with a dragon that likes to climb. :)

So play sand, topsoil, (or a mixture of the two) as opposed to something like calcium sand or Eco Earth substrate? I don't know how likely she will be to ingest it, as she normally eats outside her tank. (With the exception of her salads, which are left in her tank for munching on all day). However, there still is the off chance she will taste her new surroundings as Beardie's tend to do, and I worry about impaction. Also, she's right at 6 months old (Happy Half-Birthday on 8/22! ?) so would it be better to wait to add a dig box until she's older/fully grown to reduce that risk?

Approximately how deep would you recommend? I'm currently debating on two different shape & size boxes to use. One is square plastic, the other is a round metal tin. The plastic one is a tad bit deeper, so I'm hoping that one will be less messy. ? But ultimately it will boil down to which one fits into her habitat better, and whichever one she seems to prefer, if that is a factor.

I did find a pretty nice, high tree branch replica at PetSmart, and it absolutely was a hit! Here's a pic of her hanging out on it, fast asleep. ??

108628-6092850533.jpg

Thanks for all the help and advice! I really appreciate it!
~Brandi
 
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