Meet Sunny (Sunflower)

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Beeler68

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So I've been on this forum for years and have wanted a beardie as long as I can remember. My wife and I finally got one and his/her name is Sunny! Isn't she beautiful?

Anyways here's some info on the setup and I really would appreciate any comments you might have. I'm a novice but I want to be a great beardie dad.

Tank info:

40 gallon terrarium
Hot side: 92° air temp; 108-110° basking temp; 28% humidity (I have to keep the water bowl on this side to keep the humidity above 20%)
Cool side: 78° and 42% humidity

UVB : Reptisun 10.0 t5 high output mounted on bottom of lid about 8" from the basking spot with about 2/3 terrarium coverage

Dual digital thermometers and hygrometers and a laser gun thermometer for the basking spot.

She ate 5 or so crickets on day one and some meal worms - the meal worms gave her a minor impaction. No more meal worms. I was able to clear it with a gentle belly rub and warm bath. She actually ssemed to get giddy after she pooped and was swimming around (not looking for the edge but truly swimming) after she pooped and even got a small splash or two in. She hasn't eaten since (now on day 3 of having her) but she seems super energetic and curious. Does she look healthy to you? Any thing you see I should address?

I noticed some shed on the top of her head and a little above her mouth but how do you know when it's natural shed vs stuck shed? I assume it's light color indicates it's rather fresh and not layered.

I'm offering crickets 3 times daily even though she's not eating - and I'm offering collard greens and mustard greens in a finely chopped salad daily (No interest in greens other than a lick here or there)

I have some Phoenix worms coming in today and I'm super hopeful they can take over as her new staple insect and that they're too yummy to say no to.

The hardest part so far is leaving her alone. I just wanna watch her all day but I get so paranoid about everything. She does seem to close one eye or the other sometimes but it's usually when I'm offering something she doesn't want. She'll lick it and then when she's tired of me offering she'll close her eyes.

I hope she's happy and healthy and lives a long life!

Ooh and she kinda looks like a hypo morph (pure novice guess) - any thoughts??

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CooperDragon

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Welcome to the forum! She looks happy and healthy to me. Don't worry too much about the shed. Stuck shed doesn't seem to be all that common and it is likely to shed properly in time on its own. Her appetite will fluctuate so just keep offering bugs a couple of times per day and let her take what she wants. The T5 is a fairly strong bulb, so it may be a bit too intense at 8''. Having it on top of the mesh will probably be OK if it's 10-12'' or so. That said, go by how she reacts. If she is getting right into the middle of the basking spot right under the lamp, it's probably OK. If she is avoiding it or staying to the side of the UVB, then raise it a bit further and see how that goes.
 

Beeler68

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Original Poster
CooperDragon":3n4b0sh1 said:
Welcome to the forum! She looks happy and healthy to me. Don't worry too much about the shed. Stuck shed doesn't seem to be all that common and it is likely to shed properly in time on its own. Her appetite will fluctuate so just keep offering bugs a couple of times per day and let her take what she wants. The T5 is a fairly strong bulb, so it may be a bit too intense at 8''. Having it on top of the mesh will probably be OK if it's 10-12'' or so. That said, go by how she reacts. If she is getting right into the middle of the basking spot right under the lamp, it's probably OK. If she is avoiding it or staying to the side of the UVB, then raise it a bit further and see how that goes


Thank you for the advice! I just got her to eat one cricket which is a step in the right direction and of course makes me feel better lol. She really loves her basking spot and sits on it like a happy little turd during the day. Sometimes I catch her climbing the tree or walking the "tightrope" that is the faux branch, but she spends her days in basking and nights tucked in somewhere else. I'll keep an eye on the UVB bulb to see if she starts shying away, but so far she hasn't seemed to have any issues with it. She actually gets closer to it than she "has" to. The rock is about 108° from the second to top tier to 110° at the top tier. She loves where it gets up to 110° and that's where she spends most of her daylight. I'm super stoked for the phoenix worms to come in today though to see if she favors them.
 

CooperDragon

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It sounds like she's pretty happy with the way things are then, so keep it as-is and just observe for a while =)
 

Beeler68

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Update:

She ate a handful (maybe 7-8) crickets today and I gave her a bath a few hours later and she pooped twice in the bath. A little bit of yellow in the urate on the first one but very minor and no urate on the second one. She had to strain a bit to detach the second one but she got it off ? she actually seems to enjoy my company and doesn't shy away at all. She is scared of the tweezers though so I feed by hand and she'll only take it from me on her basking spot. Not loving worms - only eats the crickets but I think she's just used to them. Any tricks to get her to try her salad or Phoenix worms?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Put the phoenix worms on the salad -- try hand feeding the phoenix worms that is what I did w/ Blaze --- she needs to be eating some salad now -- even if only a little - feed first thing in the morning before crickets -- disable the crickets and put them in w/ the salad - the movement will get her attention -- the T 5 is 8 " from basking decor ? I would move it up to around 12-15" --- you have it set up for a T 8--
Karrie
 

Beeler68

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":2hv51618 said:
Put the phoenix worms on the salad -- try hand feeding the phoenix worms that is what I did w/ Blaze --- she needs to be eating some salad now -- even if only a little - feed first thing in the morning before crickets -- disable the crickets and put them in w/ the salad - the movement will get her attention -- the T 5 is 8 " from basking decor ? I would move it up to around 12-15" --- you have it set up for a T 8--
Karrie

Would it be better to switch to a T8 fixture in the same placement or move the current fixture to the top of the terrarium above the screen? I just want to make sure she's getting enough UVB but don't wanna blind her either. I'd prefer to move it to the top so I don't have to buy a new fixture and bulb - but I'll do whichever is best. I'll definitely offer a salad tomorrow morning. How soon after lights on do you tend to feed little ones?? I figure it must take some time to wake up and get energy from the heat and light but I'm new so I'm not sure. She seems to be getting more confident each day!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You can try top of screen -- is the screen a fine mesh like a screen door or wide holed like a dime or similar ? If its fine screen you want it inside the tank --- the screen blocks out 30% of the rays
Let the dragon warm up for like an hr before trying to feed --- they wont eat if there cold---
Karrie
 

Beeler68

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":m5sdadr2 said:
You can try top of screen -- is the screen a fine mesh like a screen door or wide holed like a dime or similar ? If its fine screen you want it inside the tank --- the screen blocks out 30% of the rays
Let the dragon warm up for like an hr before trying to feed --- they wont eat if there cold---
Karrie

I started thinking about it and figured the best option would be to lower the basking spot via a different rock. This way I can get a bigger, flatter basking spot and can move it to 12" from the UVB!
 

Beeler68

Member
Original Poster
Quick update!

Sunny is eating consistently - anywhere from 10-15 dusted crickets per sitting 3-4 times a day. Still not wanting to eat greens even if the crickets are in there. Working on that! I updated her environment a bit to optimize the UVB distance - now a T5 HO @ 11 inches from basking spot. She's a little flat in the photo because I had just moved everything and it was still a little cool. She seems to be energized by my presence sometimes. Definitely warming up to me and will actively seek me out when she's hungry! She uses the entire terrarium which is so cool. She'll sleep on the little branch and climb up the tree in the front to say hello!

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
please dont leave crickets in the tank over nite they will come out at nite and bite her and they can cause infection -- glad to hear shes eating good and everything looks good
Karrie
 

Beeler68

Member
Original Poster
Updated photo:

Looks healthy to me and has been eating consistently. Found out today he LOVES bell peppers and is finally enjoying his mustard greens! He eats probably 10 or so dubia roaches a day. Not huge ones but definitely a lot more nutrient rich than the crickets.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Sunny is growing and looks good --- do you have the nutrition website? If not here it is
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder
Also I recommend getting some different feeders as well like BSFL or silk worms - they are both great staple feeders- you can get BSFL here www.symptonbsf.com or from here www.dubiaroaches.com along w/ some medium super worms as treats - silk worms you can get here www.reptilianarts.com they also have super worms but they do not come cupped w/ food - its better to get them from dubiaroaches they come w/ food --
Karrie
 

Beeler68

Member
Original Poster
Karrie,

I do indeed!

His lists are:

Veggies:

Collards (main staple), Mustard Greens (main staple), Dandelions on occasion, bell peppers, butternut squash, kale, he LOVES an occasional bite or two of carrot.

Insects:

Dubias are his staple, BSFL and Horn worms on occasion. Not to keen on the horn worms yet although he has eastern one very small one. He really prefers things that move and has never been huge on worms but now that he's digging the salads more I'm mixing them in there.

He only poops when I take him out of his terrarium (specifically loves bath time and poops there regularly). He drinks before he poops which is awesome and then he wants out after he poops (even though I remove the poop) like that's the only reason he's stayed that long ?

EDIT: OF COURSE right after I say that I give him a bath and he starts playing in it! It's the first time he actually looked to be enjoying himself. He was playing with the water when I would put more in and would swim towards my hand and then stop and then turn around and swim around and repeat. Then he finally jumped out and was running around the plants ?
 
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Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

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