New to Beardie Care - Health Questions

Status
Not open for further replies.

Princedargent

New member
Hello, as the title says, I have very fortunately found myself the owner of a rescue bearded. A friend of a friend couldn't keep it and instead of them abandoning it I agreed to take care of it (I have experience in Leo's, Gargs and Cresties). I got everything from the previous owner and am just looking at some recommendations as to how I can improve his life.

He is a 5 year old male (not sure what morph but he's darker in color with black spots. I thought it was stress but he *seems* happy.) He just had a rough shed, I've been using reptished spray and soaking him in a bath. (He came to me with pretty plugged pores so I got a hard bristled toothbrush and I'm trying to soak him every 3 days in a lukewarm bath with treated water.) He seems to have a stiffer leg but his claws are pretty long so I ordered some clippers (small animal nail clippers) that should be in soon. Sadly we're in lockdown here atm so I can't really go put all willy nilly so I'm eagerly waiting for the clippers.

Cage, he has a rough bark hide to try and help with his femoral pores, and a cave to get him closer to the basking spot. There's a thermometer right by the cave and its the right temperature now (hes basking with his mouth open which i read is a good sign *fingers crossed*). I'm not sure the bulb so I'm thinking of replacing it with a Powersun 100w, I hope thats a good heat option and uvb (and ill replace it about 8 months after the purchase). He use to be using sand but that was the first thing I changed, now to repticarpet. I do have a shallow pool of water in his enclosure for him to soak in. Should I remove it at night? The room is warmer than most so I'm not too concerned about him getting too cold but I keep reading conflicting information about water dishes.

And lastly food. I usually leave a bowl of greens when I wake up which rotate depending on whats in stock and in season. I usually aim for collard greens and dandelion greens. Some weeks he will have kale instead or baby arugula. I sometimes will throw some cilantro, snap peas, yellow bell peppers, blueberries (for a treat) or blackberries. The fruit he gets about once every week. And only about three berries. I'll give him dusted super worms (he doesn't really chase down crickets maybe because of the nails) usually about 5 a day or every second day mixed with his greens to get him to eat. And every second Friday he gets 3 big horn worms (he dances for them).

Hes very friendly, and when I'm taking care of the other reptiles in the room he will try to press against the glass closest to me and will puff if I ignore him. So I hope that's a good sign.

The only thing I've noticed besides the claws and stuck shed is he makes the occasional snap sound. I've only heard it twice. I'm not sure if it's related to mating season? Or something worse but I haven't heard it since and it was after a bath when he was under the basking light.

Sorry for such a long post...
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Check your humidity in the tank - it will increase at nite so depending on what it is over nite you might want to remove the dish - get a hygrometer and place it on the back wall of the tank - you dont want it under 25% and over 70% --- UVB lighting is one of the most crucial things in the tank along w/ basking temps -- UVB should be a long tube fixture/ hood w/ a reflector NO coils and basking temps should be 95-110 for a adult dragon temps need to be taken w/a digital probe thermometer NO stick ons they are inaccurate--- if you need help w/ any of these please ask -- the repti carpet is ok some times they get their claws stuck in the carpet and also in the mesh hammocks if you need more ideas w/ hammocks or something else besides the carpet I can post stuff for that as well -- here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
If you need help w / insects or worms as well please ask
Most important tho is that UVB and basking temps-- they control the overall health and behavior of the dragon
Karrie
 

DorgEndo

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Devlyn
Clicking - bearded dragons do not have vocal cords. They have no communication to other beardies with sound, it's all visual. So there can be changes in behaviors and colors if he was in a mating mood. Definitely get the hygrometer to make sure humidity is in a safe range. Removing water dish at night is usually a good idea to keep humidity from getting too high.

What's the UVB? Having a strong UVB is fundamental for the health of the dragon and a healthy dragon will display normal eating and other normal beardie behaviors. Example pic https://imgur.com/gallery/Tf148LM of lighting layout.

Two best proven brands right now are Arcadia T5 HO 12% https://www.arcadiareptile.com/lighting/prot5/ or Zoo Med Reptisun T5 10.0, link for hood https://zoomed.com/reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood/ and link for 10.0 bulb
httpss://zoomed.com/t5-ho-reptisun-10-0-uvb/

Personally, I like Arcadia because they sell the hood and bulb in the same package and I found it easier to put the Arcadia inside the enclosure for higher UVB exposure
 

Princedargent

New member
Original Poster
I never thought of a hygrometer, I do have a few of the combo ones (hygrometer and thermometer) that i can use. Both the current thermometer and combo are digital. (The sticker was the second thing I replaced after getting him.)

The heat lamp was the third thing I've replaced its suppose to help with uvb rays specifically the only problem is I haven't yet replaced the bulb itself so I have no clue what it is or how old it is. The new lamp helps the temperature on the basking side reach the proper basking (usually 95-100 but more often at 100). I bought it to prepare for the reptisun bulb which is carried at my local pet shop. Unfortunately though I can find the long skinny bulbs im having a lot of trouble finding the actual hood lamp so I'm really hoping the reptisun bulb can work until I'm able to go out and about again and hunt down a hood light. I don't really worry about the night time temperature since there are other reptiles in the room its typically 75.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I would get your basking bulb in order and I think you have one -- and the UVB they are the most crucial thing in the tank --- what bulb do you need? Is it the T 5 or or T 8 --- thats going to tell me better what hood you need? Usually pet stores only carry the T 8 bulbs that would fit a hood of 18- 20 inch---
Your better looking on line for anything over the 20 inch hood -- I believe the T 5's start at the 24" hood
amazon.com is a good place to start --- my go to places I would send you to their websites but they are out of stock
Karrie
 

Princedargent

New member
Original Poster
I don't know what bulb I have sadly. The old owner never relayed the information and just dropped a box of reptile.stuff with the bearded and I've been piecing things together slowly but surely.

Its a larger roundish bulb that I already have and it looks like a reptisun bulb (the round ones) so I bought a lamp thats suppose to help reflect the uvb better by the same company and I was planning on buying a new bulb so I can be certain about the bulb having uvb. In hoping the rounded reptisun is ok for a couple of months while I try and hunt down a hood and bulb. I might see if my local pet store can order one in for me perhaps so I can keep supporting local over Amazon.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please post a pic of the bulb your talking about --- the UVB and the basking temps in that tank are the MOST important thing in the tank ---- it is crucial for the health of your dragon I cannot stress that enough--- better yet please post a pic of all the bulbs your talking about so I can see what you have --
Karrie
 

Princedargent

New member
Original Poster
Sorry I totally got the name wrong the bulb i was thinking of getting and prepped for is a Powersun bulb by Zoo Med. That's what the current bulb that was given to me looks like and I bought a better lamp for it. I was hoping the 100w would be good to use until I can find a hood lamp fixture since they're not usually carried where I live.

Not the Reptisun. Sorry for the confusion.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Power Sun is a good MVB -- it needs to be in a dome approx 12" above the basking decor piece w/ No screen -- watch your temps tho so you dont over heat him - get them w/ a digital probe thermometer - he will be fine for now but I do recommend adding another UVB in the tank --- even a 18 " T 8 will do as long as he has extra UVB provided - sometimes the MVB do not emit enough UVB so its good to have an extra one that he has an option to get more if needed --
Karrie
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
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

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,679
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom