1st time beardie owner

[itsfish321]

hello everybody my names cody and im not only a new bearded dragon owner but this is my first reptile. i picked up my beardie from pet supplies plus (was more a quick thing didnt look into a breeder) he was the smallest one in the viv...

with no further adieu meet....

i havent figured out a name yet ill get back on that. but ive had him or her for a week now. if anyone could help me out with a age that would help because he was very small when i got him. he weighs 8.1G as of now. i have gone thru my share of daddy troubles so far but im loving every second of it and this reptile is a great fit for me!! :mrgreen:

my setup as of now:

now this picture was taken at night so the red light is a nightlight i use 75W. i also have a basking spot light 100W and a powersun UVA/UVB 100w in the big dome. i have read some bad things about the powersun and just ordered my ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO High Output Linear Lamp 24W, 22"
this will be arriving tomorrow and i will be mounting this inside the cage.

as for food when he first arrived at his new home i soon after offered him some crickets. he seemed hungry and gobbled about 10 small crickets up. that was his biggest eating since arriving with me. i usually keep about 3 crickets in there for him for whenever since. hes still young and i cant get him to eat his fruits and veggies yet. i offered him a variety of things and no real luck yet. thats what u see on the paper towel. i just bought juvenile beardie food today from petco. its called baby bites from nature zone. any feedback with this item? there is also a food dish in there i keep some food in 24/7

as for water i spray him 2-3 times daily to keep him hyrdated and he loves the sprays. ive given him 2 baths so far... doing my best to make sure hes water friendly. i also use a syringe with 75% water 25% apple juice. 100% apple juice. usually when he wakes up and before bed i coax him into drinking a bit and even drizzle him with a couple drops. seems too enjoy it\. there is a dish in his cage i havent seen him drink from it yet just run thru it so he knows its there.

i keep a thermometer on the wall on the hot side and it usually sits between 95-105 F . he has a basking spot there and i also put a hammock in that corner so he can get closer to the light need be. humidity will sit usually at 10%. never above 30% so far even after spraying. his favorite spot is that hammock as you can see in the picture hes sleeping up there tonight.

besides a light diet so far and not eating veggies (normal for babies i hear) there is only one thing that concerns me about my dragon.... his left eye. he hesitates to open his left eye sometimes. he will open it, but i can tell he will nurse it sometimes... no sand in my viv by the way. this started yesterday and since then ive been slightly worried. i have used my syringe with some clean water and flushed his eye out. maybe i got some apple juice water in there when i was giving him his fluids? maybe its the powersun 100W i have heard bad things about this item. why i next dayed my reptisun. ill provide a picture of his eye, this was yeterday when i first noticed it. has gone down a little in irritation since ive been flushing it with water. not really sure and not turning this into a help topic but if u have any input im open to constructive criticism.

i love my first reptile everybody and i look foreard to being a active member on this forum and a great beardie owner. thx for coming !

 

[brittani299]

Hello . He is about 2 months old. I would get rid of that red light. Beardies need pure dark to sleep at night. Here is some info for your new beardie.
a) tank - you could start with a 20 gallon long, but your baby will need a 40 gallon breeder quickly, so might as well just start with that. If he is intimidated by that, you can partition it with some cardboard or something temporarily.
b) substrate of your choice (but nothing loose) - I would highly suggest slate tile. It is very similar to their natural habitat, is cheap, easy to clean, keeps muscles toned and nails trim. Other options are reptile carpet, non-adhesive shelf liner, and paper towel/newspaper. Your call really.
c) basking spot (rock or log, either from outside and sanitized, or bought)
d) hide (don't use this for the first couple weeks so your baby doesn't hide instead of bask and acclimate)
e) other tank furniture (a log, a fake tree, vines, fake plant... whatever you want. Just browse the pet store)
f) basking light (whatever wattage gets you to the right temps (105-115F basking spot, aiming for 110F). You can use either a clear household bulb or a basking light from a pet store. Just make sure the bulb is not colored or coated.)
g) basking light clamp lamp fixture
h) 3M command hooks
i) under cabinet fluorescent fixture (I got mine at Walmart - I had a heavier one from Lowes, but it kept falling)
j) ReptiSun 10.0 tube
k) Digital thermometer with probe (at least 1, and they should have a hygrometer built in to measure humidity) and/or temp gun
l) a food bowl for salad, and another for worms/roaches (no water bowl - they don't need a water bowl, and it will just raise the humidity. Just be sure to give baths. Do not feed mealworms a bearded dragon, but you can put phoenix worms, silkworms, dubia roaches, waxworms [treat], butterworms [treat], or hornworms [treat] in a bowl. Crickets will not stay in a bowl)
m) If the tank gets below 65F, another dome fixture and a ceramic heat emitter (do not use a red light)
n) (Optional, but really really useful) a power strip with built in timers for lights.
o) supplements - you will need a calcium with D3 powder to be used 5 days a week, one feeding each day for a baby. As an adult, this goes down to 3 feedings a week. You will also need a multivitamin powder. Use this two days a week, one feeding each day for a baby. As an adult, this will drop to 1 feeding a week. I use Rep-Cal and HerptiVite, but other options work as well.
p) If your ambient temperatures are not high enough, you may need an additional light fixture and a lower wattage household bulb to bring up the coolside temp and add extra light.

 

[itsfish321]

hey thanks for commenting brittani. i believe i do follow most of those guidelines that you layed out there. but i have gotten some people saying that the red light helps. it is a basking light so i do use it as a heat souce at night since i do live in ohio and i gets quite chilly this time of year let alone in my house. i also forgot to mention in my post that i do use vitamin C on his crickets, from Flukers. as for a update on his eye i have kept off the powersun today and just have both my basking lights going until his reptisun 10.0 arrives tomorrow. i believe this was the cause of the eye problem i just hope i caught it soon enough (was under the light 4-5 days) anyone else have trouble with these mercury powered lights? zoomed makes the reptisun i cant see how theyd mess up with that but have the top light out....

 

[itsfish321]

im sorry not vitamin c lol calcium with vitamin d3

 

[brittani299]

I personally would get rid of the red light. If it gets cold in your house I would buy a ceramic heater bulb. They only emit heat.

 

[itsfish321]

ill grab one on my next cricket run!

 

[itsfish321]

installed my reptisun 10.0 today. heres some pics of one happy dragon. and a fully open left eye. im so happy , and i blame the powersun, i will not suggest it!

 

[zandi202]

You're little one is so cute! So much personality.

A good guess for his age is that when he reaches 8" he'll be about two months old. I've found 8" to be a common length for that age. Hope that helps.

 

[Gizmosgranny]

So cute! Have you named the lil critter yet? I'm a new to reptiles myself and this is by far the best resource i have found. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your little one. Our Gizmo is about two months old. We have had him/ her almost a month. Good luck

 

[itsfish321]

ok so heres a update on ACE. hes my best bud these past couple weeks. hes adapted well to his viv and is a spoiled little dragon. lets me or whoever wants to hold him, i think he enjoys it. but hes deathly afraid of my cat. been working on introducing the 2. i let the cat sniff em a couple times he freezes up and goes dark haha. but hes gotta get used to my cat. eats as many crickets he can get his eyes on. i took him to the vet about 5 days ago about his left eye and they proscribed me ciprofloxican i use in his eye once a day. hes repsonded well to it. and i believe hes starting his first shed. and i weigh him everyday hes now 10.3G. and i think i want more dragons in the future , ive enjoyed this whole process AND THIS WEBSITE IS SO HELPFUL

 

[zandi202]

That's cool that you can trust your cat, I can't because mine is feral and a hinter. When I got my first beardie, Jace, he was this tiny little 8" long thing. My cat snuck into the room and saw me with Jace - I had him on the floor. Jace took one look at my cat, made the tiniest little hissing noise, and my cat bolted.

 

[sammmycakes]

Ace is so adorable! and you sound like a great parent to him! He is defiantly going to have a happy life with you!

As for the introductions to your cat go, keep doing what you're doing by letting the kitty smell him. That's what I started doing when I introduced my beardies to my dogs. Now my male beardie, Osiris, is allowed to roam free with the dogs and they love the company. My mini poodle pup will (rarely) nip his tail to try and pull him in another direction and Osiris will flare up and go black and the dogs know he's not kidding around.

Good luck with your sweet baby Ace, I can't wait to see more pictures and updates!

 

[brittani299]

My cats sleep with my beardies in their tanks

 

[amsmith5297]

He's a cutie!

 

[DixieLonestar20x]

Congrats and welcome! Glad to see you are following everyones advice and willing to learn and do what you have to do! They make wonderful pets. I got my first one when I was in highschool. He passed about almost 2 years ago at the age of 7 . That being said, I have 2 now and have a guy bringing me my newest baby this weekend to the Repticon about hour and a half from here


- Justin