A few questions about my new dragon

[shaung]

I bought my son a dragon that's about 2weeks old from what the shop said.I have him in a 30 gal tank with a branch and a basking light on topon one side and a red light on the other side.where should I put the thermometer and hydrometer at?I am using news paper for now since he is so young.he doesnt like to be handled at all.he runs around his tank and I think it's wrong to chase him right?he's not eating any crickets yer and I am worried.my home computer is broke right now and it's really hard to search for info on my I phone so any and all info would be appreciated thanks

 

[shaung]

I just got back from petco with smaller crickets since the other ones were too big.i think his reflection in the glass is freaking him out.it this all normal since he is so young?

 

[Adama]

Smaller crickets is good. Make sure they are quite small (no more than the space between his eyes) as feeding him any larger could cause a fatal impaction. We have a 5 month old and he still gets freaked out every once in a while by his reflection; beardies don't like the idea of having another dragon competing for their food, etc.

Everything is good so far. You probably don't need the red light on the other side as he should have a basking side (top temps of around 105 degrees F for a baby) and a cool side of around 75-80 degrees F during the day). During the night, the red can be used to keep his heat up to around 65-70 degrees F without disturbing his sleep. He won't like to be handled at all; you can work with him a couple times a week until he eventually warms up to it. Try not to chase him, especially with food. Give him a couple of hours and let him get used to his surroundings; it could take a bit longer. Once he's not as stressed, his appetite will likely return. Make sure you do get him his food and water though. Food you can do 2-3 meals a day and let him eat as many crickets as he wants within 5-10 minutes. Water--spray him once or twice a day on the nose and let him lap it up. They can absorb water through the skin even if he won't drink for a while. Just make sure he has the option.

**Edit: Have a thermometer on each side to check temps. Make sure his basking temps are up high enough and that he basks at least for an hour before and after eating to aid with digestion. The hour before is not as important in the evening as the morning. Make sure he gets about 14 hours of sun, 10 of sleep. The hygrometer goes anywhere in there really. Just make sure he's between 25-40% humidity. It can go a bit over every once in a while, but try not to make a habit of it. If you have a super cheapy one, it may not show the correct hygrometer. We have two, a cheapy and a digital that have a discrepancy of about 15% (a lot!).

 

[shaung]

Thanks for the reply.I am so confused.where does the thermometers go?I have them close to the basking light is that right?how do I know the temp and humidity on the other side of the tank?besides romain lettuce what other greens do you recommend?

 

[Adama]

One under the basking area is good. Have another on the other cool side. Humidity is fairly constant throughout the tank so just have one in the middle usually.

As for greens, do not use romaine lettuce. They provide almost no nutritional value to your beardie. Go for dandelion, collard, or mustard greens for now (mist them with water) until you can read up some more. It's unlikely your baby will love veggies at first and will mostly prefer proteins. These proteins should make up the most of his diet until adulthood, where it switches to more veggies. Give it a try though, but avoid lettuce.

 

[shaung]

Thanks

 

[Bwalter]

Do you have an UVB tube light? You will need that light

 

[shaung]

I just bought all the food you recommended and chopped it as small as I could and it still seems too big for him.he's only about 4 1/2 to 5" long including his tail.I am really worried that he hadn't ate nothing not even the baby crickets.what should I do?

 

[lauraj1055]

You could also purchase a temperature gun which is very accurate, and you get can a reading in less that a second. They sell them really cheap at www.beardeddragon.co I believe they are onl $18 on there. I paid $35 for mine, but they are so worth it!

 

[Adama]

Most beardies will like live crickets only. They need to be very small and moving in close proximity to him/her so that he/she may catch them easily. You can offer them using tweezers or something as long as they are clearly live. As a general rule, beardies are attracted to things that are moving.

Also, the previous poster raised an issue I'm embarassed I did not discuss. UVB lighting is essential for the health of a beardie, and a lack of energy could be the result of not enough UVB lighting (this lighting allows them to synthesize D3, which helps them with metabolizing calcium (which you should be dusting your crickets with, as they are not a good source of it).

Please review the care sheet here and try to get your beardie properly setup: http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/

 

[shaung]

I bathed him and had to kinda force his head in the water for him to start drInkng and he did drnk a lot.I took outthe old greens and put a fresh batch in and no luck.he did poop a few minutes after the bath and drinking so he must be eating right?I bought him the zoo meds basking combo pack 75 watt bulbs.should I return that and get one utv bulb and leave the other side with no light?

 

[Adama]

Depends on the temp. As long as the cool side is around the mid 60s it should be find. He for sure needs both a UVB and basking bulb. Recommended is Reptisun 10.0. He needs to be able to get within 6-8 inches of his UVB if it is Reptisun. Others have different recommendations.

As for the greens, try using your hands to feed them to him. Not forcefully, but make sure he knows what they are. It may not be a bad idea to put some crickets on his greens so he may accidentally grab some. Getting them to like greens can be a lengthy process, but possible with good care.

 

[shaung]

Ok so I use the basking light and a utv light?I have a branch where he can get as close as 3" from the light.do I use both UVB and basking light on he same side at the same time?

 

[Adama]

Yes. He'll need to be a bit farther from the UVB than the basking bulb or you could cause some eye burn issues. Reptisun 10.0 is the healthiest, and you should have it 6-8 inches from him. It should run lengthwise, but try to get his basking area in there, as he will spend most of his time there. You may need to lower his basking area, just make sure you compensate with a higher wattage basking bulb to keep him at the right temp (may not be necessary, check on your thermometer).

 

[shaung]

I was able to stab a small cricket on a tooth pick and feed it to him but just one. I also tried to hand feed him a piece of green but no luck.i have to remember he's a baby still and treat him as suck.he's only about 2 1/2" nose to vent.