Adult Beardie Care?

[CoolioTiffany]

I just have a few questions as I may be purchasing an adult (or sub adult) Beardie next week at a reptile expo. I've been doing some research and reading care sheets (so far the one of beardeddragon.org seems most descriptive and most helpful).

Do males and females stay around the same size, or are females larger than males, vice versa?

I will be housing it in a 40g tank, but if that is too small I will most likely purchase a larger enclosure. How can I get a basking temp to about 95F? I will have a large log the Beardie can bask on that will be 6-8 inches away from the top of the enclosure (care sheet said to have the UVB light in reach of 6-8 inches away from the Beardie, so I will have the log 6-8 inches away from the screen top) so I was wondering what watt basking bulb should I purchase?

On a daily basis, should I feed the Beardie greens, crickets, and pellets? I've seen baby Beardies eat pellets, so I'm not sure if only the babies are supposed to eat pellets, or both the babies and adults.

What are some good vegetables, greens, and fruits that you give your Beardie?

How many crickets (on average) does an adult/sub adult Beardie eat daily?

Thanks for the replies, I'm really looking forward to owning a Beardie.

 

[diamc]

Hi Tiffany, welcome :wave: to the forum. It's great that you're doing some research ahead of time. Good that you'll be purchasing either an adult or sub-adult because babies are more care and have more specific needs that need to be met so I suggest you start out with a 3 mo old or older as it would be less worrisome for you too. Great that you've read the caresheets, lots of info there.

Males usually have a bigger and wider head and stronger looking body structure than a female, females seem to have a paunchier looking body though. As far as length goes, they can actually be just about as long but our female is a little over 17" long and our males are about 20" long. If you happen to get a German giant, they can grow longer than 23".

A 40 gallon breeder is the minimum that you would want for an adult. They are 36" long and 18" wide. The basking temp should be 95 to 110 (but no higher), the adults prefer it to be about 100 up to 105 and the babies closer to 110. It's hard to say what wattage basking bulb you will need because it depends on the room temp that the tank is in. In my 40 gallon breeder, I use a 60 watt household bulb and other times need a 75 watt. On the cool side, I use a 40 watt and sometimes a 25 watt to get a temp there of about 80, you will want a cool side temp of 78 to 82.

For adults over 1 1/2 yrs old, they can have 50 small feeders like crickets a wk or 35 large feeders like superworms or hornworms a wk. Some of them like pellets and others don't. Here's a site that shows the best foods to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html No matter how old your beardie is, they should be offered fresh greens daily.

You also need to make sure that you have a good thermometer and the only 2 ways to get accurate readings are with either an infrared temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end.

You'll also need calcium and vitamins, Rep-Cal makes very good supplements.

If you have any other questions, let us know. Beardies are great pets and are very smart as well as affectionate.

 

[CoolioTiffany]

Thanks so much!

I'll be trying to find sticks from outside, and of course I'm going to boil them before I use them. Though, first I want to know what's the best way to disinfect them.

Would scrubbing with antibacterial soap be ok and then do I just put it in the stove and boil it that way (and at what degree for how long? I heard somewhere around 300F for 30mins) or do I soak it in really hot water and/or boil it in the water in the stove?

 

[tank4102]

you are gonna have to put bleach 1 cup per gallon, then put it in the oven at 300f for 1 hr 30 mins