Advice for a novice?

[picklified]

Hi everyone, I hope this is the right board for this....

I'm completely new to bearded dragons and I was looking for some advice. I've always wanted a chameleon or iguana but then a few days ago I saw adult bearded dragons in a local exotic pet store [I've only previously seen the babies] and I fell in love with them! The owner of the store took one out and explained how agreeable they were and let me pet it. I had no idea that a reptile could be so...I don't know, social. The owner's son was then holding it in his lap and it just sat there, which I thought was amazing.

So, since then I've been researching bearded dragons and I've read quite a few care sheets for them but I wanted to see what some owners here on the forum had to say for someone like me who's never owned one. I currently have 8 turtles so I do know some things about reptile care.

I was wondering about their lighting first because its one of the few things that confused me about their set up. I tried searching for pictures of different set ups but I couldn't find much. If I understand correctly, they need two lights? One on their basking rock and one....where? haha I never figured it out.

Also, since I've never cared for one I was thinking it would probably be best for me to get an adult because it wouldn't be as difficult to care for as a baby or juvenile? I'm not sure if I'm right about this but somewhere I read that babies can eat like 50 crickets a day and adults would eat much less and their diet is more vegetable based.


And lastly, I know this is probably a stupid question but I'd rather look stupid now asking it than actually be stupid by doing it in the future. Sometimes I go to my parent's house for a day or two to visit and I was wondering about keeping a tank at both places so I could take the beardie with me. That'd probably be too stressful for him, right? I just want to be sure because I read something about them having stress when they're relocated.

Thank you, if I think of otehr questions I'll add them!

-Allison

 

[jakeh2009]

No questions are stupid questions, its always better to ask then assume and have that assumption be wrong. Im not familiar with turtles and their needs. Beardies need proper lighting, which consists of UVB and UVA. The UVB is needed for proper health and growth. This comes from a tube style light such as Reptisun 10.0, and come in sizes from 18inches up to 48 inches. And there are mercury vapor bulbs(MVB) such as megaray and T-rex. Never get a coil type of UVB they are not good for your dragon and can harm them, as well as some brands of tube bulbs such as reptiglow 10.0(not to be mistaken for the reptisun 10.0)The other bulb you will need is for heating, proper temps are 105-115 on the hot side depending on the age, and the cool side can be lower at around 80 degrees, for this you can use just ordinary house bulbs.

You will want calcium and vitamin supplements as well, Rep-cal is a great brand, these are powder mixtures that you use with your crickets or veggies, to help the beardie grow and be healthy, these are very important and if not taken into consideration can lead to death.

Some other things to suggest are the substrate(whats on the bottom of your enclosure). Try to use paper towels, slate, shelf liner. Steer clear of wood chips, most types of sands, or anything that will hold moisture, you dont want it too humid or your beardie can get an RI(respiratory infection) and types of fungus.

When choosing an enclosure, make sure to give them something big enough so they have room to turn and move, you can start small and keep upgrading, but many people choose to build their own vivarium which is ideal, you can make it look how you want and set the dimensions.

Food is also important. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.htmlthis website has a great list of foods for your dragon, also list the ones you do not want to feed as well. if you start with a baby, you likely will not get them to eat many veggies, but still offer them to get them interested in them. they will like things that move, crickets, worms, roaches. just be careful as to what you use because if you feed something to big the risk of impaction occurs, the same can happen if you choose insects that have hard outter shells like meal worms. the dragons may not be able to properly digest them.. Favorites around here are gut loaded crickets, phoenix worms, and roaches, only feed them with insects smaller than the space between their eyes. And as they get older the live feeders should drop and the veggies should be most of of their diet.. babys are 80%live 20% veggies, and visa versa as they become adults

For choosing between adult and juvi bearded dragon thats just a personal choice, i would always go with a baby just because you have the chance to watch them grow and you exactly what they have eating and been exposed to, with an adult its a guessing game if you get them from a petshop, but if you buy from a member on here or someplace reputible then thats not a big deal.

The questions about two enclosures i cant really help you with, i could see stress being a big issue, but if your gone for a few days and unable to tend for them, that is probably a better choice than to just leave them, every beardie is different so thats probably a hard question to answer.. im sure many more will post and fill in where i didnt or correct any mistakes i made, which i hope is none. but good luck and just keep researching you will learn everything you need here.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

Once your beardie gets used to you, taking them with you places is not a problem. Mine goes for car rides and loves it! We just got back from an 8 day vacation and she went with, no problem. She liked hanging out on the beach!

chillin on the dashboard

 

[vickson420]

Pretty much agree with all of the above.You absolutely can set up at 2 locations for vacations.There may be some relocation stress but nothing that would cause major issues provided both enclosures are set up equally and have all the basics he or she needs.Since you are a first time owner I would consider getting an adult over a baby as they are much easier to take care of the only down side is their health is based on the care of the previous owner so you will want to be very sure to get one thats been taken care of properly unless you dont mind doing a little rehab to put a needy beardie back on track which would be great also.Good Luck we look forward to seeing your new beardie soon

 

[SuperMom30]

I agree with going the adult rout...I owned an adult before and a few years after he passed I got 2 babies. I thought that there would not be a big diff between babys and adults but there is. Adults are easyer to care for and not quite as much work as babies. If you make a mistake with a baby it can go down hill pretty fast! But if you get an adult make sure he/she is healthy...if you get a baby and have any questions this is a great place to come for the answers! Other than that I can tell you that the lighting is not something to be skimped on make sure your lighting and temps are right, you feed good, make sure cage is clean everyday, and give lot's of love and you will have a happy healthy dragon :love5: and a friend for life :love10:

Here is a great food chart :http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

 

[Kasinda]

Im sure you will fall in love with your new Beardy. I got a 2 month old back in November. It was such a great experance to own and take care of a beardy. They have there own little mind and want to do things After you get the hang for it it comes easy. There is never to stupid of a question. It is great that you want to get to know about beardy's before you get yours. I did the same thing got info before purching my beardy. And it was such a great help before I got him. Even after you get yours there will be more questions that pop up so this is a great site to get all your information.

Once you get your beardy post some pictures.

 

[picklified]

Thanks to all of you for the information, it's very helpful!! I'm probably going to print this out for reference

I think I will get an adult, but I was also wondering, at about what age do they reach their full size? I have no idea how fast they grow!

Oh and to Vegaslizard, that picture is adorable! Thats so awesome that your dragon is okay with going places like that


As for the heating//lighting arrangement, I searched a bit more online for pictures...

Is a set up like this one acceptable?


And I was just looking at tanks for them, I never realized how pricey they were. As I read different care sheets, they all gave different sizes for the tanks, what size do you have? Is 30 gallons too small?

 

[jakeh2009]

the picture you provided looks good, other than i dont see a UVB bulb, im not sure of the size of the bulb but i think they are too big to fit in those domes. could be wrong tho. But if it does have UVB then yes thats a great setup. 30 gallons is too small for an adult, you may want to look into a 40 breeder, these are deeper than fish tanks of the same size and shorter. You want enough room to turn and move freely, and once they get older you will not need a tank that is very high, maybe just a basking log or rock that gets them into the proper basking temp and under the uvb rays. if you have any local pet shops around other than the big chain ones, you may be able to go in there and find a tank pretty cheap, this is what i have done, in the past i got a 70 gallon for $75, and for dino to start off i got a 55gallon for $70... may also want to check craigslist.com in your area, can find some pretty good deals there too

here is another place with good deals http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=2

good luck

 

[SuperMom30]

I use a 40gal breeder but I'm also making my own viv...40gal breeders work great for them...you can try and find tanks at you local second hand store..I just found a 20gal long for $10 (to small for an adult) but will make a good temp tank...and also like Jakeh2009 said craigslist is a great place to find good deals on tanks along with your local paper..Good luck! Can't wait to see pic's when you get your new baby

 

[picklified]

Okay thanks! I'm going to start looking around at local stores and such for a 40 gallon or larger

The only other question I have is the one about their size...at around what age do they reach full size? I'm wondering because as I've been looking at breeder's websites they usually say how old they are in months/weeks and I have no idea what size they actually are so if I'm looking for an adult I want to know about what age I should look for

 

[vickson420]

Okay thanks! I'm going to start looking around at local stores and such for a 40 gallon or larger

The only other question I have is the one about their size...at around what age do they reach full size? I'm wondering because as I've been looking at breeder's websites they usually say how old they are in months/weeks and I have no idea what size they actually are so if I'm looking for an adult I want to know about what age I should look for

Technically anything over a year old is considered a young adult however they dont reach full maturity until about 18mos-2 years and can still grow at that time.You would even be ok with an older Juvie 9-12 months old.They still require more food but no where near as much as a baby.

 

[picklified]

Oh, I see. thanks! That gives me a much better idea of what to look for

Also, I think this is the last question I have as of right now but in all the care sheets I've read it says to leave their lights on for 12-14 hours a day. So you just turn them off at night and he'll be fine? As long as the temperature is over 65 degrees I believe?

 

[vickson420]

Oh, I see. thanks! That gives me a much better idea of what to look for

Also, I think this is the last question I have as of right now but in all the care sheets I've read it says to leave their lights on for 12-14 hours a day. So you just turn them off at night and he'll be fine? As long as the temperature is over 65 degrees I believe?

That is correct.If for some reason you feel heating is required at night(falls below 65F) then you can use a ceramic heat emitter but dont use a red night time bulb or heat pad they are not really great for them.