Advice needed

[leifthorrsman]

Hello there

I consider myself a novice Bearded Dragon owner..very novice. I first attempted at having one back in May. The first one I had ended passing, which I blame on my own stupidity. For one, I was not paying attention to temp settings, for two, I stupidly let it have a Stink Bug. And this was a baby dragon.

So I learned more, read what I could, and decided on round two. I got a second baby around June. This one at first I had a bit more success with. But disaster hit again one time when I was handling it, and it fell out of my hand and onto the floor. I thought the rug would be padded enough for it not to do much damage and at first the dragon seemed fine. But then these last two days, it got real sluggish and today it passed away.

So, now here I am, reaching for help. What should I do to get my dragon to live?

My setup I was using was a 40 g tank, with a coil 10.0 UVB bulb, 100 watt heat bulb with adjustable dimmer, I had a rock enclosure, a branch, and was using paper towel as substrate.

My first though it maybe using a 20 g tank to start with and using a tube for UVB and 60 watt heat bulb, still stick with paper towel as substrate.

Any advice would be appreciated as I love dragons, and really want to see one grow and live

 

[Claudiusx]

Everything in your setup is ok besides your uvb bulb. You don't need to really change anything but that uvb bulb. Just switch it with the Reptisun 10.0 Don't waste your money buying any other uvb bulb, this is the only one that will work how we need it to work. Get the long tube, not a coil bulb.

What are you measuring your temps with?
And what are your cool side, hot side, and basking spot temps?

This last one seemed like just bad luck, Don't hold them so high off the ground until they really start to trust you!

As long as you were already feeding a healthy diet, all you need to do is get that new uvb bulb and you should be ready.
Here is a website that is vital for feeding your dragon. You should use it as a reference to what you feed and what greens you buy.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

Sorry about your losses.

-Brandon

 

[leifthorrsman]

I am using one of those stick on thermometer to measure hot side and judged basking temp by that. I had it positioned towards the bottom of the tank. Should I really get two? I also heard hygrometers are good also.

So I am good with sticking with a 40 g tank then? Should I at least invest in a small tank for feeding?

 

[Claudiusx]

You need to either get a temp gun, or get a digital thermometer with a probe. You can't just guess what the basking spot temp is.
And dial thermometers can be extremely inaccurate in the first place.

I just put my dragons on the floor when I feed them. But, your's might not be that tame. It's more of a, if you want to invest in one, do it.

-Brandon

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

I feed right in my tanks.
Feel free to check out the carepage on this site as well as my own.
I wrote my caresheet from a minimalist approach
Just click the dragon in my signature.

 

[leifthorrsman]

Okay I can already see a couple tweaks I will need to make. Digital thermometer sounds like a great idea, and also thinking of using the non-adhesive shelf liner because one downfall I had with using paper towel is it gave crickets a place to hide. Also heard 10.0 UVB tube was much better to use as well.

 

[Claudiusx]

Yes, the ReptiSUN 10.0. Not the ReptiGLO.

-Brandon

 

[leifthorrsman]

My next concern that has been plaguing my mind, especially during summer. I live in an apartment, no AC, and sometime it can get about 80-90 degrees in here. Of course this makes me think about having a Beardie with a heat lamp on and what effects the external temps would have on the internal temps in the terrarium. Im pretty sure my best bet is investing in the digital thermometer and adjusting as necessarily, but is there any other concerns I should have?

 

[Kalyn876]

A dimmer switch might be handy on those hot days. I have digital probes and a temp gun. Just because temperature is Soo important for a beardies well being

 

[PudgysMom]

Listen to the advice here. And get your baby checked out by a vet! It's good just to be safe.