Brown Crust Around Nostrils

[Vandy]

im one of the people who think supers are fine as a staple for adults when they are eating a lot of veggie too. Supplementing with hornworms and crickets is good to do when your staple is superworms . At least that's what I do

 

[Ashleymthornton1990]

im one of the people who think supers are fine as a staple for adults when they are eating a lot of veggie too. Supplementing with hornworms and crickets is good to do when your staple is superworms . At least that's what I do

What would be a good amount of supers to feed an adult beardie. Supers are the easiest for me to get ahold of. But I'm afraid of impaction

 

[Vandy]

I feed my dragon supers until he stops eating them usually about 10 superworms. 2-3 times a day I've never had a Problem with impaction . I also feed him hornworms a lot too. Actually when crickets was his staple he would go 2-3 days without pooping but since I switched to supers he poops everyday. If you feed a good variety of greens and other insects supers as a staple is fine. Joshsfrogs.com sells worms and nightscrawlers that are safe for reptiles. My dragon loves them

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How are things coming along today?
As far as superworms go, I would't exceed 6-8 at one feeding for an adult. What other insects do you feed on a regular basis?
They can be fed in combination with other feeders, to give a good balance. An adult needs around 40-50 insects weekly, estimated, along with green, or other vegetation.


Tracie

 

[Ashleymthornton1990]

Hello,

How are things coming along today?
As far as superworms go, I would't exceed 6-8 at one feeding for an adult. What other insects do you feed on a regular basis?
They can be fed in combination with other feeders, to give a good balance. An adult needs around 40-50 insects weekly, estimated, along with green, or other vegetation.


Tracie

I usually do crickets they eat about 30 medium/large each feeding twice a week. But they aren't always interested in crickets because I have to feed them in a separate tank so the crickets don't run away and they don't like eating out side of their home. They love dubia roaches. When I get roaches they will eat 4 to 5 each feeding. But unfortunately the closest place that sells dubia roaches is almost a hour away. So I can only get them when I'm out that way. My local petsmart store sells hornworms. If they are big enough they each get 1 a feeding. But not only are they expensive they often don't have them in stock. Both beardies love supers and gobble them up as soon as they see them. I would love to try and use supers as a staple live prey because they are easy access and cheaper and don't make a lot of noise. But I'm scared that feeding them will either impact them or not give them the nutrients they need

 

[JamesTheLizard]

Yes, please buy a new Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB and make sure his basking spot is within 6-8" of the light. UVB bulbs only last for 6 months, so you'd probably need a new one anyway, and I highly doubt that whatever you were using for your hermit crabs as a UVB bulb will be appropriate for your Beardie! Bearded dragons are very specific and unique in their lighting and temperature needs, particularly their UVB needs, and unfortunately pretty much ALL of their bodily functions are dictated by them getting the appropriate wavelength and amount of UVB light. So if you have the wrong UVB bulb it literally causes medical problems in every part of their being. Also unfortunate is the fact that out of the million different UVB bulbs out there, even the ones labeled okay for bearded dragons, only a handful (literally, like 4-5 UVB bulbs) are appropriate for bearded dragons. The Reptisun 10.0 tube is absolutely the best UVB light for Beardies available. An 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 tube costs $37.99 at Petco (just the bulb, not the fixture, however Walmart sells an 18" T8 fixture for $10 and a 24" T8 fixture for $11, I own both). I don't suggest buying the Reptisun in a Petco or PetSmart store, but rather go to http://www.petmountain.com where an 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube costs $23.99, and a 24" is $25.99. Then buy whichever fixture at Walmart (if you decide on a 24" bulb buy the 24" blacklight fixture/bulb combo that Walmart sells for $11, if you buy the 18" bulb they don't sell an 18" flourescent tube fixture for $10) and also buy some 3M command hooks and mount the fixture INSIDE the back top of the enclosure, centered. This way you're not spending a small fortune buying a new hood (I'm not sure how your enclosure is but you cannot have glass, mesh screen, or anything else between the UVB bulb and your beardie, you will lose up to 50%+ of the UVB light to the glass or mesh) and the new bulb.

What are you using to try and get the brown junk off of his nostrils? Is it just stained or is there actually gunk stuck to his snout? I can't tell from the photo, but if it's stained it might just need to wear off, if it's actually gunk stuck to his snout you need to get it off, but you don't want to rip skin off with it. And for future reference, never ever ever use any of those damn loose substrates for Beardies, and spread the word!!! You should never put a baby, juvenile, or even sub-adult beardie on a loose substrate of any kind, and as far as adult Beardies, the only even partially safe loose substrate is SCREEN-WASHED PLAYSAND, the plain old tan playsand you can buy at Home Depot for $3.50 and get a 50 pound bag of. And you still have to rewash and screen filter the playsand before you put it in their enclosures. I had my male adult on playsand starting when he was around a year and a half old, and he was on it until he was 11 years old and he died of natural causes. But it was a royal pain in the *****! I never fed him anything inside of his enclosure, he had a separate feeding tank that had it's own duplicate UVB and basking light setup because sometimes he would take forever to eat his greens or his crickets/silkworms. And I had to scoop off the top 1/2 inch of sand once a week, at least, and replace it, and if it ever got really wet or anything it all had to go because the risk of fungal and bacterial infections is too great. So no more sand for me. And I can't tell you how many bearded dragons have died as a result of their enclosures having either crushed walnut shells, crushed chestnut shells, or reptibark or just regular bark, or any of the brands of Calcium sand (should be illegal, it's made to taste and smell good to them so they eat it and get their Calcium, but when it gets wet it turns to a clump of basically a clay-like substance that sits in their gastrointestinal tract and just clogs it, and won't move). The walnut shells and chestnut shells not only are a breeding ground for fungal and bacterial infections and keep the humidity in the enclosure way too high for a bearded dragon, but when it's eaten by them it never breaks down, it either just sits in their stomach or intestines and doesn't move, causing a fatal blockage, or if it does move even a little the jagged edges of the shells rip their insides apart.

As far as the superworms go you'll get varying answers. I'm assuming your beardie is at least 16 inches long from snout to the tip of his tail, he needs to be to safely eat superworms, but if he's 7 years old I would assume he is at least that long. As far as how many to feed him in one feeding, I wouldn't feed him as many as he will eat, because they should never be lone staple protein. They have very hard exoskeletons and regularly cause impactions. My girl now is only 7 months old but is nearly 18" long, so she gets a couple small superworms as treats but never more than 2 or 3 large ones at one time. She would sit and eat the entire container if I let her, but I just don't trust them enough to feed them to her except for a treat now and then. Her staple insects are Dubias, crickets, and Phoenix/Calciworms/Reptiworms when I can find them (I'm probably going to start ordering either Phoenix worms or silkworms/silkworm eggs online as her main feeders soon, they're the best feeders in my opinion, loaded with calcium, protein, and vitamins and minerals, and soft so they never cause any impaction worries). Hopefully someone else who feeds superworms as a staple insect can chime in and give you appropriate information.

I put in the repti-mat today- looks great! I believe he was on play sand before, luckily he wasn't on the chestnut for long. I totally agree with you on that calci sand should be illegal! It's awful for all animals!
So I ordered the T8 10 bulb but ANYWHERE I look I can't find a fixture! I don't drive so I have been searching everywhere online and can't seem to find one appropriate. If anyone knows where I can order one pleaaaseeee let me know I have driven myself mad trying to find one hahaha. It concerns me that my baby has had the wrong UVB up to this point, hopefully, he can still live a long and full life. I also bought 20 dubai roaches today, hopefully I can start a breeder colony to try and bring more diversity to his diet.

 

[CooperDragon]

This should work for an 18'' T8. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zilla-slimline-desert-50-uvb-t8-fluorescent-fixture Just replace the bulb that comes with it using your ReptiSun 10 and leave the clear plastic cover off. It should sit about 6'' above the basking area for best results.

 

[JamesTheLizard]

This should work for an 18'' T8. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zilla-slimline-desert-50-uvb-t8-fluorescent-fixture Just replace the bulb that comes with it using your ReptiSun 10 and leave the clear plastic cover off. It should sit about 6'' above the basking area for best results.

Thank you. And this is what I am supposed to hang in his enclosure using command hooks? They looked smaller from other pics I saw but could just be me.

 

[CooperDragon]

The small command hooks fit into the holes in the side and allow it to hang facing down. It's not the most sturdy option, but it works. Some people use wire to attach it to the mesh top and I think that may be a better option and more stable. Ultimately I think it's best to use a T5 as they are more powerful and can sit over the tank. They require about 10-12'' of clearance when shining through a mesh top though so they're not suited for smaller enclosures.

 

[JamesTheLizard]

Hello,

How are things coming along today?
As far as superworms go, I would't exceed 6-8 at one feeding for an adult. What other insects do you feed on a regular basis?
They can be fed in combination with other feeders, to give a good balance. An adult needs around 40-50 insects weekly, estimated, along with green, or other vegetation.


Tracie

Ok I will keep 6-8 in mind! I had been feeding only supers but after reading up I bought 20 dubias and have set up a habitat with everything they need to breed so hopefully I can start feeding those guys soon.

 

[JamesTheLizard]

The small command hooks fit into the holes in the side and allow it to hang facing down. It's not the most sturdy option, but it works. Some people use wire to attach it to the mesh top and I think that may be a better option and more stable. Ultimately I think it's best to use a T5 as they are more powerful and can sit over the tank. They require about 10-12'' of clearance when shining through a mesh top though so they're not suited for smaller enclosures.

O geez not sturdy scares me- like there's a decent chance of it falling and potentially hurting him!? I dont have 10-12" so that wont be an option. What I saw were fixtures like this- http://www.homedepot.com/p/ViaVolt-2-ft-T5-1-Bulb-High-Output-24-Watt-Fluorescent-Grow-Light-Fixture-V21/203124380# Are there none for T8's?

 

[CooperDragon]

It's rated to handle the weight but I'm not crazy about how it wobbles a bit on command hooks when I tried it out so I think it's better to use some wire or fishing line to strap it to the ceiling.

There are under counter fixtures for the T8 that are similar to the one you linked but I don't recommend using a T8 without a reflector because they don't have a concentrated enough output and won't provide sufficient UVB. You can buy reflectors separately, but I'm not sure that they will fit into any fixture. They are designed more for the end cap style fixtures that are more common in the UK than in the US.

 

[Vandy]

You can use tin foil or Mylar and make your own reflector .It's better than nothing