Can Someone help

[paroska93]

Hi i am thinking of getting a beardie. I have researceh alot about them and read alot of care sheets. But i want to know like What i need to keep my beardie healthy and stuff. Like Someone just give me a quick run through of it. i just wanna know from an experienced keeper. If u can help it would be great. Thanks Nick

 

[beardie parents]

I will give you a list of the important things for beardie's health.

First off, don't use calci (death) sand. This is found in pet stores and has a picture of a bearded dragon on the front and says it's safe for them, but it isn't. The best substrate to use is any non loose substrate. Some use paper towels for babies as some of them poop a lot and they are easier to clean up after a poop.

About UVB. Don't use any Zilla uvb tubes. Don't use any coil uvbs as some may have been improved on but it's better to use a tube uvb and the best one is a Reptisun 10 tube. The last time I checked the price of it on petmountain.com it was around $25. You will see people saying it's about $20, and it was for a long time.

You will need a good thermometer to measure their temps. We use an accurite digital thermometer w/probe. This one is about $12 (unless they raised the price) at Walmart, you need to ask someone where they are as every store seems to keep it in a different place. I also found it at Lowes for about $16. You could get a temp gun, I've heard them running around $25 plus shipping.

About a terrerium for them, adults need a 40 breeder tank, it's 36 inches long X 18 inches wide (measured at the bottom of the tank) and about 17 inches tall, the tall isn't that important, what's important is the length and width, beardies need a lot of floor space. Some make their own viv's for them. You can find instructions on the enclosures forum.


That's all I can think of right now.

 

[zillathakilla]

Welcome to the wonderful world of bearded dragons! Heres some tips i can quickly think of right now: Make sure your uvb light is a reptisun 10.0 uvb fluorescent TUBE, never use sand or loose substrate use tile, make sure your temperatures are as follow in Fahrenheit degrees: basking=100-115,cool side=70-80, warm side 80-90.make sure your humidity is between 10(minimum) and 50(maximum). For feeding, feed him a bowl of fresh veggies every day(use this chart http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html) and 10-30 crickets twice a day,make sure you are dusting your crickets with calcium(d3) powder 5 times a week, powder them with a multivitamin powder twice a week. Bathe your beardie 2-3 times a week, 4-5 times when shedding. uhmm..thats all i can think of for now,if you have any specific questions feel free to pm me or just post them on here! hope this helps,

myles.

 

[techdave]

10-30 crickets twice a day

Many beardies will eat more than this in a sitting. As many as he wants in a 15 min period. When you first get him/her, don't be surprised if he doesn't eat very much in the first couple weeks. They get stressed out from relocating for a couple weeks.

 

[zillathakilla]

-.- i despise that rule, you don't want your beardie to get REALLY fat..just plump! feel free to use either one,just my opinion!

 

[mickeysmomma]

Babies can eat a TON sometimes! LOL There were times my baby would eat 60 crickets in one feeding. It's best to buy crickets in bulk when they are babies, or you will be spending a fortune at the pet store.

Enjoy your new baby.

WARNING...they are addicting. One is just not enough...LOL I have 3 ( seperate vivs, of course!)

 

[sara24354]

Zilla,the reason for the as much as they'll eat in 15 minutes is for growing baby beardies mostly.They need the protein for growing their bones,energy.As they get older the rule changes.When I first got Gimli,my male dragon would eat sometimes 30 to 50 crickets in a single feeding 2 times a day.Now that he's over a year old he eats 10 to 15 supers every other day but LOVES his salads.Alf used to eat as many crickets as I would give her,noy every other day she eats about 10 supers.They seem to know what their bodies need.Others will eat until they are over weight so as they get older watch how much protein they get and watch their weight.

 

[zillathakilla]

True,i generally just dump 1 tube ( approx 25) from my cricket keeper in to his tank and he will chase them till hes full,then he'll jump up his log and bask all day,that way he can have a snack or two for later if i can't make it home for his normal feeding time lol,i gave him a huge bowl of salad this morning because im out of crix and i put his feet up on it so he could see and he turned and looked at me like "THIS ISN'T MY CRIX!TAKE IT AWAY!" and then he went back to basking....spoiled brat

 

[techdave]

i put his feet up on it so he could see and he turned and looked at me like "THIS ISN'T MY CRIX!TAKE IT AWAY!" and then he went back to basking....spoiled brat

Hahahaha That's hilarious :lol:

 

[JenFid]

True,i generally just dump 1 tube ( approx 25) from my cricket keeper in to his tank and he will chase them till hes full,then he'll jump up his log and bask all day,that way he can have a snack or two for later if i can't make it home for his normal feeding time lol,i gave him a huge bowl of salad this morning because im out of crix and i put his feet up on it so he could see and he turned and looked at me like "THIS ISN'T MY CRIX!TAKE IT AWAY!" and then he went back to basking....spoiled brat

Hah, I left Sarth's food bowl in his viv last night cause it was empty - usually there are leftover worms so I take it out at night. This morning when I went into his room, he saw me and went over to his empty food bowl, standing on it and looking at me like "hellooooo where is my breakfast?!" I had to push him off it to put the worms in...then he started glass dancing in front of it while I dusted them with vitamins, lol!

Paroska, you also have a lot of choices when it comes to feeders. I started with crickets and hated them. Switched to repitworms/Phoenix worms and love them. Now I have my own dubia roach colony going and I like that even better.

 

[paroska93]

Okay thanks everyone . the only thing i am confused on is the lighting. I am going to purchase the reptisun 10. But what other lighting do i need like for basking and other lighting?

 

[JenFid]

A standard household white bulb works (not one of the compact flourescents), and I know other people use indoor floodlights from hardware stores too. Wattage depends on the size of your tank. I bought a few of the Zoomed basking spot lamps because they were on sale - 100w heats up his basking spot to the right temps in a 40 gal tank. When he was just a little guy in a 10 gal, a 60w household bulb worked for that.

So you're going to want 2 lights - the basking light and the reptisun for uvb. Some people with chilly rooms use ceramic heat emitters at night (no red/blue night time lights for beardies) but if your temps stay around 70 you won't need one.

 

[paroska93]

okay so tell me if i am good to go. What wattage of lightbalb would work for a 20 gal?

20 gal tank.
Tube Light.
Reg light balb
papertowles for substate
heat pad
Log for basking

Am i all set or do i need anything else?

 

[zillathakilla]

DONT use any coloured bulbs,even though some may say there "safe for night time use" they really aren't,beardies can see all colours at all times, it will mess up their sleep cycle and you'll get a sick beardie!

 

[paroska93]

so what should at night time?