concerns

[Rottipet]

What are some good calcium and vitamin supplements on the market, and how often do you offer them? I'm currently using dragon dust by T-rex.

Thanks, Gary

Hi
The best calcium for beardies IMO is repcal(ultarfine) w/d3 for flourescent uvb and w/o d3 for MVB bulbs.As for multi I would use herptivite.I have tried many and those are by far the best.As for the dragon dust,the problem with this is that it is a combo vitamin and thus you end up dosing different vitamins in varying degrees.There is no way to ensure that today your beardie got enough calcium because of the mix.As for dosing, babies should get calcium 5xper week once daily and multi 2xper week once daily and this slowly tapers off until you reach adult and at that point 2-3xper week on the calcium and 1-2xper week on the multi with the exception of gravid females who should be dosed like a baby or juvie.

I also am using Dragon Dust twice a week, but I see that I need to get Repcal and Herptivite instead, right? I acquired a male from my son a few months ago, that is approx. 2-3 years old and I want to really take care of him right. I studied a lot of different care guides and have gotten a lot of info from this forum but I am not sure that I am doing everything right. He is in a 100gal. tank, with a driftwood tree to climb on and a log cave to hide in, I have 2 digital thermometers, and a ceramic heat bulb along with an under tank heat pad. I have one end of the tank at about 85-90 and the other at 70-80. I make sure his water bowl is clean with fresh water atleast twice daily and give him chopped up green beans, peas, shredded mustard or collard greens, I give him crickets once a week. I give him baths atleast 3-4 weekly and I am using a 13W 10.0 Repti-Glo UVB bulb and have even written on my calendar so I can change it within 6 months. I handle him daily and will even just pet him without taking him out of the tank just to make sure he gets attention. He isn't shedding right now but he still seems moody sometimes and wants to hide a lot. I don't just reach in and grab him up, I always talk to him and let him know that I am there and try to reassure him that I am not going to hurt him. I love this forum and got very helpful advice before, thanks everyone.

 

[peera]

He is in a 100gal. tank, with a driftwood tree to climb on and a log cave to hide in, I have 2 digital thermometers, and a ceramic heat bulb along with an under tank heat pad. I have one end of the tank at about 85-90 and the other at 70-80.
He needs a specific basking place in the tank that reaches 100-110 to make sure he digests properly. Ditch the under-tank heat pad, the only reptiles they should be used for are snakes. Dragons can't feel heat through their stomachs and can be badly burned by these because they don't sense to move.

I make sure his water bowl is clean with fresh water atleast twice daily and give him chopped up green beans, peas, shredded mustard or collard greens, I give him crickets once a week.
Water bowls are usually unnessisary as long as they get regular baths & misted greens. Most dragons will never develop an interest in drinking out of standing water simply because they don't recognise it as water. Collard greens and mustard are good dailys, green beans should only be fed 2-3x a week. What kind of Peas? Green peas are a once every couple of weeks food, and snap peas can be fed 2-3x a week. Live feeders should be offered a couple of days a week, not just one. He doesn't need them every day, but at least 2x a week. This is a very helpful website for foods- http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

I give him baths atleast 3-4 weekly and I am using a 13W 10.0 Repti-Glo UVB bulb and have even written on my calendar so I can change it within 6 months.
The ReptiGlo isn't a good bulb. It can hurt their eyes and that may be one of the reasons he's moody and doesn't want to come out much. The bulb you want is the ReptiSun 10.0 tube.

Good luck with your new boy, it sounds like you're well on your way to being a good beardie slave.

 

[Rottipet]

I sure have a lot to learn and it seems that my son did too, I have taken Pedro to a vet a couple of months ago and supposedly he is healthy. I have the tree positioned about 5-6" away from the basking light so he can sit and sun himself on one end of the tank and I have a 250w ceramic heat emitter from ExoTerra, this is in a wire fixture on the other end. With such a large tank it looks as if I need to get another one or I need a suggestion on how to regulate the heat better, I have the tank near a furnace vent so the glass can be warmed also. I get frozen peas and sometimes get him some Snow Peas and Squash, I steam them and chop them up. I am taking the water bowl out too. Pedro is a common Beardie but I think he is nice looking anyway but I don't think that I will get 'Beardie Fever' they sure seem tricky to care for but I hope I get it right very soon. Thanks for the link I am going to check it out.

 

[Rottipet]

No that is good, the Dragon Dust was not the best thing to use. Vickson420 suggested that Repcal was better

 

[diamc]

Rottipet, I gave you your own thread as I see some things that could use adjusting and also, this way the other thread can continue where it left off.

You mentioned that you have a 100 gallon tank and are using 2 digital thermometers, do they have long wires with probes at the end? Noticed that you have a 250 watt ceramic heat emitter on one side and if I read your post right, the Repti-Glo 10.0 is on the other side. Is this UVB a compact, coil or strip fluorescent bulb? If a fluorescent, it should be placed right alongside a bright white basking bulb at a distance of 10" from your beardie so he can get both benefits of the heat and ultra violet rays at the same time. A 250 watt ceramic heat emitter seems like a lot of wattage for a 100 gallon tank, so I suspect either your thermometers don't have a probe end or you're not placing the probe end right on the basking surface, waiting about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before you get the final reading. Beardies do better with bright white basking bulbs and you can even use a standard household lightbulb in place of an expensive reptile basking bulb, so I would suggest you try a standard 100 watt bulb instead and recheck the temps. Since there has been some problems with the Repti-Glo 10.0 fluorescent, it's important that it is 10" from your beardie but if you purchase the Repti-Sun 10.0, the distance from that bulb is 6 to 8 inches. If the UVB you have right now is a coil or compact bulb instead of a fluorescent, then I suggest you turn it off right away as those are very dangerous, causing multiple health issues like lethargy, skin problems and eye problems. You would need to replace it with a Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent within a few days.

Your beardie needs to be able to thermoregulate and that is the reason for a hot and cool side. The basking temp needs to be about 100 and up 110 and the cool side 75 to 85 with 80 being ideal. In order to get the proper cool side temp, you might need to put a low wattage household bulb on that side like a 25 or 40 watt, especially in the winter.

Frozen peas aren't really a good staple food and according to the Beautifuldragons site, they should only be fed rarely. Frozen veggies also loose their vitamin content when they are frozen. Fresh snow peas and squash are very good and can even be fed raw.

Adult beardies can be fed about 30 large live feeds a week like superworms, hornworms or silkworms or 50 small feeders like crickets, so you can certainly increase the live food intake.

It sounds like you love your beardie very much and I think once you make these suggested changes, his moodiness will subside. If you have any questions, let us know. :wink:

 

[Rottipet]

Thank you so much for the help, I have the thermometers with a probe, I had it stuck into the sand which I now realize was wrong. I threw out the Repti-Glo coil bulb and will be getting the Repti-Sun 10.0 tube later this morning. I got the 250w ceramic heat emitter because I thought that would be the best way to maintain the heat Pedro neeeds. I have the same type for my Uromastyx but they are in a 55 gal., I don't intend to breed so have them in separate tanks, but I really like this type of Lizard also. I know they need a hot and cooler end which was why I put the fixtures at each end, but obviously didn't have the probes placed right so didn't get correct reading. This is really showing that I am an amateur since I didn't think it mattered about being a tube or coil but will correct this today. I will also be changing his diet, and will be changing my little cheat notes that I have placed near the tanks as to diet and temps. Appreciate the help.

 

[BIGDBREEDER]

this may cause dispute? But i like the mercury vapor bulbs you get the uvb/heat all in one..my beardies seem to like them better..just my opinion..i would recommend getting a uvb bulb that goes across whole incloser..and overlaps his basking spot..that way you insure he is getting good uvb..he may be cranky cause of new incloser..and you are different to him..get good basking temp and lights feed him good he will come around..g atleast you are concerned enough to ask questions...you will make a good beardie owner good luck

 

[rinkydink]

should i be concerned that my beardie, whom ive had for about 8 months now doesnt like me going anywhere near him.

I cant even sex it because it runs away from me or looks snarl at me?



i try pick him up all the time especially when cleaning the viv but he doesnt like it at all..

is there a good way i can be getting him to like me? (as such)

 

[BIGDBREEDER]

u gotta take into consideration when u reach in to get him he sees something that is bigger then he is.hes gonna get scared..just handle asmuch as u can without stressing him to his limits..

 

[peera]

As much as I hate to contribute to a thread derailment... Try always offering food when you handle him. Miss Priss hates being held because she was never handled the first 9 months of her life, but she's learned to tolerate me holding her because she's learned it leads to food. Hoping that'll lead to actually liking being held eventually so I can phase the food out, but when they're babies I don't think it hurts anything since they need food constantly anyhow.

 

[maxattack]

Have you tried to handle him when he's asleep? We call it the beardie burrito here. Wrap him up in a cloth when he's really tired or asleep and let him lay on you while he's sleeping. I did this with Buttercup when she was a baby and it worked really well. She would watch TV with me at night like this for hours. Make sure the room is dark when you do this.

 

[rinkydink]

thanks and apologies for the derailment, just seemed the ideal place at this time.

i havent tried the burrito, but did try the food and sometimes hes fine and lets me stroke him a little just so he got used to the feel, etc of me and sometimes he's fine sometimes not... im sure he'll come round just thought id ask incase i was going down the wrong path.