Desperately Need Help

[bah09131962]

To everyone I am a new Beardie owner and I am totally in love with my little one. I purchased Herbie from petsmart and I just learned of this site and it seems that I have been given very bad advice on how to take the best care of my Herbie.

He is still a baby and about 6-7 inches long. I was told to only feed him 5 crickets twice a week and too keep water in his tank and I purchased a 10 gal tank. I was also told to get him a heat rock (orange) for his basking area and was given a reptile carpet that is beige and little fuzzy. I was told to spray his tank a few times a day and to give him kale, lettuce etc and some fruit. I was also told to leave his water in all day as I have air conditioning in my home that goes from 68-70 degrees. His tank is at 80 degrees and his humidity is at 15%. I need some advice on what to do for him as it seems it is all wrong advice. Herbie is very active and has clear eyes. Can you please give me advice on lightning as well as I have two dome lights going all day long (one white and one black) I have put them on handles that sit right above a mesh screen on top of the tank. I turn the white light off at night and leave the black light on all day and night.

Please give me some advice on feeding, water, lightning, and the heat rock as I have now been told not to do some and how to increase the humidity in the tank.

Any help will be so appreciated.

Beverlee

 

[Oriheme]

Oh honey a 10 gallon tank is wayyy too small for him, he needs atleast a 20 gallon while hes a baby then a 40+ when he gets bigger!

Are you using a uvb bulb at all? the best is a repti sun 10.0 (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/uvb-fluorescent-lights-mercury-vapor-bulbs/-/zoo-med-18-repti-sun-100-fluorescent-bulb/)or arcadia 12% (http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ard3t546in54.html) tube placed inside the cages. As for lighting I just use regular clear household bulbs, 1 of my dragons cage needs a 100 watt the other needs a 150 watt to keep it the right temps. Basically fool around until u get it right, for a baby 110 is perfect on the hot side, on the cool side it should be about 80. Dont use the black light, it interrupts a dragons sleep. Instead use a ceramic heat emulator if it gets below 75* in your house at night otherwise he will be fine.

What are u using to take the temps? those stick on thermometers can be up to 30* off! I personally use a temp gun. but i know people use a probe thermometer.

Are you dusting his crickets with anything? He should be getting calcium 1 x a day 5 x a week and vitamins 1x a day 2x a week, separate times because it will cancel eachother out.http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/reptile-calcium-and-vitamins/-/rep-cal-calcium-and-herptivite-combo-special/ << This is what I use, what I get for both my babies.

Crickets should be small, the size that in between his eyes, and that size i'd say ABOUT 3/8 inch but that might be too big I order in bulk http://www.armstrongcrickets.com/catalog/category/view/s/crickets/id/68/ here. Also just feed him as many as he will eat within 15 minutes atleast 3xs a day! you could also order phoenix worms( http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/StoreFront), that are high in calcium and very good for them! my baby dragon goes nuts for them my big boy not so much lol. I have also heard of people feeding Dubia Roaches to their dragons. I have yet to try these but they are extremely good for dragons! So if you can afford it Id recommend it!

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html I use this chart for all my nutrition needs when it comes to feeding my dragons greens. Dont feed a dragon lettuce it has no good stuff in it for them and gives them the runs something fierce. Dont worry too much if your baby doesnt eat greens, some babies do some dont, some are closet case greens eaters(like my boba fett I was convinced he wasnt eating his greens til I caught him 1 day :lol: ) its when they get older that they need it more.

I have read a lot of posts saying dont mist or leave a water dish in your dragons cage, it causes it to be too humid and the humidity can cause a respiratory infection. I leave a water dish in 1 of my dragons cage for a little part of the day, not the full day because she likes to relax in the water in her cage.

As for repticarpet or whatever. I use paper towels and/or newspaper for substrate. its easier to clean to me then carpet. Some people use tiles as well. Anything is good for them as long as its not loose substrate like sand. Baby dragons lick everything to get used to their surroundings ect and the sand can cause an impaction in their tummys and kill the poor baby.

Um thats about all I can think of for now, and other people will add onto what ive said! Good luck!! And congratulations on becoming a dragon owner! they are great little pets!!

 

[Oriheme]

Oh right and toss away the heat rock. Beardies dont have sensors on their belly to tell them its too hot and can get burned from it!!!!!!

 

[bah09131962]

Thank you so much for your reply. Well this is what I have been doing I bought Natural Juvenile Bearded Dragon Food with added vitamins and minerals with correct ratios of protein, calcium and fiber (or at least that's what they say) I put a couple of those pellets in his dish and then I have been adding kale which I now hear is really bad. Or I was adding lettuce which I also understand now is useless. I also leave his water dish in all day as we have air conditioning on all day and the humidity inside is showing 18degrees but again they are Zilla thermometers and I have two one on each side. He also has a clay hot rock (IS this a bad thing) his temperature inside is around 85-90 degrees most of the time and that is with the white bulb on during the day and the black bulb on all day.

So should I get rid of the two lights I bought them at Pet Smart they are cone shaped and attach to the two lamp stands that sit on top of the mesh screen. I turn the white light off at night and keep the black light on all night and day to keep it warm.

Also the water should I take it out and if so how often should I introduce it to him daily??? Also how do you increase humidity as I was spraying with a non chlorine water in a sprayer.

I am so confused as I want to make sure he stays healthy. So should I remove the hot rock??? If so where do I get the new lightning system and can you suggest how to increase humidity and to increase the heat as I realize at night it probably gets down to 65 degrees and the black light is on which I now understand is really bad.

Where do I go from here.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Yes all of that is wrong. How long have you had him? Maybe you can take back or exchange that stuff? First he needs a bigger habitat. 40 gallon breeder minimum. Also his basking spot is way to low it needs to 100 to 110 so he can digest food.Take the water dish out and for hydration he needs baths. Every day as babies get dehydrated easily. Also he needs a Reptisun 10.0 Tube for uvb order that from petmountain. Then get a under the cabinet light fixture from Wal-Mart and mount it in the tank with command hooks. Also go to beautifuldragons.com and that will tell you what to feed. He needs way more crickets as many as he will eat in 10 to 15 mins 2x a day. Nothing needed at night as long as your house does not get below 65 at night. If it does then get a ceramic heat emitter as it just gives off heat and no light. Beardies like complete darkness to sleep and they need to cool down at night. Hope this helps and there is a care sheet at the top with great information Forgot to mention he needs his crickets coated with calcium 2x a week and multi vitamins 5x a week. Feel free to ask for more help if needed. Pet store are notorious for giving bad information.

 

[Oriheme]

I am so confused as I want to make sure he stays healthy. So should I remove the hot rock??? If so where do I get the new lightning system and can you suggest how to increase humidity and to increase the heat as I realize at night it probably gets down to 65 degrees and the black light is on which I now understand is really bad.

Where do I go from here.

Remove the rock, beardies do not have heat sensors on their bellies and can get severely burnt on heat rocks.

Dragons do not need humidity. it can make them sick. so dont worry at all about keeping it up. try to keep it as low as possible..

 

[shawnmatthew]

A 20 gallon tank would be a lot lot better for a baby (and ultimately a 40 gallon for an adult). For the basking area, do not use a heat rock because it will burn their belly. Instead use a heat lamp that you can buy from pet stores. I use a 100 watt and the temperature of my basking area is in the low 100s. The other light you need is a UVB light.

For feeding, babies should get plenty of crickets daily so that they can grow. As they get older, they will eat more greens and less protein.

Use Google and you will find plenty of instructions for set ups and care taking.

 

[Ophiophilist]

Just saying the above advice is spot on, and also if you don't have the cash to get a bigger tank, you can get one used on craigslist if you look around. The ones at Petsmart are usually like $100 and you can get them more like $30-50 or even free if you're lucky on craigslist.

 

[lucyandbertha]

I just wanted to add that they eat loads of crickets when growing, we've got some baby dragons (17) and order 3,000 a week. :shock: So please get lots in and as has already been said feed him as many as he will eat in about 15 mins- we feed our babies 2-3 times a day.

 

[shawnmatthew]

I just wanted to add that they eat loads of crickets when growing, we've got some baby dragons (17) and order 3,000 a week...

What company do you use?

 

[nursejones813]

I order my crickets from Ghann's. I have 1 dragon who is 3 mo. Old and he goes through about 500-600 a week. Ghann's packaging of their crickets is always clean and no other random bugs inside. They also sell worms.

 

[lucyandbertha]

I just wanted to add that they eat loads of crickets when growing, we've got some baby dragons (17) and order 3,000 a week...

What company do you use?

I am not sure where you are, but we are in the UK and use http://www.livefoodsdirect.co.uk/ they are really helpful and the food is always delivered quickly and in excellent condition.

ETA I see you are in New Jersey and not the UK so livefoodsdirect is useless to you. :roll:

 

[disturb3d0n3]

I order my crickets from Ghann's. I have 1 dragon who is 3 mo. Old and he goes through about 500-600 a week. Ghann's packaging of their crickets is always clean and no other random bugs inside. They also sell worms.

500-600 a week? That's unreal! 500 crickets can last me 2 weeks... Granted I also feed worms

 

[nursejones813]

Oh, I feed worms too. He's just a starving little thing! We've had him 2 mo. And he's gone from 4" to 13.5". I feed him twice a day. All the crickets he will eat in 10 min. They are1/2 ". I think he's a pig not a lizard! :lol:

 

[disturb3d0n3]

Lol wow!! So glad mine isn't that bad