diet concerns

[javier]

My bearded dragon will eat some greens,a cricket or 2 (his apetite varies from 2 -8) but will not eat a bearded dragon pellet for anything. :|

 

[Gail]

A lot of dragons won't eat the pellets and thats not really a bad thing, the best diet os live bugs and greens. He should be eating more crickets though, can you give us a detailed run down of your care? including age, size, heating & UVB.

 

[javier]

i got him a mesh cage at first,put a small tree in it,as well as a heat rock.We were putting in 10+ crickets dusted with calcium powder a day,and he would eat them all,we also tried mealworms,but we stopped because we read on here that we shouldn't.We put lettus in the food dish,as well as carrots.We have stopped the lettus,and put in canned green beans.We just got a zilla uv light,and a clamp lamp(I use a regular basking bulb in the day,and a red one at night).We also bought a log,and an artificial rock.Finally,it is 95 degrees on the warm side,and 76 on the cool side.I put in a stuffed animal in the cool side.He has shed once,and is about a month old,as well as 4 inches long.I handle him at least once a day

 

[Gail]

There are many, many things you need to correct in your set up. First off, if he is still in a mesh cage then get him in a glass one, a 20 gallon long will be ok for awhile. The heat rock is garbage, get rid of it and get a regular basking light, dragons need bright light from above to bask under. The zilla UVB will cause more problems then its worth, you really need a repti SUN 10.0.
Lastly is the diet, the crickets are good but you need to feed him as many as he wants 2-3 times a day, this will often range to 50 or more. Lettuce has no nutritional value, instead try endive, escrole, mustard greens or collards.

 

[javier]

He only eats 10.Is that bad?thanx for telling me about the uv light,I will switch that out,and get a reptisun.I have a "clamp lamp" and as I said I switch the bulb from white to red (white all day,red all night),but are u sure about the glass cage?He loves to climb it,but I do have trouble with the humidity,I would hate to replace it,because glass cages are expensive.

 

[javier]

should I buy liquid uvb drops instead of another uvb light :?: ?

 

[Gail]

You will need a large cage once he is adult, a glass aquarium or hand made wooden cage is best. Mesh cages just don't hold heat good enough for a bearded dragon. Yes a big cage is going to be expensive, everything about own a large reptile is expensive.
10 crickets a day is no where near enough for a dragon to grown and be healthy, if he isn't eating more then that I would thinks its due to the temps/UVB not being correct and no, the uvb drops are worthless.

 

[javier]

Thanks for the help,although I regret having to replace the cage,I will do it.I did have one last question.Can I take him to a regular vet?Or should I take him to a special vet?

 

[Freeie]

At the smallest for a adult you will need a 40 gal breeder. You can check craigslist for used tank/wooden vivs for cheap.

The reptiSUN 10 bulb as gail said is one of the best you can find it cheap here. http://www.petmountain.com/category/286/1/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs.html

You will need to find a vet for exotics.

Heres a feeding chart that will tell you the good foods your beardie will need.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

 

[javier]

ORDERED!!!!!!any idea how long it takes to get here?

 

[diamc]

The bulb will probably take at least a wk.

 

[Seig]

Probably chiming in a bit late hear....
I have had great luck with http://www.lllreptile.com on their prices, shipping, and customer service.