Do You Think This Is Okie For My Beardie For Now?

[BeardieUK92]

i just bought my beardie yesterday and he is still settling into his Viv,

- Age - Around 6-7weeks i think (what petshop sign had on)
- Size - around 8-8.5 inches
- Size of the enclosure - 30"-12"-15" in
- Temperatures - At the mo his basking Spot is between 91-95F
- Type of substrate - Using a Calci sand the petshop advised
- Diet - well this is his second day and i have fed him 2 little pieces of apple and i put around 5 crickets into his Viv and he has ate one cricket and that is it(i know there appetite is not ment to be good in the first week or so)


i was just wondering if you's thought this was ok for his current age and size, he has no problems turning around and likes to run from one side to the other side now and again

i am still debating ont he substrate because i have read alot that sand is not good at all.

also i was wondering what size should he be (head to tail tip) when i think about getting a bigger Viv.

 

[GoFast]

Size of the enclosure - The size is ok for now but once he gets to be around 13 or more inches, I think a bigger size would be needed.
- Temperatures - At the mo his basking Spot is between 91-95F Too cool. needs to be around 105 but no more than 110. What are you using to take the temps?
- Type of substrate - Using a Calci sand the petshop advised The substrate is BAD! GET RID OF IT! It can cause impaction very easily!
- Diet - well this is his second day and i have fed him 2 little pieces of apple and i put around 5 crickets into his Viv and he has ate one cricket and that is it(i know there appetite is not ment to be good in the first week. You should offer him as many as he will eat at least twice a day for 15 minutes each time. You should really also have some greens for him to graze from throughout the day. here is a good link for do's and don'ts when it comes to food.

Finally, try not to listen to petshops as they almost never actually know what they are talking about and tend to give very ignorant and dangerous advice and recommendations.

 

[Tigg]

I'll second that! It's scary to think of how much money these pet shop reccomendations have cost us all at one point. Luckily for you, you found this site while your new pet is still young, and no health issues have already passed the point of no return!

Here is a link to a care sheet that most of us swear by
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/

Here is a link to a very interesting article all about the dangers of using Calci Sand!
http://www.herpcenter.com/reptile-diseases/calcium-sand-dangers.html

I also noticed that you had a stick on strip thermometer inside the tank, is this how you are getting the basking temps? You will need to get a digital thermometer with a wired prob and get the actual surface temperature of your beardies basking site, as well as ambient air temps in the "hot" and "cool end"

I wish you luck over the next little while with doing some research, tweaking your set of, and doing what is right for your new pet. It won't be easy, but it will be very rewarding for you and your beardie! And do not hesitate to ask questions, there is a lot of people on this board with all kinds of knowledge that will be happy to help!

 

[BeardieUK92]

i am using a strip type thermometre it is just stuck to the glass in his basking area,

i is about 95F atm.

 

[GoFast]

OK. well like Tigg said, you will need to get a digital thermometer with a probe at the end so you can put directly on the basking spot. The problem with the glass ones is that they are inaccurate and temps at the actual basking site could be very very different!

 

[BeardieUK92]

ok i took action on your posts straight away,
i have removed the calci sand and put newspaper down for now because it was all i had at hand.
suprisingly he has started moving about more but seems to be obseessed wit the back wal of the tank lol rubbing up against it and running up it

thanks alot for your replyes so quickly, i am going to have a look at a better pet shop a bit further away for a digital therm, and if i cannot get one i will order one off the internet asap.

he has ate some more the the veggies i put in brocclie and grated carrots

but i was wondering if u guys could help me on the crickets, because he is jsut in and his appertite isnt big atm how do i get him to eat his crickets i hae tryed holding it infrunt of his mouth but he just dosnt want any of them...

thanks again for help! =]

 

[neecie]

Suggestion: if any un-eaten crickets hide they could nibble on your baby during the night. May want to feed in a separate container. Also - if you give her a bath you won't need that water dish and she'll get more hydration.
Greens like collard are more nutritious than apples and carrots. Did you see the food list on beautifuldragon?

 

[BeardieUK92]

Nice piece of advice, but would you advise bathing every other day and spraying inbetween or bathing every day or what? Lol

Also when offering crickets should i offer them and if he wont eat just offer him them later for his second feeding or try and make him eat them?

Thanks,

 

[neecie]

Bathing every other day and spray in between is fine. I bath mostly every day (have the time) because she always poos in the bath, then I take her out immediately --- so no poo in her tank. You can't force beardies to eat............when they aren't interested just stop. Yes, you can feed later. For a baby, salad always available and 3 times a day for crickets or worms is good. If you wait to the next meal, she may be hungry and take it.
You don't want to spend your whole day offering - right???

 

[BeardieUK92]

Bathing every other day and spray in between is fine. I bath mostly every day (have the time) because she always poos in the bath, then I take her out immediately --- so no poo in her tank. You can't force beardies to eat............when they aren't interested just stop. Yes, you can feed later. For a baby, salad always available and 3 times a day for crickets or worms is good. If you wait to the next meal, she may be hungry and take it.
You don't want to spend your whole day offering - right???

i might try this bathing every day if the warm water is helping them to poop in the bath because it is easyer and quicker to clean, well i will be changing the veggies to fresh about a hour after i wake up and put her lights on everyday, and then ill offer her some crickets 3 times a day and if she wont eat them im sure she will eventually as she will only have so much reserves from the petshop.

 

[neecie]

Just a note - my beardie, Sandy, is 9 months old. She never goes for the veggies when I put them out in the morning............she grazes all thru the day. Little beardies often don't go for salad much, but you need to always put it out and eventually it catches on. After a year or so - they are mainly vegetarians with a little "meat" a few times a week.

 

[Tigg]

If you are bathing regularly (every second day) then I would not mist your Dragon in her tank. A 15 min bath every second day, and a little water dish left in while the lights are on (a hatchling can drown in very little water, I would advise against leaving the water dish in over night as some dragons like to sleep in the water... One little slip could spell disaster) You also run the risk of raising the humidity levels in the tank too high, and Respitory Infection could set in. Ideally: you will want to keep the humidity levels below 30%, You should look for a digi therm that also gives you humidity readings (thermometer/hydrometer) These can be found just as cheap.

As for the feeding, My BD Iggy would only eat 4-5 crickets a day when she was younger, and has grown into quite the cricket eating machine in less than a couple of months. How many they eat is relative to the size of the crickets. you should be feeding crickets about the size of the space between your BD's eyes, but no bgger! When you heard of BD's eating 30-40+ crickets a day, the owners are usually feeding very small crickets. Offer as much as she will eat in 15 min, then remove them and try again the next day. she will learn to not waste her time during dinner time, eat until full and be done.

This might be a little gross to some but when my BD was small, I was only able to feed once a day, So I left a small dish in her tank with 5-6 small crickets that I had removed the back legs for her to graze on throughout the day. (without the back legs they cannot get out of most dishes) EVERY day I would come home to a empty dish, and it didn't seem to spoil her dinner. I think this really helped my little girl grown to full potential.

EDIT*** I should have mentioned that I am REALLY proud of you for making the changes so quickly... and while newpaper may not look as nice as sand, it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much safer!

 

[BeardieUK92]

i like this idea of putting some crickets in without the back legs, if leaving water in the viv could be dangerous or not good for my beardie i might just put the crickets into the dish instead of the water, as for the water im pretty sure ill be able to bath her every day if not every other day. thanks alot for informing me of this i think it will be a good help .

im glad that you mentioned about the sand because i wouldnt want my baby to be in any danger at all when i get my bigg viv im thining about putting tile on the floor, any comments on that?

Thanks again cannot wait untill i get my full sized Viv in a few more weeks and give her an awesome new home

 

[MNbeardie]

Leaving a water dish in the tank can also raise the humidity via evaporation from the heat. High humidity can cause upper respiratory infection. Recommended humidity level is around 40% if you were curious.

- I didn't see UVB lightning listed http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-100-watt-self-ballasted-flood-uvb-lamp.php is what I use.
- you can buy a IR thermometer online for like $25, or a probe style at Walmart for about the same. I like the IR style because of the instant readings. Where as the probe you have to let it sit for a long time for an accurate reading. I use the PE1 from Tempgun. http://www.reptileuv.com/reptileuv-mini-temperature-gun.php

Btw I love your stacked rock basking spot. Are they real?

 

[acgordon]

I do the same thing with taking off the crickets back legs. Roran is a slow waker and I gotta go to work, so I do this to his morning meal. As to your little guy running to the back of your cage, mine did the same too. I think it was the wires from his lights, he wanted to climb them. I took brown packing paper and wrapped it around the back and sides of his cage, it is supposed to help lower their stress too. The newspaper is fine for now, you may want to see what some people have done with slate tile. Its natural, cheap, easy to clean and you should never have to replace it. It retains heat so it is warm to your little guy and helps file his nails. Roran has been so much happier since I put it in, and it looks real nice too :lol: