First Dragon

[Sayure]

Hi my name is Lindsey and I just got my first beardie. He is:
Approx. 4-5"
Is 6 weeks old
in a 40 breeder
has crushed walnut substrate (a reputable breeder said this was ok as long as I don't feed him in it which I don't)
Has driftwood to bask on
Has a 125 watt sun glo mercury vapor light
Has a water dish and food dish that I put collard greens and pellet in
Is fed crickets 2x per day as many as he/she will eat dusted with sandfire cricket dust by t-rex (usually 5-8 per day)
Is supposedly a hypo/red cross but he/she looks like a het since the dark marks are prominent
Have had him 2 weeks

 

[ktopel]

Welcome to the forums! We're all illiterates it here so post some pics when you can.

 

[fresnowitte]

:wave: Welcome to BD.org Lindsey!
Congradulations on the new beardie!

Can I tell you someting from my own experience? I was told that crushed walnut shell was perfectly fine to use as well. But $600.00 later I can tell you that it is not good. It can cause impaction issues even if you feed your baby in a seperate enclosure. Being that beardies will tongue at everything.

What I want to share with you is that crushed walnut shell and any partical substrate is like a "Litter Box".
Let me explain!
When they poop it is impossible to get all of the liquidy substance from their poop out of the walnut therefore your leaving bacteria behind. I kept my viv's very clean I thought. Boy was I wrong! And the proof was in the fecal test. All of my beardies had pinworms due to being housed on walnut. Of course it's your choice. But I can also say that it is so much easier to clean and keep clean if your not useing a partical substrate.

An yes please post some pic's of your baby. We love pictures around here! :love5:

Barbara

 

[dduits87]

Welcome to the forum!!

I hope you gather a lot of information on here. I second what Barbara said, and will also add that while you may not feed your beardie in his tank with the walnut shells, that does not mean that he will not ingest some of the substrate. Beardies have this habit of licking things. They constantly lick things, most people believe it's to test if things are edible, as beardies are almost always hungry, and the walnut shell substrate is not exempt from this habit. Just to give you a little info about it. The walnut shells can also clump and cut up the insides of your baby. Maybe look in the ER section of the forum and see what beardie owners have gone through with walnut shells. It's definitely one of those things where people say, "Well, nothing has happened to my beardie and he's been on it for two years," but then you hear some of the horror stories and you wonder why people would risk it. Think about it; it's definitely not my choice to make for you, but it pays to read up on it all the same.

I wish you all the luck with your beardie!!

~Dustin

 

[Sayure]

ok so I got rid of the walnut and got some zilla liners in brown to simulate the look of the walnut. I also had questions about lighting. I have an exo terra sun glo mvb at 125w. Are these good bulbs? I am also still trying to find a name for the little one. Oh and how many hours should the bulb be on?

Lindsey

 

[ktopel]

I don't think the sun glo is a mvb. Basically it is going to be your basking/heat bulb it might emit uva. The solar glo is an actual mvb bulb which will do both heat and uvb in one. For lighting now that its summer leave the lights on for 14 hrs a day/winter 12 hrs or somewhere near that. The coincidence to this post I had purchased a MegaRay SB-100w (heat/uva/uvb all-in-one) it came today but they sent the 275w version good thing I looked at the bulb before using it otherwise my lizards would have melted. I called them they have the right one on the way already.