FIRST TIME OWNER - CONCERNS, NEED HELP.

[Kilgharrah]

:wave: Okay so I just got this bearded dragon called Rocky today, and he seems okay except he walks strangely lifting his legs high, and although he does/can walk on his hands properly, when he's resting he like rests on the backs of his wrists sometimes, is this normal? He has some white spots on his back, and the owners havent been feeding him much, just veg and hardly any meat, so I'm gonna get some calcium powder and crickets tomorrow for the little guy. I've never owned a dragon before, I just need help. His basking lamp is red, do I leave it on all night? He also has some green spots on his hands. He is very active though, and seems to want to get out of his viv tapping on the glass, he seems to be okay ish with me, I understand I will need to build up his trust though :?: . Here's some pictures (HE IS SHEDDING AT THE MOMENT):

You can sort of see his white patches in the last one, if you look hard enough. The owner says the UV bulb is like 2 months old, and the heat light is, I don't even know. I know nothing haha.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. First nix the rex light they are not good for the eyes. He needs a white bulb. You can use a household bulb. Like 60 watt or 70 should be warm enough. They do not need heat at night as long as your house does not get below 65 he'll be fine. No lights at night as beardies like to cool down and need complete darkness to sleep. No lose substrate as it causes impaction and harbors bacteria. You can use paper towels, non adhesive shelf liner, tile. Also for a uvb he needs a reptisun 10.0 Tube mounted in the tank. No coil or compacts they cause eye problems. It sound like he has mbd. Poor thing. You can't reverse it, but if you get the proper lights and use liquid calcium hopefully it won't get worse and may improve alittle. He's cute btw

 

[Kilgharrah]

Hi, thanks for the reply! He has improved so much now, the UV bulb is a tube thing and its not a coil, I am thinking about changing his heat lamp as he never seems to want to sit on the rock, he likes being in the middle for some reason on his branch where its about 88F according to the Thermostat thing it came with. I am also planning to get some paper towels for the base of his viv today because I know that lose substrate can cause problems, he has been pooing propperly, I gave him a grape and tomato breakfast this morning and he didnt seem to like that, it's still all been left. Let's hope he eats the Locusts I get him The white spots might be because he's shedding, well that's what the research has shown me, and I dont think he is actually walking weird, I think I was just worrying as its my first time owning a beardie. I've been too scared to pick him up so far but really seems not to care at all when I stroke him, he closes his eyes and seems to like it when I tickle his neck :') and he's stopped sitting on the backs of his hands now, he seems not to care. I REALLY hope he doesen't have MBD as it sounds literally so awful. I'm gonna give him a bath tonight, and if it's hot tomorrow take him outside for some natrual sun light. The owners were good, but his food bowl was full of poo and mouldy salad, it was so bad, I'm gonna have to get him a new one, there's just no cleaning it all well enough. He may be a bit dehydrated which is why I gave him grapes and tomatoes, because they're very watery, and I put like a little tiny bit of water in the bowl with them so they stay wet. I only have one themometer in the centre of the VIV at the very back that I try to keep on 88f, I dont want to turn the heat lamp up anymore just in case the rest of the viv will be too hot, I need to get him a bed too. Sorry for ranting, I just want to know all I'm doing is right. thanks for your help, I appreciate it. Here's a few pics of him catching some rays haha :laughing6: :

Getting some rays 8)
His heat lamp:

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Glad he's doing better. Here is a website that tells you what they can eat beautifuldragons.com. Tomatoes are not good for them.

 

[destiny1998]

Sorry hit the wrong key before I was done. Also you need a digital thermometer with a probe or a temp gun as the one you have can be off by 20 degrees or more. That maybe why hes not in his basking spot it might be to hot.

 

[Kilgharrah]

I thought they could be fed tomatoes occasionally? Just like not all the time. He's taken a plummet today. I came home and he was sitting on his log and he hasnt moved at all. I picked him up for the first time and then put him down and he just rested on his limbs like they weren't there. I thought he paralysed cos he looked like he wanted to get up and move but couldnt, eventually he did get up and walk a few steps but now he just keeps closing his eyes and doesent seem too interested int he grapes or tomatoes. He might just be tired and hungry and low on Calcium. I didnt get to go to the pet store today, It'll have to be tomorrow. I hope he's alright till then. I've only had him for a day and already im shaking and crying at the prospect of him not being alright haha.

 

[Kilgharrah]

Also, his basking spot isnt hot at all, I keep turning it up, and the themometer isnt moving so im confused, the rock isnt getting that hot, and the lamp isnt making that much heat, but he still wants to sit in the middle? When I turn it up the light like gets brighter and then a few minutes later it goes darker again? Is it broken or something!?!?

 

[destiny1998]

Like ive said get rid of the red light. They need a bright white basking bulb. And dont go by that thermometer they are crap. Beardies need specific lights and temps if you have the correct set up they will thrive. Also no tomatoes are toxic for them you need to feed collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion, bock choy, endive. Squash is good go to the site I gave you its really helpful.

 

[TranceChamber]

Beardies shouldn't be feed any acidic foods or iceberg lettuce. There's some other veggies that are dangerous for them to eat as well like spinach. You wanna be very careful what you feed, him do your research

 

[Kilgharrah]

Okay, hi, I am going to buy him new lights and things ASAP. He definitely has MBD, it's impossible to think he hasn't, the way he's lying down on his limbs. I'm definitely getting his Calci poweder and vitamin thing today to go on his crickets, and im buying him a cave bed thing to shelter from UV. He didn't eat any of the tomatoes or grape anyway, so I guess that was lucky. I know I sound really stupid but I did research for MONTHS before I got him. Things just aren't going as I'd planned. The red light seems to be working ish now and is actually giving him heat for once, he even basked for a minute or two yesterday after we had sorted him out. I think I might get a new UV bulb just in case it has something to do with that too. I am trying my absolute HARDEST to keep him alive, he's so cute and lovely. I'll post a picture of what I have his things on, the rock feels warm, but not like over the top, and yet he ALWAYS sits in the middle or in the cool end, he seems not to want heat for some reason. He's really skinny too and I think the owners under fed him meat wise, he always had lettuce, which has 0 nutritional value, in his bowl, but the owner said they only gave him 2 locusts every two weeks, which doesen't seem enough to me? Thanks for all your help, I do want to buy ALL of the things you're saying ASAP but I simply don't have the funds, we paid for a full set up, clearly that's not what we got. And like I said heres both the boxes for the UV and heat lamp, with this HabiStat thing, will it still work if I replace the bulb with a normal 60-70W household bulb? Also, I havent really touched it since I got it, because I've been trying not to boil and/or freeze him, I've had to turn it up a bit though because it was just too cold in there, even for me as a human.

And here's the box for the UV thing, not that you need it, they all look the same:

I know you think I'm being stupid and I don't deserve him, but trust me I'm trying my absolute hardest here.

 

[TranceChamber]

For sure that's not enough for him to eat at all. Adults need crickets/bugs like every other day with fresh veggies everyday and babies need crickets/bugs every day 2-3x a day, you may also offer them veggies everyday.

I go through so many crickets b/c I have 8 beardies that I buy them in bulk from my local pet store who gets them from Ghanns. You also wanna make sure they are the appropriate size for him (no bigger than the space between his eyes) other wise it can cause an impaction or paralysis in the back legs.

http://www.ghann.com/

And I know it can be confusing b/c every where you look for answers you find different opinions, so what I did when I researched things was went to a lot of different web sites (and books) and went with the answer that I seen the most. Sometimes the more you dig on the net it leaves you more confused, even breeders have different opinions on some things.

 

[destiny1998]

You need to mount the reptisun Tube in the tank with command hooks and a under the cabinet light fixture from Walmart. The screen on top of his tank will block the rays from the light. He needs to be 6 to 8 inches from it. Also you may want to give him liquid calcium for his mbd as the can digest that easier.

 

[Kilgharrah]

I was talking about the heat lamp, not the UV. Plus, the UV is in a hook thing under the top of the Vivarium. I live in the UK, so no walmart here haha, here's a picture of where the UV tube is, is it not right? I've seen a lot of viv's like this online?

 

[TranceChamber]

You can buy the light fixture from ebay.co.uk here --->http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-18-In...50094?pt=US_Wall_Fixtures&hash=item3a84c5ab2e

It will take an 18 inch 10.0 desert bulb that you see here --->http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zoo-Med-R..._Insects&var=520171814367&hash=item33856804e7

You just need to take the plastic cover off of the light fixture so that it's just the bare bulb showing (since the UVB can't penetrate plastic or glass) and mount it inside the tank with the command hooks that destiny was talking about ---> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Command-D...Scrapbooking_Glue_Tape_EH&hash=item5af517f284.

Also when you mount it, mount it on the wall not the ceiling so it's closer to him.

The only problem that I can see if you buy the light fixture from uk ebay but it ships from the US is the plug but you can buy a us to uk plug adapter shown here ---> http://www.ebay.com/itm/EU-US-AU-to...045?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a84043b75

I seen some 18 in light fixtures form the UK but they were way more expensive than the ones from the US, hope this helps.

You may not have a Walmart but you got the ebay!

Also search different websites for those products you may be able to find them cheaper, I use PetStore.com but not sure if they delivery internationally or not.

 

[TranceChamber]

Here you go,hope this will help some. I made you a picture of a bearded dragon terrarium set up.

To view this in full size click here --->http://imageshack.us/a/img89/3860/cawx.jpg

Important Note: You want to have your basking light and UVB light on at least 12-14 hours a day (Example mine turn on at 7am and turn off at 9pm). Beardies need this to be able to properly digest their food and absorb calcium.

Also be sure to feed them at least an hour or two after their lights turn on so that they have to time to warm up and feed them no later than an hour or two before their lights shut off, this gives them time to digest so that the food does not rot in their bellies.