Got a new beardie for Valentines Day

[sjcksnmnusa]

Picked up a new dragon on Valentines Day, did not plan it but nice it happened. Called on an ad selling her but it really was part rescue as the set up did not have enough light. Her owners were taking care of her for a friend and the friend did not want her back. Her current name is Dozer, as in bulldozer because she likes to dig. Looking for a more suitable name to reflect her total personality. I also found out she likes to climb. I don't know what kind she is other than she has various shades of brown and taupe with a little lighter beard. Have not measured her yet but she looks about 18 inches. She was coming out of brumation and not real perky on Thursday but she is very perky now, eating greens, crickets, and I understand they fed her mice too. She has very well developed musculature, clear eyes, and good hearing. I set her up in Roxi's viv after a complete cleaning and disinfecting. She has the same substrate they used for now which is ground almond shells, a log hide and climbing branch. Her basking area is around 95-100 and the cool area is 80. She has 11000k florescent with two spots and a heat emitter. I monitor the temps during the day but they stay pretty constant right now. It is still winter here in Minnesota and the furnace keeps the room temp pretty constant. Her night time temp stays between 65 and 70.

I was giving her a swim today in a tub that I put in the bathtub. The water was between 85-90. The tub is 18" x 24" with 7" sides. She had no problem climbing out. Will be getting a bigger tub with higher sides tomorrow.

I started the plans for the new viv yesterday. I'm putting it in an oak entertainment center. Glad it is very large. I think I need lots of room for this new friend.

 

[daner923]

Hi there! Congrats! I would suggest changing the substrate ASAP - any loose substrate is pretty bad. I would go with paper towel for the time being, then you can choose between that, slate tile, reptile carpet, or non-adhesive shelf liner. I really suggest the tile though - it is easy to clean, pretty cheap, and keeps nails trim. What kind of UVB are you using?

 

[jezwolf175]

Aw glad you took her on. Congrats on your new beardie!

 

[sjcksnmnusa]

I have two 4' florescent tubes right now. one is 5000k and the other is 6500K. I'm starting construction on the new viv this week and it will have Reptisun 10.0. Don't know the length yet as I am laying out the design right now. Might have to have two. She will have natural stone tile in the new viv with a digging area. She really likes to dig so I don't want to frustrate her by not having somewhere to dig. I don't like having to trim toenails so the stone and climbing tree should take care of that. She is between 3 and 5 years old so she should be ok with a loose digging material. Don't especially care for this ground shell material, it is very light; happy to get rid of it. Think I will discect her poop next time to see how much she is eating.

 

[daner923]

You can use flax seed or alfalfa pellets for the dig area. You only need UVB for about 1/2 to 2/3 of the tank.

 

[sjcksnmnusa]

Update on Cera:

After observing some strange behavior from Cera, double checked the sex and changed her name to Rocky. Glad I rescued him, but learned a lesson, not to trust what people tell me! Always double check the facts. Rocky is doing great and sparking with Beauty, through the glass so to speak. They get to roam the house at separate times of the day and while she ignores him while she is out, Rocky gets within her sight line from her tank and then starts with the head bobbing etc. Great to see his survival instinct is alive and well.