Got my first bearded dragon this past Saturday!

[TakuaNuva]

So I got him from the houston repticon show, finally got a bearded dragon so excited! Iv already posted a little bit on this forum so I wanted to introduce myself. And of course my big guy (who iv yet to find a name for)

We've been getting along great and supprisingly enough he's quite trusting and social for previously being a rescue before I bought him. I haven't gotten his weight but he's about 16 inches in length, age is unknown I should of asked at repticon but I was fried from being awake for almost 24hrs ?. So ya if you all have any tips/thoughts that be great to share, iv done a lot of research but still have questions regarding behavior and what not.
40 gallon breeder tank
UVB 10.0
Basking light is 65watts (I don't remember exactly but it does heat up the basking spot to 110)
Paper towel substrate
XL rock hide
Food dish
Small water bowl
Reptile hammock
Reptile thermometer

 

[MsCarter]

Congrats on your new Beardie. He is absolutely stunning.
Age is hard to determine for certain when you don't know the exact date of birth because so many factors impact size. However, if I had to guess based on his size I'd say he's around 6 months old give or take a few.

From what you've described your set up sounds good unless I'm over looking something. 65watts sounds low for a 40 gal however that doesn't mean it is. If your basking spot is 105-110 your probably good. Just make sure he can bask 6-8 inches from the uv lights and he's got a good "cool side" and "warm side" temperature range and your all set also I will add that this site has some wonderful info regarding nearly everything from proper set up to feeding. You may want to explore that when you get a chance.
Anyways, welcome to the club!

 

[TakuaNuva]

Congrats on your new Beardie. He is absolutely stunning.
Age is hard to determine for certain when you don't know the exact date of birth because so many factors impact size. However, if I had to guess based on his size I'd say he's around 6 months old give or take a few.

From what you've described your set up sounds good unless I'm over looking something. 65watts sounds low for a 40 gal however that doesn't mean it is. If your basking spot is 105-110 your probably good. Just make sure he can bask 6-8 inches from the uv lights and he's got a good "cool side" and "warm side" temperature range and your all set also I will add that this site has some wonderful info regarding nearly everything from proper set up to feeding. You may want to explore that when you get a chance.
Anyways, welcome to the club!

Ya the lower wattage is due to living in south-east texas haha perfect example is this week it hasn't gone below 90 outside! So his basking spot reaches 105-110 without a problem, the cool side is around most likely 80 or a little more. He prefers to just stay on the hot side though sense iv only seen him in the cool side a hand full of times. At night it drops to an average of about 71 right now, the lowest it ever have gotten is about 65. Any tips on getting him to eat mustard greens btw? He just stares at me like "what is this filth" he likes romaine lettuce and apples though.

 

[MsCarter]

sounds like the perfect temps you should be good to go. Mine is the same way she doesn't care much for her cool side but it's there if she needs it.

I would honestly stay away from lettuce. it has practically no nutritional value for them. Mustard greens are great though. It's very typical for them to refuse veggies, your guy is still very young so he needs mostly protein from insects anyways. Just keep offering the greens everyday and he will eventually come around. You can also try offering his salad before he gets his live food this has helped me the most. And you can also put his live food (like calci worms) in his salad to see if that encourages him to eat them. just keep working with him and he will eventually get the hang of it

 

[TakuaNuva]

sounds like the perfect temps you should be good to go. Mine is the same way she doesn't care much for her cool side but it's there if she needs it.

I would honestly stay away from lettuce. it has practically no nutritional value for them. Mustard greens are great though. It's very typical for them to refuse veggies, your guy is still very young so he needs mostly protein from insects anyways. Just keep offering the greens everyday and he will eventually come around. You can also try offering his salad before he gets his live food this has helped me the most. And you can also put his live food (like calci worms) in his salad to see if that encourages him to eat them. just keep working with him and he will eventually get the hang of it

Ya iv gotten the habit of just leaving his shredded carrot and mustard green salad in there over the day, he eats it eventually. Speaking of that I think he times his number 2s for the perfect moments to spite me for it lol