Hi everyone, my name is Robinlynne I am a new mom to a bd named Heisenberg (we are big fans of breaking bad, RIP Walter White) my husband has always wanted a reptile but, I didn't so I would ignore him whenever he would bring it up.I finally gave in and agreed to get one.we did some research and decided to get A bearded dragon. I did a lot of online research and thought I knew how to take care of him. So on sept. 26th we brought Heisenberg home.
after getting him I found out we were doing some things wrong (mainly the lighting) we will rectify these problems immediately. I'd like to describe his set up n care so if I am doing anything else wrong someone can let me know. even though I didn't want him now he has a big spot in my heart and, I want to give him the best care that I can. also as a proud new mom I want to brag about my baby boy. I have pictures but don't know how to post them yet.
He is housed in a 36x18x18 terrarium. For substrate I'm using reptile carpet. he has a cave to hide in, a large branch under a basking bulb and, two vines to climb on. the cool side is about 89, the warm side about 97 and the basking area is around 115. The humidity is between 20 - 27%
The lighting is the area I made some mistakes with but, I am going to rectify the problems later this week. the lights are all on timers in attempt to replicate dawn, morning, noon, dusk and, night. I have two 125 watt MVB mounted about 9-10" above the tank. On each side of the tank I have a 75 watt basking bulb and red nocturnal bulb. Both set is about 4" above the tank. Above the front of the tank is a hood that holds four compact fluorescent 13 watt bulbs. I am going to exchange the hood for two 24" repti sun 10.0 tubes. I will also replace the red nocturnal bulbs with ceramic heating bulbs. I will replace all bulbs in 6 months.
From this site I have learned that the UVB bulbs should be mounted inside the tank, not above the screen. Personally I don't want to do this , mainly for aesthetics. However I think that with the two MVB and two UVB tubes that more than enough UVB and UVA is penetrating through the screen.
We got him from petsmart on Sept. 26th. He is now 13" long and is 130g (4.5oz) so we guess he is around 4 months old.
He gets a 15-20 min. Soak in the sink every day. Some times he will swim around but usually he just sits there or tries to get out. He is basically potty trained and will poop in the sink. However, if bath time is late he will go in his cage.
Heisenberg loves to cuddle with me every night. I wrap him in his blankie and snuggle him im my arm for 2-3 hours while I watch tv. He will bury his nose in his blankie and falls into a deep sleep. he sleeps so soundly that I can get up with him in my arms to get a drink or snack and he doesn't wake up. I put him back in his cage still swaddled in his blankie and he will sleep like that all night.
I didn't want him but now we have bonded and he has become part of our family. We don't have kids so, our pets are our children. He has 6 siblings; a dog, 2 cats and, 3 goldfish. All are very pampered and spoiled. When Heisenberg runs away from my husband and comes to me I tease my husband and say "Not the mama!". It's a line a baby dinosaur would say in a cartoon from the eighties.
As far as feeding goes he gets about 10-15 crickets a day that I dust with a calcium d3 powder. He mostly eats worms, about 7 a day that I spray with a multi vitamin. I breed my own silkworms, he also eats hornworms amd butterworms. I do not give him mealworms because they have an exoskeleton. I was giving him a freeze dried mix of mealworms crickets and grasshoppers about once a week that he would devour in no time at all. But the last time I gave it to him he didn't poop for 4 days, he usually poops once a day. I started to give him canned pumpkin and he finally had a bowel movement. I don't give him that mix anymore.
I now give him canned pumpkin every morning. He LOVES it, when he sees the container I keep it in he runs over to get it. I feed it to him on a spoon because if I put it in a bowl he makes a huge mess. He trusts me so much that he lets me wipe his face with a napkin. He also gets a salad every day that he picks at and, fruit occasionally. He loves banana but I know to only give it to him now and then. I also give him a moist food that is made by nature zone called baby bites.
Sorry this is so long and, I hope I haven't put too many people to sleep. I'm excited to meet many of you and I have enjoyed reading posts other people have posted. I look forward to read replies to my post.I'm happy to have found a place to talk about my new favorite subject; my sweet baby boy Heisenberg
after getting him I found out we were doing some things wrong (mainly the lighting) we will rectify these problems immediately. I'd like to describe his set up n care so if I am doing anything else wrong someone can let me know. even though I didn't want him now he has a big spot in my heart and, I want to give him the best care that I can. also as a proud new mom I want to brag about my baby boy. I have pictures but don't know how to post them yet.
He is housed in a 36x18x18 terrarium. For substrate I'm using reptile carpet. he has a cave to hide in, a large branch under a basking bulb and, two vines to climb on. the cool side is about 89, the warm side about 97 and the basking area is around 115. The humidity is between 20 - 27%
The lighting is the area I made some mistakes with but, I am going to rectify the problems later this week. the lights are all on timers in attempt to replicate dawn, morning, noon, dusk and, night. I have two 125 watt MVB mounted about 9-10" above the tank. On each side of the tank I have a 75 watt basking bulb and red nocturnal bulb. Both set is about 4" above the tank. Above the front of the tank is a hood that holds four compact fluorescent 13 watt bulbs. I am going to exchange the hood for two 24" repti sun 10.0 tubes. I will also replace the red nocturnal bulbs with ceramic heating bulbs. I will replace all bulbs in 6 months.
From this site I have learned that the UVB bulbs should be mounted inside the tank, not above the screen. Personally I don't want to do this , mainly for aesthetics. However I think that with the two MVB and two UVB tubes that more than enough UVB and UVA is penetrating through the screen.
We got him from petsmart on Sept. 26th. He is now 13" long and is 130g (4.5oz) so we guess he is around 4 months old.
He gets a 15-20 min. Soak in the sink every day. Some times he will swim around but usually he just sits there or tries to get out. He is basically potty trained and will poop in the sink. However, if bath time is late he will go in his cage.
Heisenberg loves to cuddle with me every night. I wrap him in his blankie and snuggle him im my arm for 2-3 hours while I watch tv. He will bury his nose in his blankie and falls into a deep sleep. he sleeps so soundly that I can get up with him in my arms to get a drink or snack and he doesn't wake up. I put him back in his cage still swaddled in his blankie and he will sleep like that all night.
I didn't want him but now we have bonded and he has become part of our family. We don't have kids so, our pets are our children. He has 6 siblings; a dog, 2 cats and, 3 goldfish. All are very pampered and spoiled. When Heisenberg runs away from my husband and comes to me I tease my husband and say "Not the mama!". It's a line a baby dinosaur would say in a cartoon from the eighties.
As far as feeding goes he gets about 10-15 crickets a day that I dust with a calcium d3 powder. He mostly eats worms, about 7 a day that I spray with a multi vitamin. I breed my own silkworms, he also eats hornworms amd butterworms. I do not give him mealworms because they have an exoskeleton. I was giving him a freeze dried mix of mealworms crickets and grasshoppers about once a week that he would devour in no time at all. But the last time I gave it to him he didn't poop for 4 days, he usually poops once a day. I started to give him canned pumpkin and he finally had a bowel movement. I don't give him that mix anymore.
I now give him canned pumpkin every morning. He LOVES it, when he sees the container I keep it in he runs over to get it. I feed it to him on a spoon because if I put it in a bowl he makes a huge mess. He trusts me so much that he lets me wipe his face with a napkin. He also gets a salad every day that he picks at and, fruit occasionally. He loves banana but I know to only give it to him now and then. I also give him a moist food that is made by nature zone called baby bites.
Sorry this is so long and, I hope I haven't put too many people to sleep. I'm excited to meet many of you and I have enjoyed reading posts other people have posted. I look forward to read replies to my post.I'm happy to have found a place to talk about my new favorite subject; my sweet baby boy Heisenberg
