Hello everyone!

[o0o0ohhh]

Hi everyone! So excited to have found this site!

My boyfriend and I adopted a baby beardie a few days ago who we've named "Mushu". At the pet shop, Mushu looked thin and hadn't been eating well from what the attendant told us. They were using only a UVB coil bulb and a 60-watt for basking whereas to get the basking side to 35-38C, I have a 100W bulb for basking. Since his/her first day with us, Mushu's been eating crickets (3rd molt) daily. Mushu seems to be around 2 months old - at least as a guess based on the size charts we've seen online. Not sure if you'd be able to tell from this pic, but if so, what do you guys think?

Anyway, very happy to be here as I've got loads of questions that might actually be very basic for most everyone here, but due to the very different advice/articles/opinions I have been sifting through online, I'm more comfortable talking to people first-hand on here about their experiences. Looking forward to meeting everyone!

 

[diamc]

Hi, welcome to the forum. What a cute little beardie you have. I would guess that he's about 6 to 8 weeks old.

I have to say that his eyes look very irritated though. Are you still using the coil UVB light?

Since there are some thermometers that give very inaccurate readings, could you fill us in on the type you're using and where exactly you're taking the readings?

 

[o0o0ohhh]

The pet shop we got him from was using a coil uvb light (not sure what brand, probably exo terra since most of their stock was from that manufacturer) and at the moment I've replaced my Zoo Med 5.0 CFL and am using the one that Frances Baines approved on her update post about the coils - Lucky Reptile UV sun CFL while I wait for my Reptisun 10.0 T5 to be delivered.

The UV CFL at the pet shop was a bit close overhead - vertically hanging about 8-10 inches above the beardies' head so I think that might be why Mushu's got irritated eyes or maybe it was the Outback Orange repti-sand he was kept on. Tried to share the info I've gathered with the owner and staff, but they seem convinced that their method is fine since the training courses they took to specialise seem to affirm their way of doing things. It just became this circular argument of "they're not exported from Australia, they're bred here so they don't need it to be so authentic and precise... " and so on. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Health-wise, Mushu's more active - running around, peeking at things/reflections that move, catching crickets, basically curiously watching everything when not lazily basking or enjoying a warm bath so I really have the idea that the eye issue has had a big improvement and am wondering if I should forego the T5 set up until we get the bigger set up where we can have it built into a custom made vivarium we're looking at having done, probably around 6-8 months from now.

Speaking of which, what type/brand ballast do the beardie keepers in Europe use with the reptisun 10.0 tube? I keep finding mainly info on tanks with reptisun CFL set ups from the local breeders around here. I've been trying to find a Zoo Med terrarium T5 hood or something similar but they all seem to be available mainly only in the U.S. so I'm not exactly positive I ordered the right kind for the tube. Tried lighting companies but they seem to mainly sell T5 ballasts for building installations and they don't look at all appropriate for a 20 gal long which is why I got the idea it was better to just wait and have one fitted into a custom built vivarium. :?

As for the temp, I'm using two exo terra digital thermo/hygrometers with the probes on opposite ends of the tank at around the same height Mushu is usually at. Hope that's sufficient for now since the entire set up so far cost us a lot more than anticipated. Once we've saved up again, we'll probably upgrade everything to higher quality stuff. I saw the beardie not looking well and I just couldn't leave it there in the shop like that so it was kind of a huge impulse buy. Apart from the past couple of days staying up devouring all the info I could, I really only know the very basics of reptile care so any guidance is welcome. Thanks again!

 

[Nyki35]

I too am a new beardie owner. Can you tell me where you are living? I live in Israel, and I'm desperately trying to find better products either here in Israel or online that will ship here. Can you help?