Hello, im a newbie

[happypappy]

i JUST bought my beardie tonight......ive always wanted one but never took the dive....i have a 30 gallon tank but got sand and now i read sand isnt good?????? please explain this and also the tile set up......

second, the pet store didnt know how old it was but they were all very small.....i will post a pic in this thread later.......but for a visual it is as long as my index finder..he/she looks very healthy and has VERY beautiful orange markings.....ive had iguanas in the past and also a red tailed boa.......as of now this little one is by far my favorite......

these "baths" you all speak of, are you just rinsing and soaking them with water and nothing else?

right now the hottest part of my tank is 90 degrees.......i know it should be higher...but i think i need to go buy ANOTHER lamp and 75 watt heat bulb........right now i have one heat lamp with a 75 watt heat bulb that sits ontop of the metal mesh top......along with 8.0 uv bulb....and a heat rock.......but that still isnt enough........the humidity in my house is SUPER low......whats the best and easiest way to keep the tank humid enough? Ive seen these things for like 20 bucks that keep the tank humid...are they good?.....what am i missing to make this temp and setup complete?

is it normal for them to just fall asleep in your hand?

how long can you keep them out of their tank if the house is around 70 degrees?


Thanks for all the help...im sure i will learn a lot here from everyone!

MY PICS HERE:
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p94/happypappy5555/

 

[Ice]

i JUST bought my beardie tonight......ive always wanted one but never took the dive....i have a 30 gallon tank but got sand and now i read sand isnt good?????? please explain this and also the tile set up......

second, the pet store didnt know how old it was but they were all very small.....i will post a pic in this thread later.......but for a visual it is as long as my index finder..he/she looks very healthy and has VERY beautiful orange markings.....ive had iguanas in the past and also a red tailed boa.......as of now this little one is by far my favorite......

these "baths" you all speak of, are you just rinsing and soaking them with water and nothing else?

right now the hottest part of my tank is 90 degrees.......i know it should be higher...but i think i need to go buy ANOTHER lamp and 75 watt heat bulb........right now i have one heat lamp with a 75 watt heat bulb that sits ontop of the metal mesh top......along with 8.0 uv bulb....and a heat rock.......but that still isnt enough........the humidity in my house is SUPER low......whats the best and easiest way to keep the tank humid enough? Ive seen these things for like 20 bucks that keep the tank humid...are they good?.....what am i missing to make this temp and setup complete?

is it normal for them to just fall asleep in your hand?

how long can you keep them out of their tank if the house is around 70 degrees?


Thanks for all the help...im sure i will learn a lot here from everyone!

i cant seem to post a pic......i build php forums and im wondering why you dont use the attachment mod here......could someone post them for me? i already resized them

First off, welcome to the forums and welcome to the very large, very fun world of Beardies. I'll do my best to answer your questions.

Next, if it's the length of your index finger, it's a very young dragon. I'd say no older than a month, probably. Maybe slightly older if poor care (standard for pet stores) was a factor.

Sand - Yeah, that's no good. Even "reptile" sand isn't safe. Use paper towels for now until you can get tiles or repti-carpet. Babies have an annoying habit of licking things and when hunting, they'll often lunge and miss, getting a mouthful of sand instead. Sand causes them to get impacted (not a good thing).

Tank - 30 gallon is fine for now, but you'll eventually need a bigger enclosure - 55gallon MINIMUM, with 75 gallons being preferred. Most enthusiasts, though, prefer to use a custom enclosure of 2x2x4 (ft.).

Baths - Some people get really precise and use thermometers to measure the temperature of the water before putting their beardie in, but I just regulate it with my hand. Think of bathing a human baby. That's about the perfect temp for your beardie. Since yours is so small, you could get by with bathing in a smaller house-hold container. It'll help to keep them a little more calm and keep them from feeling overwhelmed. To start, just put enough water in the container to come up to it's belly. Slowly slosh the water with your hand over it's side and backs.

Being young, they probably will squirm and freak out a little. Keep the early baths short (to prevent overly stressing them). When they start enjoying it and sitting calmly, you can increase the length.

Also, be sure to mist your dragon once or twice a day also. It'll help them stay hydrated and they'll also digest their food more easily.

Heating - Get rid of that heat pad, asap. They detect heat from their third "eye" on the top of their head and have no detection in their bellys. If you still can't get it hot enough w/o the heat pad, purchase a non-light-emitting ceramic heater. They're relatively cheap and produce a nice, warm, clean heat.

Humidity - They're from Australian deserts. High humidity is something you want to avoid. Standard room humidity is normally more than adequate.

Falling Alseep - Yep, it's perfectly fine for them to fall asleep in your hand. My little ones always did (after they calmed down from being picked up). This is a great way to help develop the human/dragon bond. If they feel secure enough to fall asleep in your hand, then it's likely you'll have very few problems getting them comfortable with handling of all types.

Out of their Tank - They do perfectly fine at room temperatures, and will suffer no adverse affects. Heating and lighting are vital inside the tank because they're directly correlated to appetite, growth, and health. They do perfectly fine outside of the tank for extended periods of handling, tank cleaning, feeding, etc.

I'd personally recommend that you keep the handling time and outside of tank time to 30 minutes or less a day for the first month, though. This will allow your baby to gradually get accommodated to being handled without being too stressed and he'll also be quite a bit bigger, which means he'll be easier for YOU to handle and hold on to.

Enjoy your stay and if you have questions, just ask. There's TONS of helpful people on this board.

- Matt

Edit: Forgot a couple things.

 

[BlackMagic]

Well he covered it pretty well, now about those pictures, just take the url address of the picture and put it between here:

 

[happypappy]

thanks for the reply!!!!!! that really helped.......i cant beleive i just spent 30 bucks on repti sand, but i called and they are letting me rebag it and return it.....im on my way now to get some tile from lowes and more powerful heat lamp for the warmer side.....im going to keep the smaller 75 watt for the cooler side since with that it will be around 80 degrees......150 watt for the other lamp should be sufficient right?

 

[DWC4867]

With your size tank dont go with a 150 basking bulb, thatll make it like 120-140, which is way to warm. Go with a 100 wat, that should keep ur basking site a good 105-110 witch is just rite for younger dragons. Anything much warmer( Which would be produced with a 150 wat, could be dangersous) And as well you dont need a buld on the cool side of the tank at all ( Besides the UVB bulb) i have a 30 gallon tank, a uvb floresant that goes the lentgh of the tank, and a basking bulb on the warm side. Which makes the warm side anywhere from 105-110, and the cool side 75, which is about perfect. If u can id suggent trying to return that 75 wat bulb to get the 100. And as well as that see if thell take that heating pad back too. If u have any questions about wat i just told ya, feel free to PM me or post back. Good luck!

 

[happypappy]

ok i just read your post AFTER i got back from the pet store and loews......i got all the bricks and stone and made my rock wall up to about 5" from the heat lamp.......i kept the 75 watt lamp and also got another lamp with a 150 watt......i have them both on and its taking a very long time to get above 70 degrees.....i placed the new digital thermometer sensor about 3 inches from the top of the tank on the back wall centered.......i did that so i could get an average heat display.......you say the 150 might be too much but im gonna try it and see how it goes.....there is absolutley NO humidity in my house so to get the place warm i need to keep my heat running all the time so im assuming this is why the tank doesnt get too hot....who knows.....ill keep you posted though.....

as for the pics, i uploaded them to my server but when i go to the url to veiw them it brings up a blank page.....all the other images in that folder work though so i think its uploading them wrong, again who knows
ill gladly email them to anyone so they can post them here for me

 

[~Kayne's Mum~]

Sounds like youre doing great now! As for posting the pictures. If you sign up for http://www.photobucket.com you can download them on that website then just copy and paste the code straight from there. Its actually very easy and simple with that and only takes not even a minute to sign up for it.

 

[happypappy]

ok here are all my pics so far.......ill get better ones when i have a chance.....for now my old set up and new set up are posted so you can see what or if im missing anything....you can see in the new tank pic where the temp sensor is also.....i just went down after an hr and its still only at 64.4......he seems fine and is climbing around the rocks even though the bottom ones are colder

my pics
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p94/happypappy5555/

 

[DWC4867]

Yea it should probebly take a while to heat up, and since ur tank is so tall. A 150 wat will be better than a 100. Earlier i didnt relize thats how tall it was, lol, but it would probebly be a good idea to keep that 75 wat on the cool side to maintain a good temp. Especially because u said theres low humidity in your house ( Which is good for the dragon tho, the lower the humidity the better) and because the tanks so tall, Keep me posted on how much warmer your tank gets. and if it gets to warm at the top (120-140) on the highest basking rock, take out a brick or two and see wat happens. As well make sure none of the bricks have a chance of leaning and falling. There alot bigger than he is, and an accidental brick falling could be fatal. Other than that it looks good tho. lemme kno wat happens

 

[kclark]

just so you know I have a 30 gallon & I need 2 75 watt bulbs plus I have an under tank heater to keep my tank warm
Good luck!!