Hello please help. If possible

[Jittjuke]

Very sorry, if I am in the wrong section please switch if I am.
So today my sister surprised me with a bearded dragon. I have already had some stuff for it including a cage the stuff inside and some light bulbs.
Keep in mind he's a baby still.
I don't know if my set up is right
I have a basking bulb wattage is definitely over 100
I have a day time blue light that's 40 watts.
I want to keep him safe and healthy.
I also have regular light bulbs that are 52 watts. Please let me know what I should have for my cage it's a 10 gallon but I have a 40 I'm planning to move him in when he ages a little bit more. And also right now the cover to his cage is made of chicken cope it's like not enclosed but he can't get out. Like I said I want to keep him safe please let me know what I should need exactly for my setup.
I just got him tonight.
Thank you everyone

 

[CooperDragon]

That's quite a surprise! You'll need to do some fine tuning to start out but I can help you get everything just right. I encourage you to read through the newbies guides and intro to lighting articles listed on the right side of the page for a general overview but I'll be happy to answer any specific questions you have.

I suggest moving him to the 40g tank from the start. The extra space will give him room to roam a bit but (more?) importantly, it will allow you to create a proper heat gradient which is necessary for their well being.

The basking light should be a bright white light such as a ZooMed Repti Basking spot lamp or a PAR38 halogen flood light (or similar BR40 etc) from the hardware store. It should produce a nice bright light along with heat. It should be set at a height (and be proper wattage) to achieve a good temperature gradient. This may take some trial and error with your setup but once you have it dialed in, it doesn't take much fussing. You want to shoot for about 100-110 on the basking surface with a gradient down to about 75-80 or so on the cool side of the tank. It's important to get reasonably accurate readings so I suggest getting either a digital thermometer with 2 probes (or 2 digital thermometers) so you can set one on the basking surface and one on the cool side to monitor the temps constantly. You can also use a temp gun like this https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK Using an adjustable lamp stand to raise/lower the basking light or hooking it to a dimmer may be helpful to fine tune the temps as needed but try to get close to the right temps based on wattage first.

The next critical component is UVB. You'll want to get a good UVB light. In a 40g breeder tank you'll probably want to invest in a T5 tube like this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ It will produce great UVB output for well over a year and has optimal output at about 12-14'' above the basking area so it can sit right on top of the tank. If that's too expensive for now, I'd go with a ReptiSun 10.0 T8 18'' bulb along with an 18'' Zilla Slimline fixture. This combination is good but not as powerful so it should sit about 6-8'' above the basking area and be mounted inside the tank if possible. Remember to remove the clear plastic from in front of the bulb as that will intercept all of the UVB.

A young dragon will be eating mostly bugs for food so I'd pick up a bunch of crickets or some dubia roaches (you'll need a lot so it's best to buy in bulk online and set up a bin for them) and maybe some black soldier fly larvae to offer as staple bugs. Silk worms are also a good option to throw in the mix. I also suggest preparing a salad every day. He may ignore it for a while in favor of the protein he needs to grow but it's helpful for him to be familiar with salads. You can feed the extras to the bugs every night. This site has some good ideas for salad items http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I know it's a lot of info to take in at once so please let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll do my best to help out so everything is just right for him. You can upload photos of your new buddy here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply if you wish.

 

[Jittjuke]

That's quite a surprise! You'll need to do some fine tuning to start out but I can help you get everything just right. I encourage you to read through the newbies guides and intro to lighting articles listed on the right side of the page for a general overview but I'll be happy to answer any specific questions you have.

I suggest moving him to the 40g tank from the start. The extra space will give him room to roam a bit but (more?) importantly, it will allow you to create a proper heat gradient which is necessary for their well being.

The basking light should be a bright white light such as a ZooMed Repti Basking spot lamp or a PAR38 halogen flood light (or similar BR40 etc) from the hardware store. It should produce a nice bright light along with heat. It should be set at a height (and be proper wattage) to achieve a good temperature gradient. This may take some trial and error with your setup but once you have it dialed in, it doesn't take much fussing. You want to shoot for about 100-110 on the basking surface with a gradient down to about 75-80 or so on the cool side of the tank. It's important to get reasonably accurate readings so I suggest getting either a digital thermometer with 2 probes (or 2 digital thermometers) so you can set one on the basking surface and one on the cool side to monitor the temps constantly. You can also use a temp gun like this https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK Using an adjustable lamp stand to raise/lower the basking light or hooking it to a dimmer may be helpful to fine tune the temps as needed but try to get close to the right temps based on wattage first.

The next critical component is UVB. You'll want to get a good UVB light. In a 40g breeder tank you'll probably want to invest in a T5 tube like this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ It will produce great UVB output for well over a year and has optimal output at about 12-14'' above the basking area so it can sit right on top of the tank. If that's too expensive for now, I'd go with a ReptiSun 10.0 T8 18'' bulb along with an 18'' Zilla Slimline fixture. This combination is good but not as powerful so it should sit about 6-8'' above the basking area and be mounted inside the tank if possible. Remember to remove the clear plastic from in front of the bulb as that will intercept all of the UVB.

A young dragon will be eating mostly bugs for food so I'd pick up a bunch of crickets or some dubia roaches (you'll need a lot so it's best to buy in bulk online and set up a bin for them) and maybe some black soldier fly larvae to offer as staple bugs. Silk worms are also a good option to throw in the mix. I also suggest preparing a salad every day. He may ignore it for a while in favor of the protein he needs to grow but it's helpful for him to be familiar with salads. You can feed the extras to the bugs every night. This site has some good ideas for salad items http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I know it's a lot of info to take in at once so please let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll do my best to help out so everything is just right for him. You can upload photos of your new buddy here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply if you wish.

awesome! thanks so much for the quick respond

I do have a few questions if you don't mind.
-so right now i have a red light on that for some reason i thought was a basking light(please let me know if you know what that one is) and i have a regular 52 watt bulb in. i also have the day time blue light bulb but its 40 watts so i thought the other bulb would be better.
- like i said the cover is like chicken cope so i used masking tape to cover the top around the two light. i should be making a run to petco for some supplies within tomorrow or the next day. but what cover should i get? because the ones that they have are kind of like the same deal they have holes also. if thats the case should i just keep mine then?
- So far since i put him in the cage he has been on his rock in the direct middle of the cage he has moved his body a little bit and every now and then i will turn around and see him looking at me with his head tilted lol. I figure hes just adapting to his new place is there any thing i should do.
he was bought from petco so im sure he was fed earlier i have some crickets right now. i also have superworms that the lady sold to my sister(petco workers ) i may have mentioned it earlier but i have been waiting to get a beardy for a good while so i did some research awhile back and found out superworms are not good until they are a bit bigger.
i'll probably do some extra research on salads tonight with the link you send me (thanks again) and start preparing those daily.

-Thank you so much for your help
Binh

 

[CooperDragon]

I would avoid colored lights. They are used for some reptiles but aren't a good idea for bearded dragons. I suggest using this as a basking light to start with http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zoo-med-repti-basking-spot-lamp-value-pack-100-watts I would also get an adjustable lamp stand for it so you can raise it higher if it's too hot. You may find that you need a lower wattage as well, that will take trial and error http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zoo-med-reptile-lamp-stand

This is the T8 fixture I was speaking of earlier http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zilla-slimline-desert-50-uvb-t8-fluorescent-fixture it has a clear plastic cover over the bulb that needs to be removed. If it comes with the Desert 50 bulb, that can be used. Or you can replace it with this one http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zoo-med-reptisun-t8-100-uvb-lamp

Chicken wire is probably fine for the top. You want to allow ventilation while providing protection. Do you have any other pets in the house? If not, you may be able to leave the top off. If you do, then you'll want to keep a secure top on the tank all the time.

It sounds like he's alert and curious which is a good sign. For food, you want to offer him two meals of bugs per day. Offer in small batches of a few at a time (so they are easier to track) and give him as many as he wants for about 10 minutes or until he loses interest. Remove any leftover bugs after the meal so they don't hide and bite him overnight. You're correct about the superworms. They are big and tough for young dragons to digest. They are a bit high in fat and best as a treat even for adults. For young dragons the black soldier fly larvae (phoenix worms) and silk worms are soft and a much better choice.

 

[Jittjuke]

Awesome thanks.
Will do.
Last night i realized he was getting tired so I read up it's best to shut off the lights and keep him amount 70 degrees warm. I checked Avery now and then (he went to bed at 10-11 ish) I stayed up till 1 checking with a heat gun and it was mostly 70 with little spots in the cage being 80-86 and he slept by the water.
Today at about 8:30 I went and picked him up and tried to feed him. But his eyes kept closing so I assumed he was still tired. So I put him back in and he's been sleeping mostly on his rock in the middle.
But when I picked him up this morning he seemed to be a little cold should I be concerned? Or is it probably because he slept by the water.
Thanks

 

[CooperDragon]

That sounds pretty good. As long as the temps stay above about 65 overnight it shouldn't be a problem. A cool down overnight is natural to them. I try to keep my tank in the low 70s so it sounds like you are in good shape there.

It's normal for them to be a bit cold and can sometimes take them a while to warm up and get going in the morning. I suggest getting outlet timers for the lights so you can set a schedule with about a 12-14hr day revolving around your schedule. That way you can set the lights and not worry about it and it will give him a more constant routine. If you set the lights to turn on about an hour or so before you get up or before you're ready to feed him he should be more ready to go.

 

[Jittjuke]

Ok awesome!
I'll probably have to look into that. And keep him on the right sleep schedule. I did a post about him eating do you think you can check it out? I accidentally put it in general discussion rather food or feeder.