Hello

[Danmg]

Hiya
I bought a red x beardie for my son who has autizum on wed, he was only 7" long. Yes this is his first pet
Anyway I put him in my store so when i pick my son up from school he can come over help me at the shop and play with hiromi(beardie).
My wife really doesnt like pets but after 4 days she comes over and tells me hey when u gong to bring hiromi home, so now he or she is at home.
Which is great for my son Bad part is I got attached to it myself errrrr.
I work long days being an owner, so by the time I get home everyone is asleep including Hiromi EERRRRRR!!!
Ok this is my first reptile pet opps son's pet. So now I'm reading everything I can trying to get info on beardies. Now that I miss her I decided to get my own hehehe. So going to get some info on building my own cage, dont like tanks with top entry so going to make a sliding door one. After I get it built I will go looking for one of those red ones, I work 3 blocks form LLReptile but they dont have any Wll post some pics of Hiromi and new cage soon.

 

[~Kayne's Mum~]

I bet your son loves his new pet. I've always heard pets are good for children with autizum. Beardies have cute little personalities too. I'm sure you'll learn a lot about beardies from this site and welcome! Can't wait to see some pics!

 

[Catalyst]

Hello and welcome to the site Feel free to ask any questions you have, we're always happy to help.

Here are some sites for building your own dragon enclosure:

http://www.timelessspirit.com/enclosure.html
http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/

You mentioned that this is your first reptile pet. If you'd like, you can post your husbandry details here (see questions below) and we'll look everything over to make sure you're on the right track

How old is your dragon?
How long is he?

What size tank is he in?
What substrate (ground covering) are you using?
What do you use to heat the tank?
What are the temperatures in the tank (basking spot and cool side)?
What do you use to measure the temperatures?
Are you using a UV bulb?
If so, which one (brand and name - should be printed on the bulb)?
How old is it?
How close can your dragon get to the UV bulb?
What do you feed your dragon?
How often?
Do you gutload/feed your live feeders?
Do you use supplements?
If so, which ones and how often?

Welcome again

 

[Danmg]

How old is your dragon? No idea
How long is he? 7 inches
What size tank is he in? 35x15x15
What substrate (ground covering) are you using> Small wood shaving
What do you use to heat the tank? 100watt sun glo and zoo med pad
What are the temperatures in the tank (basking spot and cool side)? 95-105 basking 70-80 cool side
What do you use to measure the temperatures? hmm those stick on temp thingys lol
Are you using a UV bulb? reptisun 5.0 uvb 24"
If so, which one (brand and name - should be printed on the bulb)?
How old is it? new
How close can your dragon get to the UV bulb? uv about 12" sun glow 2"
What do you feed your dragon? for now mostly crickets sometimes tomatoes and spinish
How often? 9am 2pm 6pm somtimes 11pm this guys is a piggy lol
Do you gutload/feed your live feeders? not yet
Do you use supplements? dragon dust
If so, which ones and how often? on crickets 1 feeding daily

 

[Catalyst]

How old is your dragon? No idea
How long is he? 7 inches
What size tank is he in? 35x15x15

Is that in inches? Eventually he's going to need a bigger tank - an adult dragon needs at least 6-8 square feet of floor space and a minimum depth of 18 inches. This works out to a 75g tank or larger - or you can save some money and build the tank yourself. Just a heads up

What substrate (ground covering) are you using> Small wood shaving

Loose substrates are generally a bad idea for small dragons because they're difficult to keep completely clean (because of the liquid from teh dragon poo that soaks into them) and because young dragons are clumsy hunters who are just as likely to get a mouth of ground as the cricket they're after. Good solid substrates include paper towels, reptile carpet, nonadhesive shelf liner, and textured ceramic or slate tiles.

What do you use to heat the tank? 100watt sun glo and zoo med pad

Generally speaking heat pads aren't good for dragons because dragons sense heat coming from above, not below, and if the pad gets too hot for some reason, your dragon would keep sitting on it until he were seriously burned.
Just so you know, for heat, you can use a regular lightbulb or a halogen flood light (my preference because it puts out more heat per watt). They're cheaper than the "specialty" heat bulbs the pet store will sell you, but put out the heat and bright light that dragons thrive in. Just something to save you a couple bucks the next time you need a heat bulb

What are the temperatures in the tank (basking spot and cool side)? 95-105 basking 70-80 cool side
What do you use to measure the temperatures? hmm those stick on temp thingys lol

You should bump up those temps just a bit if possible - basking to 100-110* range and the cool side around 80-85*. Also you need to get a digital thermometer with a probe - those stick on the glass ones have been known to be inaccurate up to 20* and are really measuring the temp of the glass they're stuck to.

Are you using a UV bulb? reptisun 5.0 uvb 24"
If so, which one (brand and name - should be printed on the bulb)?
How old is it? new
How close can your dragon get to the UV bulb? uv about 12" sun glow 2"

That's a decent bulb - when it's time to replace it though (in six months) I'd go with the reptisun 10.0, its currently the best flourescent tube bulb available and you can get it for $20-22 online. Also, your dragon needs a spot where he can get within 6 inches of that reptisun UV bulb.

What do you feed your dragon? for now mostly crickets sometimes tomatoes and spinish
How often? 9am 2pm 6pm somtimes 11pm this guys is a piggy lol
Do you gutload/feed your live feeders? not yet
Do you use supplements? dragon dust
If so, which ones and how often? on crickets 1 feeding daily

Crickets are a good live feeder - just make sure that they're no longer than the space between your dragon's eyes and that you give him as many as he can eat in 10-15 minutes 2 or 3 times a day. Don't feed him 2 hours before his lights go off so that he has time to digest everything before bedtime.

Those veggies aren't that good for him. Check out http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html and http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-98-page-1.html for helpful lists of good veggies, greens, and fruit for dragons. Offer him a salad daily - just mist it (adds moisture and keeps it from wilting too quickly) and put it out in the tank in the morning, leaving it there all day.

To feed your feeders, you can give them the same greens that are good for your dragon, as well as oatmeal, and bearded dragon pellet food (among other things).

I've heard negative things about dragon dust. The most commonly recommended and trusted supplementation routine is Repcal phosphorus free calcium with D3 5x a week and then Repcal herptivite 2x a week.

 

[BlackMagic]

He should be able to get within 6-8 inches of the UVB light, the heat lamp is not as important to get close to, as long as it heats up the basking spot.