help i dunno wot to do

[Blobby]

I have an eastern bearded dragon who is really small I got it for christmas and i have no clue how to take care of it.

it is shedding should i do anything?

i feed it crickets every couple of days and give him some greens every day should i be doing that?

the thing it lives in has a big light on one side and on the toop is a UV light is that OK?

please answer these questions thanx

 

[sara24354]

Please answer these questions if you can,it would give us more information to help you.
1)What type of lighting are you using? name of bulb,is it a coil,compact or long florecent bulb?
2) beardies should be fed 1-3 times a day depending on their age and fed as much as they can eat in a 10-15 minute time span. They need live food,crickets,super worms,horned worms everyday to grow and thrive.
3)what size viv do you have the beardie in? It should be in at least a 40 gal breeder tank (for 1 dragon)
4) calcium supplement should be used on 1 feeding a day 5 days weekly and vitamin supplement should be used the other 2 days.
5) Beardies need proper lighting as well a UVB bulb and a heat light. Please go to http://www.beautifuldragons.com and click on nutrition to get a list of foods to feed your beardie for health and growth.Hope these suggestions help you. Others can chime in and help more.
Sara

 

[Seven65]

Where did you get an Eastern bearded dragon from? I didn't know they were generally available as pets.

 

[Blobby]

i got it from a friend who is an eastern bearded dragon breeder,

its a long florescent.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello and Welcome to the forum

We need a little more info from you to be able to help!

How old is your beardie(knowing how old he is gives us a better idea of what and how often to feed)?
The UVB....What Brand is it?
What Watt and Brand basking bulb are you using?
What are your temps...both on basking and coolside?
What are you measuring temps with? digital thermometer, dial, stick on, temp gun?
What size is the enclosure?
What type substrate is in the enclosure?
Are you giving baths/soaks for hydration? How often?
Are you giving Calcium or Multivitamins? How often?
When was the last fecal done?

Sara gave you some great information. Please look over the food chart she gave you the link to.

As far as shedding goes....baths daily will help not only keep your beardie hydrated, but also help discomfort and ease of shed!

If you could please answer the questions as thorough as possible....we can try and help you with taking care of your beardie!


Dawn


P.S. Sorry Sara...I was not trying to take away from your questions. I figured I would just put them all together with mine! Hope you don't mind! :wink:

 

[sara24354]

Dawn,
Of course I don't mind!!! It is good to keep things all together,and if it helps someone,I'm all for it.Sometimes repition or keeping info in the spotlight helps.

 

[Blobby]

its about 7 months old(i think) i didnt know i was supposed to bath it but i will now.

its winter here i use a themo metre thingy but i think its broken, last time it worked it usually said about 15-20 celcius but now it just says LL.L does that mean low?

i dunno wot brand the lights are should i take a picture of the tank and show it to u?(its not really a tank only 1 side is glass)
it has ventilation and i dunno wot a calcium suppliment is

 

[sara24354]

Let me see if I can help.
Lighting is very important to your beardies health. They need UVB for digestion as well as processing calcium.A regular household bulb can be used for heating,just play around with different wattages of bulbs until temps are correct. The reptisun 10.0 bulb is the UVB light that you want.
A calcium supplement is calcium dust used to sprinkle on crickets to make sure your dragon has strong bones. Without the use of calcium,your dragons bones will most likely become brittle and he/she will develope MBD or metabolic bone disease.
Petmountain.com has wonderful deals on,lighting and vitamin and calcium supplements. Dragons also need vitamins(I forgot to mention that earlier) If I can be of further help please let me know.
Sara

 

[Blobby]

well i give the crickets gutload

 

[sara24354]

Gutloading crickets is great,but beardies still need their vitamins and calcium!! Beardies may seem hard to take care of,but with a little persistance and getting into a routine,things will fall into place. Lighting,feeding and supplements are very important to the health of your beadie. As I have said, calcium is very important to the development of your beardies bones,if no calcium is given MBD is almost guaranteed,they also need vitamins.
Sara

 

[Maize]

I'm glad that you came here for help. The people here are great and are always willing to help as you have already seen.

I have a Q. You said that you got this beardie from your friend who is a breeder? If he is a breeder how come he didnt help you? Does he have a website?

Everything will come into place. I would say the hardest thing is making sure the lighting and temp are correct. The rest is just major TLC, but it's fun!

 

[Blobby]

well i actually dont know the person, he/she is one of my other friends friends