Here is my first. Comments Welcome

[Dwade1986]

Lets see, Where to start. I bought my fist Beardie last month, from Petsmart. I was going to take my Sister-in-laws 2 Dragons that she had, but instead changed my mind. I figured my kids would enjoy watching him grow and all. So lets start, he is around 4 months old, has a 40 Gallon tank, tile floor, wooden jungle gym, skull hide, couple desert type plants for decor. He is about 8 Inches long and growing. He has shed once since I have had him, which was interesting. For lighting I have a 100W basking lamp in a dome fixture, a ceramic heat emitter also in a dome fixture, a ZooMed Low profile tube light fixture with a ReptiSun 10.0 T5 HO tube light. The temps are hot side anywhere from 102-110 measured with a probe at the hight of his basking spot,(where he likes to sit all the time). The cool side anywhere from 79-86, with the humidity anywhere from 29-39%. Any ways here are some pics if you will let me know how it looks and what I can do better. Thanks.

 

[zandi202]

At 8" long I would say he's more 2 months old than 4.

He's a little cutie!

 

[jacody]

He's a looker.. definitely more like 2 months old.. both of my babies were about 12" estimated @ 4 months.. you're setup looks great.. not sure if you mentioned a water dish.. I couldn't tell in the pic if the dish in the right hand front corner was water, but it'll def. raise your humidity in the tank which could result in breathing/respiratory difficulties.. as a bay he should be getting soaks at least every other day.. babies can easily dehydrate.. soak him in warm water up to his armpits w/ his vent submerged so he can absorb some water which is beneficial and will also aid in his bathroom duties.. (not sure if you knew to soak.. some people think misting is the way to go, but does virtually nothing..) have fun w/ your lil' one.. my kids love to care for their beardie..

 

[Dwade1986]

That makes sense that he is younger than 4 months old with the size. That is just what the lady at Pet smart told me. She said she had a coupe of bearded dragons. But she said he was about 3 1/2 when I got him last month. Is there a way to really tell the age with one like this or is it always a guestimation? Unless talking to a breeder? Also he was the best looking one in the tank with the cool looking colors. He has the red, orange, green, and what appears to be kinda blue tint sometimes which looks pretty cool. As for the water dish it is just in there, I used to keep a little water in there but the humidity would rise up to mid 40s to low 50s. So I took it out. And we live in a coastal area. He does get tub time for about 20 min or so just about everyday. He does use the bathroom everyday. He gets crickets everyday a couple times a day. Dusted with Calcium w/D3 and Multivitamin everyday until he gets older then he will go onto a more detailed feeding schedule. I do have a feeding bowl in his tank that always has fresh veggies like Kale, Collards Red and Yellow Peppers, Carrots, Grapes, and the Juvenile formulated chunks. All are done in small doses just mixed up and put in the bowl. He will eat out of my hand off my finger but only a little, and I have seen him eat out of the bowl a couple times. He does however tend to poop in his food bowl and every time I catch it I clean and disinfect and replace the veggies. The only thing I need to do is move the UVB Hood into the tank under the screen.

 

[zandi202]

Only the person who bred him would know his hatch date. Any pet store babies are just guesstimations on the date. So seeing our guess is to months I would guess him to be end of April or beginning of May...assuming my math is correct, not looking at a calander :lol:

 

[jacody]

I, personally, do not do hand feeding.. even if he likes it, you don't want him to associate fingers w/ food.. he'll eat the greens when he's ready.. both of my babies didn't start until 4-5 months and then they'd consistently empty it 2X/day..

 

[Dwade1986]

I do the hand feeding only temporary because i am trying to show him that the veggies are good and he can eat them regularly. So today we decided to move the UVB light inside the tank instead of on top of the screen and it turned out pretty good as the fixture is a low profile I didn't want to have to buy another one to just put inside. Here are some pics of the before lighting and the after lighting as well as the mounting configuration.
Before with basking light on


After with basking light on.


After with basking light off.


Mounting configuration.

 

[zandi202]

My only suggestion, if possible, would be to move the UVB to his basking side since he will probably be spending most of his time there than on the cool side.

 

[Dwade1986]

Thanks for the quick reply I will take the advise and move it over but i think i will take my ceramic heat emitter off and switch them out when needed, if needed. I just didnt want the heat to mess up the Command Strip sticky stuff.

 

[zandi202]

What do you mean

i think i will take my ceramic heat emitter off and switch them out when needed, if needed.

?

All you need is a basking light producing temps 105-110 (110 when he's little and 105 when he's older) and the UVB. CHE is just for at night when temps are lower than 65.

 

[Dwade1986]

I was just thinking the CHE was for at night when the temps do drop i also use it in the mornings and after bath time to get the temps back up for him. I did change the tank around a little. Instead of moving the UVB light i moved the basking and all to the other side. Just kinda created the mirror effect and switched everything.


I am just not a big fan of the COOL side not having a lot of light during the day.

 

[zandi202]

Mmhmm. You could, when not using the CHE get a low wattage bulb just to light it up but add no heat. I know Walmart has some 15w's.

 

[Dwade1986]

Yea i have thought about that too. But i know some lights can hurt their eyes. I will look into it. Thanks for the advice. All is much appreciated.

 

[zandi202]

You're welcome and good luck!

 

[Dwade1986]

The only issue I am having now is Humidity. The hot side as of right this minute is 38%. I had the reading on the cool side at almost 60%. My issue is what are good readings on both sides. I am going to get another hydrometer(the one that measures humidity) to have one on the HOT side and the COOL side.
Here is the location of the probes

The temp is reading 84 degrees and 38% humidity and the basking temp is reading 106 degrees right now. I have two digital thermometers, one at the basking spot and the other in the back. You can see both in the pic. My issue is, are these levels of humidity too high and if so how do I get them down effectively. Also a bit of location information where I live, I live in Ft. Stewart, Ga where it gets very humid as I am only about an hour from the East Coast. Also it doesn't help that it has rained here at some point every day the last 3 weeks or so. I need help, please