Heres my guy and his home

[Xjrosie]

So, as I said in my intro post, here's some pics.

I know I'm doing a few things you guys don't approve of, but they work for us.

I use sand because he loves to dig, but the excavator sand was chewing his nails up too fast, and he isn't a fan of the reptibark. He doesn't ingest any, as he refuses crickets, so his protein is hand fed by me a couple times a week. If anything drops in the sand, I rinse it off. So impaction isn't a large concern.

His lights are temporary, as I was laid off almost immediately after building this house for him, and I got covid 2 weeks after getting a new job. Money is scarce, but I'm planning on figuring his lighting situation out soon.

I used a water based, nontoxic stain for the walls, and sealed them with beeswax. I didn't want his house to be glaringly bright for him, thus the dark walls.

I have two 150 watt baskets. Since they're on top of the screen, I haven't had a problem with overheating. One is directed at his triangle hammock, where he likes to sit while digesting. The other one is kind of between things so he doesn't have intense heat, but stays warm. The basking spot is around 105°, and the ambient temps are around 85° to 95° everywhere else. His cool side is about 75°. The light in between his logs is also used to warm up his water bowl, which helps keep his humidity up between 30 and 40%. Otherwise, it stays around 15, which is too low.

For his food, I rotate collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, and dandelion greens. Once a week, I give him a baggie of fresh fruits and veggies that I prep in bulk and freeze. He doesn't like anything fresh, so he always waits for everything to dry out, then scarfs like I'm starving him. For protein, my main source is dubia roaches and silkworms, but I gave him hornworms for the first time and he gobbled like 5 of those nasty things, so I'll add those in too. I also do butterworms when I can get them, and if I'm too broke for live food, I get silkworm pupa or grasshoppers in a can. Since he likes eating his food dry, I use a dropper to give him water, sometimes mixed with critical care supplement to help out since he hates salads. No mealworms!

Thor is 18 months old, 21 inches long, and 486 grams. His first year was rough for me, because I'm a cat person, I had no idea how to care for a bearded! But I think I've done good overall. He gets sassy in the morning and will puff out for me if I'm not paying attention to him, but as soon as I go in his cage he deflates for pets. His favorite thing is to sit and look out the window, so I bought him a heating pad to sit on, since we live in Michigan and it gets cold by the windows.

This is Thor and Norman "Normy" Bates hanging out together. Norman is crazy, thus the name.

Sorry for the lost post, but didn't know if I should continue this in introductions or not.

 

[KarrieRee]

So, as I said in my intro post, here's some pics.

View attachment 66520 View attachment 66521 View attachment 66522 View attachment 66523

I know I'm doing a few things you guys don't approve of, but they work for us.

I use sand because he loves to dig, but the excavator sand was chewing his nails up too fast, and he isn't a fan of the reptibark. He doesn't ingest any, as he refuses crickets, so his protein is hand fed by me a couple times a week. If anything drops in the sand, I rinse it off. So impaction isn't a large concern.

His lights are temporary, as I was laid off almost immediately after building this house for him, and I got covid 2 weeks after getting a new job. Money is scarce, but I'm planning on figuring his lighting situation out soon.

I used a water based, nontoxic stain for the walls, and sealed them with beeswax. I didn't want his house to be glaringly bright for him, thus the dark walls.

I have two 150 watt baskets. Since they're on top of the screen, I haven't had a problem with overheating. One is directed at his triangle hammock, where he likes to sit while digesting. The other one is kind of between things so he doesn't have intense heat, but stays warm. The basking spot is around 105°, and the ambient temps are around 85° to 95° everywhere else. His cool side is about 75°. The light in between his logs is also used to warm up his water bowl, which helps keep his humidity up between 30 and 40%. Otherwise, it stays around 15, which is too low.

For his food, I rotate collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, and dandelion greens. Once a week, I give him a baggie of fresh fruits and veggies that I prep in bulk and freeze. He doesn't like anything fresh, so he always waits for everything to dry out, then scarfs like I'm starving him. For protein, my main source is dubia roaches and silkworms, but I gave him hornworms for the first time and he gobbled like 5 of those nasty things, so I'll add those in too. I also do butterworms when I can get them, and if I'm too broke for live food, I get silkworm pupa or grasshoppers in a can. Since he likes eating his food dry, I use a dropper to give him water, sometimes mixed with critical care supplement to help out since he hates salads. No mealworms!

Thor is 18 months old, 21 inches long, and 486 grams. His first year was rough for me, because I'm a cat person, I had no idea how to care for a bearded! But I think I've done good overall. He gets sassy in the morning and will puff out for me if I'm not paying attention to him, but as soon as I go in his cage he deflates for pets. His favorite thing is to sit and look out the window, so I bought him a heating pad to sit on, since we live in Michigan and it gets cold by the windows.

View attachment 66524


This is Thor and Norman "Normy" Bates hanging out together. Norman is crazy, thus the name.

Sorry for the lost post, but didn't know if I should continue this in introductions or not.

Welcome to the forum -- please get a long tube fixture 24" for a 40 + gallon tank either a Zoo Med or a Arcadia Pro T 5 -- the Zoo Med will come w/ a 5.0 bulb your going to want a 22" Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb --- coils are inadequate -- they cause a lot of health problems --- hammocks need to have surface temps taken w/a digital probe thermometer those are the most accurate IR guns do not read off of hammocks -- your using a wide hole screen the UVB can sit on top w/ basking decor directly underneath 8-10 inches --- again welcome Thor

 

[Xjrosie]

Welcome to the forum -- please get a long tube fixture 24" for a 40 + gallon tank either a Zoo Med or a Arcadia Pro T 5 -- the Zoo Med will come w/ a 5.0 bulb your going to want a 22" Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb --- coils are inadequate -- they cause a lot of health problems --- hammocks need to have surface temps taken w/a digital probe thermometer those are the most accurate IR guns do not read off of hammocks -- your using a wide hole screen the UVB can sit on top w/ basking decor directly underneath 8-10 inches --- again welcome Thor

The lighting is the next thing I'm working on after I get back to work, I'm still in quarantine.

I use a probe thermometer to check temps, but the bamboo hammocks do not get much warmer than ambient temps, so I just make sure my thermometers stay calibrated. The ambient temps where Thor sits on his hammocks is roughly 15-20° above the temps on the thermometers at the bottom.

The screen is a double screen, because my cats keep jumping on top, which is why the screen is saggy. I want to make a solid top with smaller screens for ventilation, but that will support my cats if they jump up there. And then I can suspend the lights inside. Though, I will have to make an elevated top so I don't interfere in Thor's climbing space. He has figured out how to climb on the screen, so it's probably a good idea to keep the lights out of his reach.

 

[KarrieRee]

The lighting is the next thing I'm working on after I get back to work, I'm still in quarantine.

I use a probe thermometer to check temps, but the bamboo hammocks do not get much warmer than ambient temps, so I just make sure my thermometers stay calibrated. The ambient temps where Thor sits on his hammocks is roughly 15-20° above the temps on the thermometers at the bottom.

The screen is a double screen, because my cats keep jumping on top, which is why the screen is saggy. I want to make a solid top with smaller screens for ventilation, but that will support my cats if they jump up there. And then I can suspend the lights inside. Though, I will have to make an elevated top so I don't interfere in Thor's climbing space. He has figured out how to climb on the screen, so it's probably a good idea to keep the lights out of his reach.

Ok you need a long tube fixture ASAP --- the coils are no good and hes not really getting any UVB at all -- I personally would keep the cats off the tank-- I have 6 cats and two dragons my tanks are on stand alone stands one is a aquarium stand and the other a dresser that I got from a second hand store - the cats will not jump from the floor to the top of the tank- cats usually dont jump to where they cannot see where they are jumping to -- just a thought

 

[AHBD]

Looks great, you did a nice job on the build and with the tank decor ! Thor looks healthy and lean, so many people equate a fat dragon with good health but they can be more on the slim side like your guy and be in very good condition. If you need a double screen on top use the larger holed type that you have and get rid of the fine mesh, it will block too much uvb. Once you get that and get the proper uvb that'll be a great set up. Sand can be O.K but watch to see how much dust it creates because even if they don't eat it, if it's very dusty they can breathe it in and possibly develop R.I.

I also agree to keep the cats off, they can knock the lamps of + start a fire, especially if you're not home.

 

[Beansbanana]

@KarrieRee @Xjrosie How did y'all introduce your cats to your dragons and what was that like?

 

[KarrieRee]

@KarrieRee @Xjrosie How did y'all introduce your cats to your dragons and what was that like?

I started w/ my first dragon back in 2014 or so - I let by letting my cats sniff the dragon - they did just the sniffing and getting used to the smell etc -- they really did not take interest in her but I never let the cats be around her w/ out supervision so when she was out I was always in the room w/ the cats and the dragon - they were kinda interested in her at first but as time went on including now they dont even mess w/ the dragons - they could careless --

 

[Xjrosie]

@KarrieRee @Xjrosie How did y'all introduce your cats to your dragons and what was that like?

I wasn't sure how to do it, but once Thor was used to being here, I would let him out to explore, and I just supervised him. If they got too close or tried to swat or bite (they were all amazed at his tail) I would train the cats to leave him alone. Now, they just follow him and watch him, but Thor doesn't care what they do. He does his thing. When he's done exploring, he will go back to the area of his house and try to figure out how to climb back in.

 

[Xjrosie]

Looks great, you did a nice job on the build and with the tank decor ! Thor looks healthy and lean, so many people equate a fat dragon with good health but they can be more on the slim side like your guy and be in very good condition. If you need a double screen on top use the larger holed type that you have and get rid of the fine mesh, it will block too much uvb. Once you get that and get the proper uvb that'll be a great set up. Sand can be O.K but watch to see how much dust it creates because even if they don't eat it, if it's very dusty they can breathe it in and possibly develop R.I.

I also agree to keep the cats off, they can knock the lamps of + start a fire, especially if you're not home.

A story about the screens.

Before brumation, Thor liked crickets. They were his main food, I kept the crickets well fed and gutloaded at all times. So, I built his new house, and went with the wider mesh screen for the distinct purpose of getting more light in. But, I found out that if crickets can climb walls, they can get out of the mesh screen. So I put the fine mesh screen on while I tried to figure out what to do to keep the crickets in.

Side note: crickets can't climb on packaging tape.

So I made a line of packing tape around the walls of his house. Higher than where Thor digs, but low enough where Thor could catch the crickets.

Then, I found out I have a particularly agile cat who, despite the 5 foot height from the floor, will indeed try to get on top of the cage regardless of if he can see what's on top. So the fine mesh screen has stayed because I don't want their toe beans to get caught in the coarse mesh.

My ultimate goal I think is to suspend the baskers from my ceiling so I can adjust their height as needed, and then place his sunlight inside. His current coil bulb is I think a reptisun 10.0 but I want to get a 24" bulb that covers most of his heated side but none on his cool side. Then, I can remove the fine mesh screen.

This is still not his permanent home. Once I am happy with the setup, I'm going to use more premium materials and build him a 6x2x2. Right now, he's in a 4x2x2.

 

[Xjrosie]

Ok you need a long tube fixture ASAP --- the coils are no good and hes not really getting any UVB at all -- I personally would keep the cats off the tank-- I have 6 cats and two dragons my tanks are on stand alone stands one is a aquarium stand and the other a dresser that I got from a second hand store - the cats will not jump from the floor to the top of the tank- cats usually dont jump to where they cannot see where they are jumping to -- just a thought

I do try to keep them off, but their evil side comes out while I sleep. They have pushed stuff out of their way to get where they want to go. I used to lay out aluminum foil and baking soda at night to train them to stay off the counters. It worked, until I brought Thor home.

They mostly don't jump up there anymore, but the screen stays as a precaution.

 

[KarrieRee]

I do try to keep them off, but their evil side comes out while I sleep. They have pushed stuff out of their way to get where they want to go. I used to lay out aluminum foil and baking soda at night to train them to stay off the counters. It worked, until I brought Thor home.

They mostly don't jump up there anymore, but the screen stays as a precaution.

Ok so w/ the coil thing is it a 13 watt they are the worst - you can get a 26 watt but it would need to go inside the tank approx 6-8 inches directly above the basking area -- as of now the 13 watt has caused a lot of health issues - the 26 watt is a ok a bulb but you want a long tube fixture -- I am not sure what to tell you about the cats -- you can get a piece of wood to cover most of the tank but you would need to watch for ventilation and temps in the tank -- or move the dragon into a room and keep the cats out of that room -- lock the dragon up at nite in a room where the cats cant get to him --

 

[Xjrosie]

Ok so w/ the coil thing is it a 13 watt they are the worst - you can get a 26 watt but it would need to go inside the tank approx 6-8 inches directly above the basking area -- as of now the 13 watt has caused a lot of health issues - the 26 watt is a ok a bulb but you want a long tube fixture -- I am not sure what to tell you about the cats -- you can get a piece of wood to cover most of the tank but you would need to watch for ventilation and temps in the tank -- or move the dragon into a room and keep the cats out of that room -- lock the dragon up at nite in a room where the cats cant get to him --

I just checked. It's a Lucky Herp 10.0 23 watt.

The cats don't really jump up there anymore. They're not interested in Thor much now that he explores almost daily. But the two layers of screen stay till I can work out a permanent situation with the lighting. Right now, my bank account is overdrawn, my credit cards are maxed out, and I still have a week left of quarantine till I can go back to work. I'm living off the glass milk bottle of change I've saved the last few years. What he has is better than not having a light at all, and he has no health issues as of yet, so it stays. But my first paycheck back to work will see his lighting get an upgrade.

 

[KarrieRee]

I just checked. It's a Lucky Herp 10.0 23 watt.

The cats don't really jump up there anymore. They're not interested in Thor much now that he explores almost daily. But the two layers of screen stay till I can work out a permanent situation with the lighting. Right now, my bank account is overdrawn, my credit cards are maxed out, and I still have a week left of quarantine till I can go back to work. I'm living off the glass milk bottle of change I've saved the last few years. What he has is better than not having a light at all, and he has no health issues as of yet, so it stays. But my first paycheck back to work will see his lighting get an upgrade.

Ok sounds like things will get better and have been rough -- I understand --

 

[Badwolfe]

I know you said you like the sand but please consider swapping it out for a soil / sand / clay blend. Beardies are not sand dwellers and they cant make burrows in just sand.

The Australian outback is actually soil based with a high clay content and its the clay that allows the dragons to burrow because it binds the soil together.

I know you say you hand feed him protein and stuff but whats in there at the moment is not allowing him to achieve the result he wants anyway from digging

 

[Xjrosie]

I know you said you like the sand but please consider swapping it out for a soil / sand / clay blend. Beardies are not sand dwellers and they cant make burrows in just sand.

The Australian outback is actually soil based with a high clay content and its the clay that allows the dragons to burrow because it binds the soil together.

I know you say you hand feed him protein and stuff but whats in there at the moment is not allowing him to achieve the result he wants anyway from digging

It's the best I've been able to find. I know it's not ideal. Can you make some recommendations? I'm actually hesitant to take the advice of even exotic pet workers because it's so easy to get wrong info. I have been considering getting some rough tile, and maybe just making a dig box in the corner or something.