Bobby Digital":27c0b said:
I've read a couple books and done internet research so I have a pretty good grasp on the basics, but I was just looking for some advice that might not be in these guides, caresheets, etc. The one thing I'm curious about is having live food (crickets, worms) around the house... is that a big deal as far as mess is concerned? I'm also trying to find the best place in the Chicago area to buy a beardie, so if anybody could help me out with that, that would be awesome. Thanks.
Some common things that people are given wrong information on:
- you can use a regular lightbulb or a halogen flood light bulb to heat the tank, they do the same job as the petstore heatbulbs and cost less. You just need something that puts out bright clear (not red) light, and enough heat to get the temps to where they need to be (basking spot 100-110*F, cool side 80*F). Dont' let them sell you a red bulb - during the day dragons need bright clear light, and at night all lights should be turned off.
- good UVB is essential. You'll want to either get the flourescent tube Reptisun 10.0 (the reptisun 5.0, and reptiglo 8.0 are acceptable as well) which puts out UVB but no heat, or a mercury vapor bulb which puts out heat and UVB (best ones are the megarays
http://www.reptileuv.com and the T-rex active heat flood bulb). Stay away from compact UVB bulbs (look like energy saver bulbs) and any ESU or R-Zilla brand bulbs.
- Calcium sand is not digestible, it is potentially deadly to keep your dragon on. Babies should be kept on a solid substrate (paper towels, nonadhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet, textured tiles are all popular options), although you can keep an adult on sifted children's playsand if you really like the whole sand look.
As far as live feeders go, dealing with crickets was a bit of a pain. I ordered mine in 1000 at a time to feed my girl when she was growing, and kept them in a big rubbermaid tub. They need to be kept warm so you can't leave them out in a garage or anything, and there needs to be good airflow through the container to keep it dried out otherwise the smell is horrible. Crickets have a bit of a smell even in a dry, clean container, and there's always the noise factor once you start getting larger crickets. That being said, they are the cheapest and most easily available feeder which is quite helpful if you bring home a young dragon who will be eating dozens of them a day. Roaches are supposed to be easy to care for and breed without as much of a smell or noise problem. I found silkworms to be a bit time intensive to keep (they need to be fed daily and have their tub cleaned out), although they are quite nutritious for your dragon. Superworms are curently my dragon's staple bug and we both love them. They're easy to keep and breed, with minimal maintenance required, no smell and no noise. They should only be used for dragons 16 inches and longer, however, since their shell poses a risk for smaller dragons.
Hope this helps, and welcome to the site!
