hey im new/never had a beardie before/can you help me?

[jchil7]

hey i got my bearded dragon in february and im a complete novice from everything from light, termometers, ground, espeically vitimans which i just started giving her. i overcourse picked put everything on the petsmart check list but i doubt the things i got are any good. have any sugestions tell me.

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

The best way to go about this is to go through what you have now and what you are doing now. The following questions will help determine that all. Welcome to bd.org!

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

 

[jchil7]

1. i acutaly dont know her acutual age i got her at petsmart in febuary and she looked a month or two then so maybe 5-6 months???
2. since feb. soo over 2 months
3. she is 10 in long (maybe that can help determine her age?)
4. female
5. 40 gallon tank
6. some reptile carpet thing
7. no sadly im going to get uvb bulbs i have uva now someone alrdy told me about that mistake
8. i have an incendescent now
9. all living things 100 watt
10. idk the bulbs age
11 she cant get that close shes always at least 10 in away
12 no two of them i kno its a mistake ima change that
13 one side is in the 90's the other low 8o's
14 i have a crappy round wall thermometer (ima try to get a new better one what is ur preference)
15 wall
16 no
17 crickets i try to feed her kale but she ignors the food so i give it also to the crickets
18 i hve school all day so i give ten crickets in the morning and is shes low in the afternnon i may add a couple.
19 how do u gutload i put kale in witrh the crickets and cover them with powder calcium/ vit d and multivitimn
20 rep-cal herptivite and calcium/ vit d powder
21 i guess she is i see it lol i cleaned her cage sunday ( yesterday moring and theres two in there)(
22 i never bathed her how do u do that
23 i mist a coupe times a week
24 no shes all alone
25 no

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

One thing I would definitely change is the fact that you leave crickets in her cage during the day. Crickets have been known to eat at the scales and even eyes occasionally of dragons when left in their cage for an extended period of time. If you can take the time, feed her in the morning before you leave however many she'll eat in 10-15. And then later on when you get home do the same thing. 6 days a week one of the feedings need to be dusted in calcium and 1 day a week one feeding needs to be dusted with multivitamins. Dusting wise, it sounds like you're doing good.

As far as a thermometer, I would suggest one that Wal-mart sells. It reads the basking side and the cool side of the tank. Since you have a young dragon, I would raise her basking temperatures to 100-110. Young dragons need higher heats to help them probably thermoregulate and digest correctly. Your baskign temps are perfect.

For 5/6 mo old your dragon is about the right size. But you'll find she'll be growing faster and eating more crickets once you get a uvb. Do you know what brand you are getting? Are you getting a fluorescent tube or a mercury vapor bulb?

I would remove feces as regularly as you can. I check Spots tank multiple times during the day and if I see any poo, I remove it and sanitize that area. Good way to keep parasites away. Parasites tend to multiply rapidly in the hot temperatures that are in your tank.. so it's a good idea to remove poo when you can.

There are food that you can get at a petstore to "gutload" your crickets. One is a powder diet that is full of nutrients and calcium, the other are water gels that are also full of nutrients and calcium. Some will say that veggies kept with the crickets is enough. I would cut a small piece of sponge and soak it in water (if you chose to not use water gel) and place it in the cricket keeper to be sure they're getting water as well. The reason I to use a say sponge is because crickets easily drown in water and using a sponge keeps that from happening.

For younger dragons you can bathe once or twice a week. When Spot is in shed I bathe her daily to help her through the shed and keep her hydrated. Spot also using the bath to poo in, so she sometimes gets two a day. You fill the tub up to their armpits on the deep side of the tub with water that is warm to the wrist.. not hot. Leave them soak for 10-15 minutes. keep a close eye on her, you don't want her to drown. They will sometimes put part of their hand underwater for several seconds and lap up water to drink if they're dehydrated.. don't worry. Some won't do this and will just sit in the tub. that's ok. Dragons absorb water through their vents (butts) so just a soak keeps them nice and hydrated.

I think I might have covered it all, let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[jchil7]

th bulb by the way is a rep glo 10 26w

 

[jscott]

your lights need to provide 4 basic necessities for your dragon:

visible light, any light produces this and some heat. you can use regular light bulbs but there are better(healthier) alternatives.

heat, this keeps them energetic and their metabolism up. again, its important that their heat light is on one side of their cage, this creates a temperature grade across the tank.

ultra-violet light UV is basically invisible light at the low end of the spectrum. there are three types of UV light:

UV-A stimulates their appetite and promotes healthy digestion. UV-A is produced by most any reptile bulb at a pet store, just read the print on the box to be sure.

UV-B is necessary for proper calcium absorbsion. without this type of light they can develop serious problems down the line. only cirtain types of fluorescent lighting(with the exception of Merucy Vapor Bulbs) can produce this wavelength. again, look for it on the box. UV-B bulbs are measured in incriments (2.0, 5.0, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0), this represents the percentage of energy the bulb is putting towards producing the UV-B spectrum.

UV-C is bad. UV-C is known to cause damage to the cells(including cancer) of many living things(including us). it is unclear if UV-C is as deadly to reptiles as it is to us but it is best to steer clear of bulbs emitting this spectrum until testing is complete. there are some UV-B reptile lights that produce ultra-low wavelengths, uncomfortably close to UV-C. i would stay away from these lights for that reason:

ExoTerra Repti-Glo 10.0 is one of the brands to avoid. if you search the old(and new) posts on this site you will find many cases where this bulb was the cause of the problem.

Compact or Spiral Fluorescents of ANY kind cause glare and are not good for your dragons eyes. if you choose to use a fluorescent over an MVB(ill get to that) make sure it is a linear type and not a compact or spiral type.

ok, now that we've gotten past the bad lighting lets talk about the good lighting(this is a much shorter read):

ZooMed Repti-sun 10.0 linear fluorescent is all you need to know if your tank is small or you are having a hard time keeping your cool side cool. this light has been tested for years and is the best UV-B light outside of the UK. it is safe at distances up to 6" compared to the 8-10" distance of some questionable bulbs. to use this light appropriately it should be placed directly next to a heat lamp. its preferable to get a UV-B tube that stretches the length of your enclosure, that way your dragon benefits no matter where he is inside.

Mercury Vapor Bulbs produce waaay more light, heat and UV-B(thats last ones a biggie). its important that your enclosure(as well as your light fixture) be large enough to accomodate this bulb and the heat it produces. i have a 40 gallon tank and a 100gallon tank. the first is too small for me to work a MVB in while the 100gallon would be a perfect candidate. where you live in the world plays a big part in what kind of lighting and heating youll have to implement to create a comfortable enviornment for your dragon.


i hope that helps alittle. if you have any more questions feel free to Private Message or email me :wink: .

 

[beardieguy83]

i have mine with a reptiglo 100w for basking, 10.0 reptisun for uvb with newspaper subtrate, a basking tree and a hidinglog on the cool side, ohh and a 20 gallon tank(its a baby) a basic setup but efficient. Ohh and mist it atleast once a a day if you can.