Hi, I'm new

[nightsong13]

Hello beardie community! My name is Emily and I have had my beardie for about 3 months now. He is about a year old (I'm not exactly sure when he hatched but I know it was around this time of year), and his name is Autumn Equinox. We call him Nox for short. My roommate had been raising him until I moved in, at which point she asked if I would like to have him - and of course I said yes I'll take him! Nox is still just a little guy; he's around 13" long and fits in the palm of my hand. He's got amazing pretty colors and my roommate thinks he might be a leatherback because his scales are so soft. Already Nox has given me the infamous "beardie glare" on multiple occasions...sometimes he'll also give me this look like he's supremely unconcerned and uninterested.
I am so glad to have this website available for advice and caresheets! As I'm a new beardie owner, it's helpful to have a place where I can go if I'm not sure about something. I'm looking forward to the years ahead with my Nox!

 

[Toyguy]

Welcome!

If you wish, try going over your vivarium setup and his eating schedule. He sounds a bit small for a one year old. My Dash is only 3 months and is that size already, so I am wondering in particular about his diet and lighting.

 

[nightsong13]

Well, when my roommate gave Nox to me, she said that he'd been stunted or something (I guess like a runt) and hadn't been expected to make it (which he did), so he's kind of on the small side to begin with. As for lighting, I have a reptisun 10 uvb, and I'm working on getting a good heat lamp for him (just got some 100w halogen outdoor floodlights, which I'm still not sure if those'll be ok - I posted about that in another forum). Food, well, since I'm on a college student budget right now pretty much all I can afford is greens and mealworms. I put between 25-50 mealworms in his dish whenever it's empty, usually he'll eat when he's hungry. I also tear up collards whenever I have some; yesterday I gave him a little kale to munch on as well (was reading on a caresheet that kale is okay on occasion). This week I'll see about getting mustard greens at the farmers market.
I do also bathe Nox once or twice a week to make sure he stays hydrated.