I got my Bearded Dragon on Christmas Day from my husband. He is about 10 weeks old and was satiating at my brother in laws for a few weeks before I got him to get him used to his vivarium etc.
I am looking for any advice or help from anyone as this is my first Dragon.
Thanks
xox
Ps his name is Sandy Claws ?
hello! and welcome to the wonderful world of dragons!
Could you post the lights you have? just curious
Also, you should switch the woodchips out for a solid substrate, like repticarpet or newspaper. loose substrates can cause impaction.
Such a cute little guy! I like his log and his ramp but agree about replacing the wood chips. Something like non adhesive shelf liner or ceramic/slate tile would be easier to keep clean. ReptiCarpet is good but it can get messy in a hurry and requires frequent washing which causes it to tatter quickly.
If you can provide us with details about your lighting we can help make sure it's all set properly for him. Having accurate temperature readings is important too, so I'd use an IR temp gun or a digital thermometer with probes (basking surface and cool side surface) The stick on ones like what is on the wall are not reliable enough.
Thanks for your replies. I will look into different flooring for him.
My UVB lamp is a Repti-Glo 10.0 and the other lamp is an Eveready 60Watt R63 Reglector bulb. He has a heat pad on a thermostat under his red tunnel. I am going to get better thermometer for him.
I believe I was starving him for a few days, I thought he was only to get one cricket 2/3 times a day plus mixed leaf salad, but now I’m giving him 3 or 4 brown or black crickets 2-3 times a day, coated with ExoTerra Calcium D. He is not as interested in his salad as much at mo (not surprising really now he is getting more crickets) and does not really go near his water bowl (unless he is running through it to the crickets, lol).
Is there anything else I should be doing or need for him?
He looks pretty content. I would move the UVB light a bit closer to him and add a reflector if you can. That will maximize the UVB he gets over the basking area. It should sit 6-8'' above the basking area for best results. If you need to cover more distance then I suggest upgrading to a higher output T5 bulb which will have an optimal output at around 12'' with a reflector.
For food, I think you'll find his appetite will fluctuate quite a bit. Sometimes he'll eat a ton and sometimes won't be hungry. I would offer 2-3 bug meals per day and just offer as many as he wants to eat in about 10 min or so.
Just another quick question, I was looking at either tiles/slate, non adhesive shelf lining or newspaper for his flooring but wasn’t sure how that would work with his heat mat? Can you advise me about this please. Thanks
take the heat mat out , heat mats and beardies dont mix well. heat mats can very easily over heat and burn dragons because dragons cant feel stuff getting too hot on their stomachs, causing burns.