Howdy folks.... new to all reptile stuff!

[whatamom]

My daughter has wanted a lizard of some sort for a LONG time and she is now old enough to take the responsibility... so we got her a beardie for her birthday recently. That's how I got into this area. He is about 7 weeks old. I've been a little stressed that we are going to kill the guy because we don't know what we are doing, so your website here has helped a lot. But I'm still nervous!

After reading someone else's recent post, I am concerned now that we also bought the wrong kind of UVB light - so I need to double-check on that. There were so many there to choose from. We chose one that can be screwed into a clipon light, that looks just like those compact fluorescent bulbs you can use in your house, but it specifically says on the box it is for UVB rays, so I figured it would work. I'll look through the other forums, too, and re-read the box.

We've been calcium dusting every feeding of crickets (2x/day, about 30 tiny crickets over the whole day); and putting collard greens in there (which he didn't eat nearly as well as the leaf lettuce I put in there from our garden the first day because I didn't have greens yet). We plan to dust about 2 feedings a week with the vitamin powder. We also mist the cage about 2x/day - he licks off his face and the "fake log" that he sits on.

His basking spot is only getting to about 92F - should we get a hotter heat bulb, do you think?

We also were worried because in the mornings he doesn't move much but I'm thinking that is normal after having had the heat lamps off all night? It gets down around 70F in his cage overnight (I checked it several times last night). It takes him awhile to "wake up" or "warm up"? and get moving, is this normal?

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[Ouroboros]

Welcome!

Bearded Dragons need UVB lights (Reptisun 10.0 is the best) and a basking light (take your pick lol). The tank needs a hot side and a cool side, the hot side should be around 95 degrees F with a basking spot that is 105-110 degrees F. The cool side should be around 85 degrees.

Non-adult beardies need alot of live feeders (Crickets, hornworms, silkworms, ect,) but stick to one kind, this will be their staple. You also should give them a salad each day (Mustard greens, collard greens, kale, squash, ect). You can get the full list at http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html.

Adults eat much more salad than juveniles, but eat less live feeders (Silk worms, horn worms, superworms, crickets, locusts, ect).

You also need to dust their live feeders with repcal d3 (pink label) 5 times a week, and repcal multivitamin (blue label) once a week.

Once again, welcome to the site! If you need any more help feel free to send me a PM or just ask some more questions here!

-Dan

 

[Catalyst]

After reading someone else's recent post, I am concerned now that we also bought the wrong kind of UVB light - so I need to double-check on that. There were so many there to choose from. We chose one that can be screwed into a clipon light, that looks just like those compact fluorescent bulbs you can use in your house, but it specifically says on the box it is for UVB rays, so I figured it would work. I'll look through the other forums, too, and re-read the box.

The ones that look like energy saver bulbs are called compact flourescents and they're not very good bulbs. The problem with them is that in tests they've shown a tendancy to burn out very quickly, so that they put out light but stop putting out sufficient UVB rays in a very short period of time. You want either a mercury vapor bulb (see http://www.reptileuv.com) or a full flourescent tube bulb that will stretch the length of the tank.

We've been calcium dusting every feeding of crickets (2x/day, about 30 tiny crickets over the whole day); and putting collard greens in there (which he didn't eat nearly as well as the leaf lettuce I put in there from our garden the first day because I didn't have greens yet). We plan to dust about 2 feedings a week with the vitamin powder. We also mist the cage about 2x/day - he licks off his face and the "fake log" that he sits on.

You only need to dust one of the live bug feedings a day, 5x a week with the phosphorus free calcium with D3, and 2x a week with the vitamin powder.
It's normal for young dragons to ignore their greens and veggies at first. continue to offer him a small amount daily though because you never know when he'll decide to try it out and it's good to start exposing him to those kinds of food now. Often squash, prickly pear, or other coloured foods are more likely to attract a dragon's attention at first.

Do you bath your dragon (or have plans to)?

His basking spot is only getting to about 92F - should we get a hotter heat bulb, do you think?

Yes, I'd get a stronger bulb. You don't need one of the expensive pet store heat bulbs though, a regular lightbulb or a halogen flood light work just as well (or better) and cost less. Really all you need is a bulb that puts out a bright clear (not red) light and enough heat to get the basking spot up into the 100-110*F range (with the cool side being around 80*).

We also were worried because in the mornings he doesn't move much but I'm thinking that is normal after having had the heat lamps off all night? It gets down around 70F in his cage overnight (I checked it several times last night). It takes him awhile to "wake up" or "warm up"? and get moving, is this normal?

Yep, this is normal. It takes my dragon a while to warm up in the mornings before she starts moving around much. 70 is just fine at night - as long as it doesn't drop below 60*ish then he'll be just fine.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any other question you have

 

[whatamom]

Thanks, Catalyst, for the info about the slow mornings. We were really scared the first morning when he wasn't really moving, but then we saw him looking around and thought well at least he's still alive!

> Do you bath your dragon (or have plans to)?

We've just had him a few days .... I haven't read up on the bathing yet. It is an area I didn't see as essential to do right away, so I hadn't studied it yet. I don't want to make you type up any info that is already on the forums / care sheets so I need to start reading up on that aspect, too.

And then I need to tell my daughter what she needs to do!!! We are trying to figure a "lights out" schedule that works for her to do all his care... i.e. getting him "up" in the morning early enough that when she wakes up she can feed him; then she can feed him again after school.... etc.

Just to share something else -- -- Here's what I think is absolutely adorable so far ... when we carry the cricket carrier/house over to his cage to feed him he gets SO excited!!!! Runs back and forth in his enclosure watching the crickets - you can almost see him smacking his lips.

Thanks again both Ouroboros and Catalyst for your helpful answers!!! I was glad to find this place! Actually we came here for research before buying one, too. :idea:

 

[Catalyst]

It is cute how quickly they learn what that cricket container means It's also nice to hear that you're making sure your daughter is involved in all parts of taking care of the dragon. Feel free to ask any other questions you have, we're always happy to help