I could use some information.

[butchelsa]

Greetings!
I'm Mick and I just recently rescued two of the best bearded dragons in the Upper Midwest OK, I might be a bit partial. I'm having great fun with them as they are both very social. When I enter the room, with or without the "food dish", they run to the front and try to get my attention; who knows, I just might pick one of them up. I've rescued many other animals from horses to guinea pigs to dogs and cats.. I live on a ranch northern Minnesota, so, I have lots of time and room and it all works out

"Butch" and "Elsa" have been together for 2-3 (?) years and have to be close to each other all the time. They do have ample room to roam and the inner structure gives them places to "hide" if they want to do so. The tanks is 48" X 22" X 24". I have no idea how many gallons that is but they seen happy with it.

They are being fed different greens each day along with a variety of chopped peppers, sweet potatoes and banana squash. Of course not all on the same day. They are getting calcium, etc. 2 X's per week. I have been feeding them some super worms as a treat but as of now have not been feeding them other insects. Is that OK or should I invest in a in-home cricket ranch?

I purchased a roll of unused newsprint to use as a substrate. I change it every few days as needed. There are climbing rocks on the north end with a basking space on the top. UVB flood, a foot above that, plus, a heating lamp next to it. The temp is about 95-105 degrees. On the South end they have it a bit cooler and a 10.0 UVB tube as well as a regular light. How often do these need to changed and where is the best place to purchase them? What is the best time to set the timer for the lights to turn on/off?

No doubt, I'll have more questions as time goes by and I'm hoping to ask them here... or is there a different forum for that.

Look forward to getting insight from all you beardie scholars. Mick

 

[Beardienatic]

Hi Mick!
First of all, congratulations on your new beardies, and good job on rescuing them! I'm sure they will be very happy with you.
Just a few things that I thought I might mention is the fact that if they are living together, they will need to be separated ASAP, and how many times per week the are getting supplements. While very few people have managed to have multiple beardies live together peacefully, it is really recommended to house them separately. Even though they may seem fine, when breeding season comes and often at other random times, the male will keep trying to mate with the female, basically harassing her. There have been a few injuries seen due to too much mating, when they female becomes overly stressed and moody, and physical injuries on her neck from biting. Your tank is roughly close to 110 gallons, so you can easily just put a divider between them, and they will still have 55 gal. each, you just need enough lights, and if you are interested in breeding them, research it well,but I'm pretty sure you just put them together for a week or so, the separate again.
The other thing, at their age they should be getting calcium 4 - 5x per week, and multi-vitamin 2 - 3x per week, basically every day that you don't use calcium. Here is a good link on supplements and food.http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
You can purchase lights on Amazon, the Zoomed Reptisun 10.0 T5 or T8 are both highly recommended, but with your tank size I would definitely go for the T5.
I don't have my beardie yet, getting him soon-ish, so this is just what my opinion is based on research.
I'm sure they are going to be very happy with you, and you will get a lot of joy out of them!

 

[butchelsa]

I posted here last evening then read some the other posts and saw that I really hadn't introduced my new kids or given background info on their coming into my life.

Over the years I've gotten dogs, cats, a guinea pig and even a horse from our animal shelter. I figure that I've got the time, space and animal love that I could handle them all. About 1 1/2 months ago I was at the shelter walking dogs and playing with kitties as I do every Saturday morning. I've had to practice saying NO before I go. Anyways,back to the topic. There were a pair of BDs that the vet guessed were about 2-3 years old and looked malnourished. I forgot to practice saying NO and left that morning with my new kids. Next, I went to a pet store in the next town and they helped (?) me out with a few habitat items. I did a bit of research and posted here with a couple Q's. (I found the care sheet later and am feeling good that I'm doing some things well but I can do better.)

With daily baths, lots of fresh greens and veggies and some organic super worms as treats, they are putting on weight and looking healthy. I'm glad to see that they've gotten use to their habitat moving around during the day, basking on the rocks, eating like little piggies, having regular poops and running up my hand to take turns sitting with me to read. (They like dinosaur books and watching TV, especially Animal Planet.)

I love to experience new pets, learning about their care and having them as companions out here in the country.

So, thanks for posting so much information and I look forward to your suggestions and yes, I do take critique well.
Again thanks. -Mick