Just got a Bearded Dragon am I doing everything RIGHT??

[key29grl]

I went to petsmart last night and got my very first Bearded Dragon he is still young only about 4". I had to get him when I saw him i fell in love with my bearded dragon. Right when I came up to him he started waving at me. I turn away an he would start hitting the glass then when I look back at him he would wave at me again he did this three times. He is in a 10gallon tank for now with a 50watt basking light, he has uvb light also. I have a branch that hangs under the basking light so he can feel more heat because the basking light only reaches about 80 to 90 degrees. am I doing everything right? He also got's meal worms in a bowl and bearded dragon food in another dish and drinking water. I also spray the branch and his fake tree with a mist of water just in case he doesn't want to drink from the water. So for since i had him last night he ate one meal worm. Do I need a larger basking watt or is that fine since i got a branch hang high? He is getting a 40gallon tank in a week or two

 

[AllanonsWrath]

Responded in your other thread.

 

[bdalton]

Welcome and congrats
I saw your other thread, and AllanonsWraths care sheet probably covered everything, but just wanted to point out that you will want to invest in a digital probe thermometer or temp gun. The dial thermometers that stick to the glass cant give you an accurate basking temp, and this is very important. You can get one at walmart, for about12$ in the outdoor section, and it will have a long wire probe that you put directly on the basking surface and will give you basking temp, ambient and humidity levels. A 10g is okay for now, but i would get the 40g sooner than later since its really hard in such a small tank to get a proper basking temp without raising the cool side too much. He will be fine in the 40 now, you can just use minmal decorations so he can catch crickets, or even use the 10g as a feeding tank.
The reason you dont want to feed mealworms is they cant digest the hard shell, and since your baby is so small, can cause impaction. Reptiworms and small crickets are better choices. Make sure you dont leVe crickets in the tank ever, they will bite your little one while he sleeps, their sneaky! I personally love reptiworms, since they are softbodied and pose no impaction risk, they can be left in a bowl without escaping and he can munch as he pleases. They are also high in calcium.

Just wanted to point that out. Good luck!

 

[key29grl]

thanks i will try the Reptiworms do you know if petsmart carries those? i guess I can give the meal worms to my box turtles since he doesn't like the crickets too much

 

[bdalton]

Sometimes my local petco carries them, but i can usuallu only get them when the order forst comes in because they sell out so fast, but they label them calciworms, but petsmart doesnt. Phoenix, calci and repti worms are all the same worm.
Your best bet is getting them offline. 25 at petco is 4$ and 100 is 5$ online.
Www.reptiworms.com is where I get mine, or www.lindasgonebuggie.com

 

[key29grl]

I went an got the worms i only allow him two of them and two small crickets. I notice after he eats his crickets/worms he wants his vegetables them its the only time he will eat the vegetables. I bought some soft gel type thing at petsmart for baby bearded dragons its a complete nutrition diet for babies an juveniles. i put a little over his food along with a sprinkle reptoCal over his food he goes nuts for the reptoCal he moves his food around just to lick his dish

 

[cybercat]

You need to let him eat all he wants in 10mins. He should be eating more like 10 or 20 of them not 2 or 4 a day.

 

[bdalton]

My baby eats minimum of 60 a day usually, or about 100 reptiworms, so he definetly needs more to eat. A baby needs to eat as much as he can with no limitations besides the 15 min period you allow him to eat as much as he wants.