Just got a dragon, just joined the forum.

[SlabOMeat]

Hey All-

My wife surprised me with a bearded dragon for my B-day and he's sitting here next to me basking. I was planning on getting one soon, but wasn't quite ready yet...had to do some panic shopping at the pet store the next morning. I thought it would be prudent to join a forum for getting advice and insights into caring for the little bugger. I also got the Bearded Dragon Manual to that end.

Anyway...

I'm not sure how old he(she?) is but we're currently at about 6 inches long. I've had him since Monday and so far I've gotten a pooh every day (two this morning), and he eats about 8-10 crickets a day + a few bits of greens that I hand feed him. He seems to have very little interest in his water bowl.

I've got him in a 30 gallon for now, with basking temps in the 100-105 range and ambient temps in the 80-85 range.

I've read that juvenile BDs can eat 30-50+ crickets a day...is this really the case? He's such a little guy, I can't see how he could fit that many in his gut.
He also seems a little lazy...he only eats the crickets that crawl close to him and doesn't chase them down, except in the morning when he's really hungry.

I've named him Gobi.

Anyway, that's my story. Look forward to participating.

-Phil

 

[ChellyBeans]

Welcome to the forums. It is so nice to meet you. Everyone here is a huge help and will always answer your questions.

Baby beardies really can put them away. Mine isn't able to eat much since he came from PetSmart where he wasn't fed much. Put as many crickets in his feeding tank as he can eat. Start with about 20 and see how he likes it.

What kind of greens are you feeding him?

At least you are getting good poops. That is always a good sign. I keep my basking temps at 105 and the ambient temps at 75-78.

How are you keeping him warm at night?

Oh, I hear the folks around here love pictures. Just saying...

 

[beardieaddict]

hello and welcome to the fourms to answer ur question yes they can eat a lot thats why we call them poopers because all they do is eat,bask,poop,and over and over all day pretty much babys need to eat 2-3 times a day and usually thats around 20 crickets eachtime babys can eat anywere from 30-100 crickets a day so i would bumb up the feeding if i was u .

as for a 6inch dragon he/she is about 6-8 weeks old some were in that area

as for ur temps try to keep it more towards 105 for now until they are adults then u can lower it down to 95-100

as for the water bowl u can take that thing out there point less bearded dragons get all there water from the feeders and the greens u put in and make sure to give a good bath everyweek try to go for like 10-15 min and u just put eneough water in up to his shoulders so then he can still walk around i like to put a towel in the bottom so they dont sliip and slid everywere

what type of lighting do u have name brands please?
what substrate do u have him on?
are u dusting crickets if so what type are u using

any other questions just ask

 

[ajkry2]

OK--proper husbandry is KEY in having a happy, healthy beardie...

lets start with lighting
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=114817&e=0

Now on to substrate (the floor of the vivarium):
Particle substrate (sand, bark, etc) is not recommended for 2 reasons
-- it harbors bacteria, and has an impaction risk. The recommended
alternatives are: Paper towels, repticarpet, shelf liner, or tile.
Many people like tile as its easy to clean (dishwasher/sink) and keeps
your BD's nails trimmed, I use paper towels (always replacing them due
to poopoo).

Lets talk about feeders:
Live feeders should be no larger than the space between your BD's
eyes. Here's a generally accepted list of safe foods:

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

A few rules of thumb -- superworms should not be fed until your BD is
16 inches or longer. Stay away from mealworms as they're hard to
digest, and may cause impaction.
and here's a little something I came up with

crickets - pain in the xss (stink, quick escapers, but cheap)
mealworms - too much hard outer shell, not enough good meat
(hard for poopers to digest resulting in possible impaction)
roaches - darn nice feeder (expensive on the onset, but easy to
breed, relatively slow movers, good meat to shell ratio)
superworms - delicious for BD's over 16ish inches for digestive reasons
phoenixworms - no experience, but from word of mouth they're
healthy for BD's but quite expensive and small
butterworms - nice treat for BD's, very fatty kinda like a
candy bar for your pooper
waxworms - don't like them. my pooper had the runs for days
after i fed a few to her. and she wouldn't eat more than 3 or 4 so i
dont think she likes em anyway




Okay, that's some general info. There's a ton of other people who are
way more experienced than me, but I hope this helps.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hello and Welcome! We love pictures here!

 

[SlabOMeat]

Thanks for all the info guys!

1. Substrate- I have him on Vita Sand right now, but after reading the forums last night, I went to Home Depot this morning and picked up some slate tile. Three people at Petsmart told me that Vita Sand was GOOD for them. WTF?

2. Lighting- I have a Zoo Med Basking Spot Lamp in a dome and a one of the fluorescent bulbs...Fluker I think.

3. I'm dusting crickets with Rep Pro Calci-Max. He only seems interested in 4-5 crickets per feeding. Should I just dust 20 crickets and dump them all in at once? For greens he's been nibbling at some Green Leaf Lettuce that he only eat out of my fingers. I'm going to get something better tomorrow. How often do you have to buy your greens? Can I buy some and expect them to stay good for a week?

4. At night I have an undertank heater and a red bulb. I read last night that the red bulb is bad for sleep cycle, so I guess that's some more money down the toilet. I don't think any of the advice I got from the pet stores has turned up right yet.

5. I have one of the big Exo Terra terrariums that I'll be moving him to once he gets a little bigger and I get the stuff for it. I'm currently debating what kind of lighting set up to get for it. viewtopic.php?f=34&t=118080

Here's the only picture of him I have at the moment...he's a normal phase, I was planning to get one from a breeder, but my wife surprised me with him. He's from a place in SoCal called prehistoric pets, when she found out about my breeder plans she offered to take him back. By then it was too late, he had grown on me, and I couldn't possibly send him back. He's so cool.

Gobi

 

[ChellyBeans]

Gobi is a handsome man!

As for the lettuce, I wouldn't give him any of that. It isn't good on their tummies. Try collard greens or mustard greens. I bet that he will enjoy an occasional raspberry salad or even strawberry salad. You can get your greens, chop them up and put them in the freezer and let them defrost a bit before serving. That way he can get the moisture from it and they will keep longer.

Understanding Bearded Dragons is best when you understand where they are from. They are from Australia and rarely come in contact with sand. Sand will often stain their legs, which no one wants. They are used to a clay like substance. Tile is lovely, but I have my beardie on carpet. He likes it, so it stays.

Try feeding him seperate from his live in tank if you will be serving him crickets. Most beardies don't like to chase their food and crickets always find a place to hide. You can feed him in a deep container or like my fiance, he will feed him in the tub. Sometimes they are food shy, but with specific stuff. Phoenix has no problem gobbling down crickets in front of me and a couple of worms, but he will eat his salad and a bunch of worms when I walk away.

I really hope this helps. If you have any other questions, let us know.

PS. We will love more pictures!

 

[SlabOMeat]

Here's a couple more photos...color is a bit off, but you get the idea.

 

[ChellyBeans]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

 

[Livey]

awww you got a cutie there!
i dont n exactly how old mine is either but he is small and can often get though the whole pack of crickets in one day!
But yeah , eveyone on here s very helpful and have Helped me TONES!
So welcome!

 

[SlabOMeat]

Got rid of the sand today and replaced it with slate tile, with a eco carpet under the tile for a little insulation from the under tank heater.

Still need to replace the red bulb with a che for night time heat. It gets surprisingly cool at night during the SoCal winter.

 

[ChellyBeans]

You are doing great and you look like you have a very happy baby!